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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The information on this website is provided for general research and reference only. While we try to keep content accurate and current, we make no guarantees about its completeness or correctness. It should not be considered a replacement for a LIM or a Property Report. Some content is supplied by third parties. Puke Ariki has not verified this content and users should check its accuracy before relying on it.The inclusion of a building on the website does not imply heritage status. See SCHED1 in the NPDC District Plan for a list of buildings that have rules about what can happen to or around them (administered by NPDC). See the New Zealand Heritage List for a list of buildings that are celebrated for their heritage significance but are not subject to rules (administered by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga). Should any corrections need to be made to the records or for more information please contact us.
