Many of the early hotels in the Nelson district were built at the junction of key routes, providing much-needed accommodation and refreshments for travellers. The old Brightwater Hotel was one such place, built at the meeting of Lightband Road, Wairoa Gorge Road and the road towards Wakefield.
From its earliest days, the hotel was promoted as a jump-off point for hunting in the Wairoa Gorge.
Owned by brewers Dodson and Son, the hotel was known for many years as the Spring Grove Hotel, before the settlement officially took the name Brightwater. Early publicans included John Disher, followed by James Harmen, who took over the licence in 1870. He was replaced by Thomas Martin in 1874.
Thomas was born in Kent, where he married and had two sons, Thomas jnr and William. His wife died in 1855 and five years later he immigrated to Nelson, where he married Margaret Hall, a widow. Thomas was well liked and community minded, hosting meetings for local organisations and numerous social events at the hotel.
Margaret died at the hotel in 1892 and Thomas passed away four years later. Following his death, the licensing board awarded a temporary licence to his stepson, Herbert Edwin Hall. When the licence came up for renewal, it was granted with a cautionary warning against any recurrence of certain irregularities that had been occurring at the hotel.
About 1898, the licence was transferred to Leonard Fearne, who intended to renovate the hotel. However, it appears this did not occur, as the following year the licensing board requested that improvements be made to the building.
In November 1901, Owen Newport, previously publican of the Belgrove and Provincial hotels, became licensee. Plans for alterations and improvements were submitted by Dodson and Son and approved, but instead of upgrading the existing building, the old hotel was demolished and replaced with a new structure on the same site.
The new Brightwater Hotel was completed by October 1901, offering commodious accommodation for tourists and sportsmen intending to hunt in the Wairoa Valley. The two-storey building boasted 10 bedrooms, sitting rooms upstairs and downstairs, bathrooms on each floor, a billiard room, dining room and an afternoon tearoom.
Publicans continued to change over the years, with Robert Kerr taking over in 1903, followed by John McNeil in September 1911.
John was born in Ireland and spent time on the Otago goldfields. About 1904, he took over the Cronadun Hotel and store on the West Coast. Due to ill health, he relocated to Nelson, seeking a better climate. John remained at Brightwater for five years, passing away in 1914 while still publican. His wife Mary was granted a transfer of the licence to herself.
Other licensees included William McIntosh in 1918, David Rees in 1919, George Bennett in 1920, Wallace Bower in 1926, Robert Brownlie in 1930, Thomas Morgan in 1936, Walter Dudson in 1939 and Henry Cowdery in 1941.
In 2002, a realignment of the road was carried out to improve safety. As the old hotel blocked drivers’ sightlines, it was demolished. In its place, the Brightwater Motor Inn was built, set further back from the road.
