History of the Hotel

Akaroa Country covers an area of 43,997 hectares and is situated on the eastern half of Banks Peninsula. It has a population of around 2,000 of which 800 live in the township of Akaroa.

The town's historical association with the French began when Jean Langlois, captain of the french whaling ship Cachalot, negotiated with a local Maori chief to buy Banks Peninsula. Langlois returned to France and established the Nanto Bordelaise Company to found the French settlement.

In March 1840, 63 immigrants (French & German) set out for the long voyage to NZ on the Comte De Paris, accompanied by the warship L'Aube.

They were unaware that the British had claimed sovereignty over New Zealand under the terms of the Treat of Waitangi and, only two days before these ships arrived with the nucleus of Akaroa's first European settlement, the Union Jack was raised at Green Point.

The immigrants stayed however, and settled in the Northern part of town.

One of these settlers, a German name Jacob Waeckerle, was granted the original license for the Grand Hotel. In 1860 he built a hotel at the entrance to Akaroa on the site the Grand now stands. It was then called the French Hotel.

Waeckerle was also renowned in the district for importing the Ka Ka pony (caca Fr.), a breed noted for their surefootedness on the hills and in rough country.

In 1882, the French Hotel, by now called Waeckerles Hotel, was burned to the ground on the same night that arson attempts were made on other hotels on Rue Lavaud.

The Akaroa Mail newspaper reported, "some fiend heaped a mass of gorse saturated with kerosene against the walls of three hotels... there is considerable distance between the hotels, and yet it appears they were all set on fire within minutes of each other."

The Waeckerle Hotel was rebuilt and opened for business under the management of Robert Bayley in 1883. The name was changed to the Grand Hotel in 1918.
A number of features from early days still remain despite considerable renovations since 1985: the staircase, the present coal range and the foot scrapers at the entrance. One of the bars has been renamed Jacob's Bar.

Under the proprietorship of the present owners, the New Grand continues to provide refreshments and accommodation for travellers to Akaroa much the same as it did over 125 years ago.
click on a small image above to enlarge