The original Canterbury Hotel, dates back to February 1883 when a Mr William Rowse, a former South Rakaian police constable, bought the current site and laid the foundations for this local institution.

The first hotel fell victim to fire on June 19th 1922. The hotel was jointly owned by Mr D Neill & Manning & Co., Ltd., Christchurch, and James McTaggart was the licensee at the time of the fire.

Undeterred, the owners immediately set about rebuilding the hotel on the same site, using an unusual combination of vertical and horizontal timber weatherboards, which still continues to operate as a hotel, one hundred years later.

The name of the hotel has been known locally as the ‘Brown Pub’ since the late 1970’s, in contrast to the Blue Pub, across the street.

• Heritage NZ Inventory - Link to be provided
• District Council Heritage - Link to be provided
• Owner/building Link: Link https://www.brownpub.co.nz