Tom Anderson built the Queensberry Inn and associated outbuildings. According to the family memories, he opened it about 1867. It was set up to provide accommodation and as a changeover point for horses and bullocks. Stables, sheds and staff accommodation were built as well as the Inn that had seven rooms plus the Dining Room, Kitchen and Bar. There was a stone cottage built that had “two bedrooms and a parlour” but it is not known when it was constructed.[1] There has been a suggestion that Henry Tobin, the next owner, may have built it in 1881, but it is doubtful that Thomas could have accommodated himself and his young family after 1872 in the Inn building, and still leave sufficient rooms for guests.

[1] This is the building that was used as the Post Office and Telephone Station post c1900

*Queensberry Inn 19 April 1907 – Visit by the Governor for lunch*

This stone building, known in later years as the Post Office, is thought to have been incorporated, in more recent years, into the existing house which is an addition from the last few decades. It probably was converted to the Post Office and Telephone Station circa 1895-1900.

The Inn has had many owners but as an accommodation inn, it closed in 1925.

Whilst Tom was operating the Inn, he was also farming on Section 2 of 320 acres across the road and he had an interest in standing stallions, an arrangement having been made with the Normans at the Albert Town Hotel. Presumably Tom gained a DPL early in the 1870s, but certainly in 1877 Tom applied for, and was granted approval, to create a water race and take water from 19 Mile Creek (about half a mile along the road), to service the farm property. That strongly suggests he already had a legal interest in that land.

Then on 1 Feb 1879 he applied to have his one-acre property that the Inn operated from, increased to six acres. He already had the consent of the Runholder and it was approved.[2]

When his brother John arrived in the area, Tom assisted him, and they perhaps operated John’s farm in a partnership for a while. Tom also worked with others in various projects that led up to him selling the Inn and Section 2 to Henry Tobin in early 1881. Tom and a friend, Peter McIntosh entered a partnership to build a new flour mill at Luggate after local farmers could not get one established. On 18 July 1881, Tom and Peter McIntosh applied to the Land Board to “purchase 10 acres of land on the northside of Luggate Creek to build a flour mill”. The Mill building was a great success and still stands in the yard of Upper Clutha Transport Ltd.

In February 1899, The Mill was advertised for sale.[3] Tom continued farming at Luggate on an area of 1013 acres that he acquired as a Lease in Perpetuity in November 1900. In 1903 the Mill was sold to a consortium of farmers.

The Otago Witness reported on 2 March 1903 that Tom bought the Dunrobin Homestead farm of 800 acres near Mossburn. His health deteriorated and he and the family then moved to Wyllies Crossing (near Mosgiel).

Tom passed away in 1917 in Dunedin, and Jane in 1923.[4]

[2] The Otago Witness, 1 February 1879, Tarras District.
[3] Otago Witness, 9 February 1899.
[4] Information, in part, has been resourced from “They came from Dumfries in 1859”, Thomas Maginness, 2013

Henry Tobin

Henry was someone who came from a different background from Tom Anderson, who had come from a farm labouring background. Henry was a single man who had come from England as a “remittance man”. Remittance men were sent out to New Zealand by their family with all expenses paid, and sometimes, if they were lucky, some capital. Graham Tobin, Henry’s grandson, has reported that his family were from around Liverpool and were relatively wealthy.[5]

It appears from electoral rolls that Henry was in the Cromwell District, where his earliest mention is in 1876/77. His qualification for the Electoral Roll was “paid rates in Cromwell” so it is likely he owned/had an interest in some land at that time.

During his sojourn at the Queensberry Inn, Henry did have some other income interests apart from the Inn and the farm. There are indications that he had previously entered a partnership with G W Goodger which may not have been successful (Goodger was adjudged bankrupt at one stage), and he maybe had an interest in a nearby gold claim that also came to little.

On 19 January 1886 Henry married Isabella Underwood in Queenstown. Isabella was born in Stafford, England in 1856 (Henry was born at Liscard, Cheshire, England, on 13 December 1843). Isabella came out to New Zealand on the Pleione, departing London on 22 August 1880 and arriving in Wellington on 28 November 1880.[6] It is not known why Isabella had come to New Zealand, although referring to newspaper articles post the arrival in port, there is a good chance Isabella was an assisted emigrant amongst the 100 single women trans-shipped to Port Chalmers. She was listed as a nurse. Their descendants have no knowledge of how Henry and Isabella met.

Is it a coincidence? Emily Elliott wrote that “Mrs Tobin was a relative of the de Bettencors”. William Scheib who was the proprietor of the Queensberry Inn from 1900 to 1907, married Inez Rosa de Bettencor in 1896. The de Bettencors were a well-known Cromwell family. Perhaps Isabella lived and worked in Cromwell after arriving in New Zealand in 1880?

[5] Source: Graham Tobin, his grandson. Phone call Ken Allan/Graham Tobin, March 2022
[6] http://settlersdb.huttcity.govt.nz/Voyages.aspx?vy_id=1456

In 1887, Henry was granted the authority to open a Post Office at Queensberry Inn. This was operated out of the Inn building itself. Later in his life, whilst in Wellington, Henry became employed as a postmaster for a while.

