The New Commercial Hotel on the corner of SH3 and Page Street in Stratford was built in 1953. The lease was held by local boxing coach Joseph (Joe) Phillip Collins from 1956-1961.
There is some confusion as to the date the original Commercial Hotel commenced business. A nearby Heritage Trail sign has the date as 1892, while a newspaper article about the New Commercial Hotel uses the date 1896. Meanwhile, a report of the Licensing Committee meeting in the Taranaki Herald on 12 June 1893 includes the information that an application had been received from Thomas Keane for a house, "the property of James MacKenzie", to be known as the Commercial Hotel.
On 24 July 1893 the Stratford correspondent reported in the Taranaki Herald that licences had been granted to both the Empire and the Commercial Hotel.
In a 2019 Taranaki Daily News article the New Commercial Hotel was said to be for sale by the then proprietors, Ian Hayward and Jude Dix.
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