The Commercial Hotel has a history that goes back longer than the township has been called Murchison.
According to Murchison Museum archives, in 1873 Thomas Kerr built the first Commercial Hotel in Hampden (renamed Murchison in 1882, as there were three Hampdens in New Zealand) near the junction of the two rivers.
In 1878 George Fairweather Moonlight purchased the establishment. George, born August 5, 1832 in Scotland, was a successful prospector in the Buller region who lent his name to landmarks all across the countryside, such as
Moonlight Creek, a tributary of the Shotover River, and in 1863 the Buller area became known as Moonlight Country, a surveyor in 1863 reported that George had discovered ‘the best line of road for Central Grey’. After the completion of the Buller River Rd, he moved to Murchison where he bought the Commercial Hotel and became the host, postmaster, storekeeper and unofficial sheriff. Later that year a flood damaged the building and George rebuilt a new, larger hotel on higher ground, where it still stands today.
However, having been closed to the general public since 2016, Janelle Hocking and her husband Kim have taken on the old girl and after a bit of TLC they have announced they will be reopening later in the month. The hotel was made a private catering hall for Fulton Hogan crew after the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, but in recent months has been laying empty. Business owner Janelle says, “we have bought the business and are leasing the building. We are working on hiring staff at the moment, giving it a bit of an update, repainting it, making it a bit more modern. We will be open seven days a week and will have takeaways available to help cater to all the travellers that pass-through Murchison in the evening. We will be putting together 2-night accommodation packages for people doing the Old Ghost Rd. And we’re also going committed to reducing plastic waste by not having any plastic straws or polystyrene burger boxes.” Janelle says reopening the 6-room accommodation is on the list, “the accommodation side of the building hasn’t been open for 4 or 5 years. It will be great to have that part up and running.” The official opening day for the Commercial Hotel is set for August 31.