Skip to main content

Bye bye Chateau Tongariro


With much sadness last week I read that the historical Chateau Tongariro will be closing after 94 years due to being earthquake prone. Apparently DOC (department of conservation) had been discussing the lease with the owners and specialists had also been conducting site and seismic assessment due to plants to renovate the building. They found that underground shifts over time meant that the building was no longer safe so staff made the decision to close instead.

This building is iconic to New Zealanders and will be sorely missed. In case you didn't know this area is hugely volcanic with Mount Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe nearby. 

When we lived in Tauranga 5 years ago we visited this spot and enjoyed the snow, something we don't normally see. I haven't been inside but I found these photos online which are not mine of some of the interior:

 

 

 




Linking up with Through my lens, Ruby Tuesday, Tuesday Treasures, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

Labels:

Comments

Graham Edwards said…
That really is very sad. Few things evoke the past more than old buildings be they churches, old houses and hotels or larger properties like this one.
7 February 2023 at 06:09
Bill said…
That is sad but it's better to be safe.
7 February 2023 at 08:52
roentare said…
These are classic interior and wonderful buildings.
7 February 2023 at 09:38
Sallie (FullTime-Life) said…
It's a beautiful building and I'm glad you at least got to visit it 'in person' before it closed. Does this mean that people still can look at the outside of it though or are they going to tear it down? I hope at least people can still look at from a distance without going in..
7 February 2023 at 09:53
Susan Heather said…
It is so sad. I left it on my "to do" list for too long.
7 February 2023 at 10:49
William Kendall said…
A beautiful interior. An understandable decision.
7 February 2023 at 11:43
Anonymous said…
Such a pity. It really was one of New Zealand s best known buildings. I've only seen it from the outside. Like many others I wish I had been able to stay there and hope they can restore it in some way
7 February 2023 at 22:58
DawnTreader said…
"Safety first" I suppose, but it does seem sad.
8 February 2023 at 06:24
Tom said…
...it looks gorgeous and it's sad that after 94 years that the building can't be saved.
8 February 2023 at 08:32
Yogi♪♪♪ said…
Wow, that is too bad. But I saw some of the video from Syria of multiple high rise buildings collapsing and that is quite sobering.
What a great building to lose.
8 February 2023 at 12:20
Veronica Lee said…
What a pity!

It really is a magnificent building.

Hugs and blessings, Amy.
8 February 2023 at 15:37
Iris Flavia said…
Oh, so very sad they cannot make it earthquake-safe. It´s such a beauty inside-out.
At least you´ve been there and share now.
8 February 2023 at 17:47
Lydia C. Lee said…
That's sad - it really looks like a glory of yesteryear that they'd kept in good nick! Looks lovely.
8 February 2023 at 18:35
Pisi Prkl said…
Whutta great place! Pity it has to go.
9 February 2023 at 00:23
NCSue said…
That is sad indeed. Glad you were able to capture the photos.
Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/02/a-few-images-from-chinese-lantern.html
9 February 2023 at 11:28
Sharon said…
What a shame to lose such a great looking place with so much history.
9 February 2023 at 12:23
magiceye said…
Soon it will exist only in History books!
9 February 2023 at 15:26
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Auckland Metropolis Museum

In amongt the modern new highrise buildings in Auckland City is this smaller vintage building that is currently for sale (I'd buy it if I had the money).   My research found that:  "It was designed by English-born architect Charles Towle and erected in the early 1930s as the Church of Christ, Scientist, the building's Graeco-Roman facade has towering columns that frame its impressive entranceway, with three ornate timber doors decorated with leadlight inserts providing access to the expansive foyer. Arched ceilings dominate the former congregational high stud space beyond the foyer and numerous picturesque windows provide a light, airy feel and an ambience many office buildings lack. The building housed congregational and Sunday school services for 70 years until it was sold and converted into office space in 2003. A significant refurbishment was also carried out with care taken to ensure that the building's distinctive character remained intact. Special architectural ...
16 comments
Read more

Grace Brothers

  We have 2 new chickens, both black ladies. If any of you are familiar with British comedy tv shows you will recognize the names we have given them. This one is named Miss Brahms. And this one is named Mrs Slocombe. At the moment we have them in a temporary shelter next to the Special Patrol Group that we've had for the last 9 months just so they can get to know each other before we intigrate the black ones in with the brown ones. These ones give us a white coloured egg whereas the brown shavers give us brown coloured eggs. Linking up with  Tuesday Treasures ,  Happy Tuesdays  and   Wordless Wednesday .
15 comments
Read more

Vondel

  I nthe heart of Devonport in Auckland is this little block of businesses. In my younger days I worked in this suburb as a legal typist for lawyers and to see it now as it is, it's made many changes over the years. This building is surrounded by older style buildings in the main street with businesses such as shoe shops, clothing shops, professionals, cafes, bars, restaurants etc. It's a very upmarket suburb with quite expensive houses along the waterfront. Vondel in the above photo is a restaurant but upon looking up their website, there wasn't alot of information about who they are. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .
7 comments
Read more