A LONDON LANDMARK

Hokitika Guardian, 27 November 1930, Page 7

A LONDON LANDMARK

BRUNSWICK HOTEL DISAPPEARS. The Brunswick Hotel on the north bank of London River in Blackball Reach with its historical associations has disappeared. The hotel was built at the beginning of the nineteenth century by the East India Company whose famous old sailing vessels were anchored in the river opposite. The hotel was situated onAthe meridian of Greenwich and a mark to indicate this was cut on the parapet under the direction of the Astronomer Royal. The enormous bay windows; afforded a magnificent view of the shipping which from time immemorial has passed up and down the Thames. A hundred years ago its spacious rooms.;.were filb ed with gay society which-, included Royalty and Cabinet Minister who went, down the river to enjoy the whitebait dinners which were then the vogue. It is believed that William IV. when Duke of Clarence frequently went there. The hotel was also much used by passengers and officers of the East India Company. •<

During the ’sixties and later the building was used as an emigration centre for Australian colonists; The property passed into the possession of the Port of London Authority when that body was created to control the Port of London in 1909. After the Great War, the building was leased to a firm of shipbuilders and repairers,