Eichardt‘s Private Hotel is located on the corner of Marine Parade and Ballarat Street, Queenstown,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, on the shores of

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori nam ...

. Eichardt’s is a significant local landmark, and is listed as a Category Two historic place by the

Historic Places Trust Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

History

William Gilbert Rees William Gilbert Rees (6 April 1827 — 31 October 1898) was an explorer, surveyor, and early settler in Central Otago, New Zealand. He and fellow explorer Nicholas von Tunzelmann were the first Europeans to settle the Wakatipu basin. Rees is reg ...

, one of the first Europeans to settle the Queenstown area, arrived at the shores of Lake Wakatipu in 1859, seeking pastoral land. Rees built a large hotel down on present day Frankton Road, a homestead on the lakefront and erected a woolshed on the site now occupied by Eichardt's Private Hotel. When gold was discovered in the nearby

Shotover River The Shotover River ( mi, Kimiākau) is located in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. The name correctly suggests that this long river is fast flowing, with numerous rapids. The river flows generally south from the Southern Alps ...

in 1862, Rees found his high country station at the centre of a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

- his homestead was declared an official goldfield and the main business area of Queenstown developed around his station. An entrepreneurial Rees quickly turned to the hotel keeping business, his woolshed was given a wooden facade and turned into a hotel named the Queen's Arms. In early 1866, Rees entered into partnership with Albert Eichardt, who went on to become the sole proprietor of the hotel by 1869. Eichardt renamed the hotel Eichardt's Queen's Arms Hotel, it was renamed Eichardt's Hotel during his time. The Eichardt's building was significantly affected by the Queenstown floods in November 1999. Following the floods, the owners undertook alterations and renovations to restore the building and reinvent Eichardt's as a luxury boutique hotel. Eichardt's reopened as Eichardt's Private Hotel in December 2001. A member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, the property is owned by Andrew and Sarah Cox of Melbourne. The property is also a member of the exclusive Virtuoso network and has been recommended by

Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report ''Andrew Harper's'' ''Hideaway Report'' is a membership-based editorial travel publisher that reviews luxury hotels and resorts around the world. The first issue appeared in 1979. "Andrew Harper" was the pen name of the original editor-in-chief. T ...

since 2002.

References

{{Coord, -45.032783, 168.660505, display=title, format=dms Hotels in New Zealand Buildings and structures in Queenstown, New Zealand NZHPT Category II listings in Otago Otago Gold Rush

History

See also

References