Some of the region’s stories are stepping out of storage and into the spotlight. The Guardian Motueka and Golden Bay is working with the Motueka District Museum to showcase items from its extensive collection of locally relevant material, highlighting objects that reflect everyday life across the district.
This modest ceramic plate offers a revealing glimpse into Motueka’s hospitality history. Manufactured in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Grindley Hotel Ware was designed for commercial use and built to withstand frequent handling, stacking, and washing.
The plate features the distinctive branding of the Post Office Hotel on High Street and was probably part of a larger service that may have included dinner and side plates, soup bowls, cups, saucers, and serving dishes.
Originally known as the Sportsman’s Arms, the hotel was renamed by Tom Brougham in 1889. Destroyed by fire in 1912, it was rebuilt before being lost again in the devastating High Street fire of 1938, which also damaged neighbouring businesses and eventually engulfed the town’s post office.
Later owned by Mrs Spencer Smith, née McCarthy, the hotel was rebuilt and continued operating into the Second World War. It was subsequently managed by David “Fen” Quested, leased to New Zealand Breweries, and later to former All Black Ron Horsley.
When Fen’s son Randall and his wife, Mary, later took over, they experienced Motueka’s first armed hold-up in 1984, an event that ultimately persuaded them to leave the hotel business.