Something happened before he got to Wellington though! In June 1889, Henry was adjudged bankrupt. This meant that all his assets became available to the Official Assignee (less those secured to creditors). The outcome was that Henry lost control of the Inn and the farm. They came under the control of the Official Assignee - the Inn (land, buildings, contents, stock etc., and Section 2 of 320 acres across the road). Henry must have known this was likely to happen as he had been advertising the business and property for sale for months prior, but to no avail. The Official Assignee put them up for sale by auction, and yet again they failed to achieve a satisfactory price. The end result of the failed auction was that the mortgagee, the Bank of New Zealand, became mortgagee in possession, and after other attempts to sell the property, they granted Charles Holden a lease.

Charles Holden arrived in October 1889 from Clyde where he had previously lived for about 25 Years. All the necessary licences of the Inn were transferred to him. Where Henry and his family moved to is not clear, but it is believed it may have been a house between Nineteen Mile Creek and the Inn, situated directly opposite or on Section 3, for which he had been previously granted a DPL on.

The next momentous occasion came in June 1890 – Henry was released from bankruptcy. This means that the creditors (except for the Bank of New Zealand who were owed some £700) were either repaid in full or Henry and his solicitors managed to reach an agreement with the other creditors in respect of a part repayment or a delayed repayment. Henry’s history points to the probability that his family back in England remitted sufficient funds to repay the creditors. What is not understood is that Henry also held a DPL over Section 3 (next door to Queensberry Farm) of 320 acres. The history is that on 4 November 1880, he applied for a DPL for Section 3 but was declined as he already held 320 acres under the DPL for Section 2, but Tom Anderson had converted the Section to an Agricultural Lease in August. Magically, he was granted a DPL in March 1881 (though over what property is not identified in the newspapers). That aside, the rule was supposed to be “maximum 320 acres owned for a DPL.”[7]

The subsequent history of Section 3 was that in 1895, Henry converted the DPL to a Lease in Perpetuity which was a new policy that had recently been announced by the Land Board. Henry, Isabella and their family moved to Wellington about 1901 and in 1903, Section 3 was put up for auction and sold.

[7] I have observed this also occurring with Robert Kidd. Both were well respected men. Kidd was an ex-councillor, (as was Henry sometime later) so maybe some influence was “brought to bear”.

*Henry and Isabella with their children, all born in the Upper Clutha - about 1917*

As previously indicated, during the period 1890 to 1901, it is possible that Henry and his family rented a property on the other side of the road from Section 3 or even on Section 3. Emma Elliott, in her recollections that follow later, recalled the Tobins living about halfway between Nineteen Mile Creek and the Queensberry Inn during the period in question. In another record of Emily’s memories, it is recorded that the Tobin family lived at Ned Smith’s house which was on Section 4. No date was mentioned. It is noted that in 1898, Isabella Tobin “of Queensberry” was the beneficiary of a transfer of Occupational Licence No. 14 from a Thomas Heron, a hotelkeeper of Cromwell, to her. Unfortunately, the newspaper did not identify where the property was, but it was probably closer to Cromwell.

Charles Henry Holden –1889 - 1895

Charles was born 10 April 1841 in Bolton, Lancashire, England and he married Esther Taylor on 12 October 1861. They emigrated from England in 1863 and came to Clyde (Dunstan) where they raised 11 children. He had several employment jobs over the years including:

1883 proprietor of Port Phillip Hotel, Clyde
1900 proprietor of The Bridge Hotel, Cromwell
1904, Cromwell Town Clerk,
1917 proprietor of Temperance Hotel and still Town Clerk

With his experience, it is perhaps little wonder he was asked to come and look after the Queensberry Inn in October 1889. The Lodge Court Star of the Dunstan A.O.F. members and others held a function at the Vincent County Hotel to farewell Charles and his family. He returned to Clyde and Cromwell in 1895. This was when the Bank of New Zealand made other attempts to sell the Inn and land by auction. It was purchased by “Miss Jessie Telford” – but see the following narrative on her.

Charles died in 1920.[8]

[8] https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Holden-2512 (27 March 2022)

George Mason –1895 - 1899

George Mason was the next landlord of the Inn. Little is known of him except that he was married to Elizabeth, and they came from Clyde. From the extensive advertisements in the newspapers, George was involved in horse-breeding, which he continued at Queensberry. They arrived in October 1895 and whilst they were at the Inn they had two children, George Norman b.1896 and Agnes b.1898. Given the dates they arrived at the Queensberry Inn and the story of the next two proprietors, it would appear that the Masons rented the Inn from them, having taken over from Charles Holden.

Jessie Telford and William McLeod –
1899-1900

These two people have had an interesting life. Jessie held herself out as “Miss” and that she was a widow. William was a police sergeant at Cromwell (and other places) and was highly regarded. The fact of the matter was that they married to each other in 1880. It appears that whilst they were married, they lived apart most of the time. This was probably due to Jessie’s connections and property at Clyde and William moving as far away as Christchurch at times. They had no children.

In the Dunstan Times dated 5 July 1895, it was stated that:

Note that she is stated to be “Mrs Jessie Telford” this time. The article is not quite one hundred percent correct as Section 2, the farm (320 acres), was not transferred from the Bank of New Zealand until 1897 and then it was to William McLeod alone[9].

On 13 Jan 1899 an article in the Dunstan Times appeared as follows:

[9] Archives New Zealand query ARC156148 email dated 23 March 2022

On 4 May 1899 Jessie applied for an Accommodation Licence for the Inn which now has 5 rooms available for the travelling public (previously 7 were available). The reduction in room numbers will most likely have come about because of the use of the cottage as the Post Office and Telephone Station.

The “McLeods” did not stay long at the Inn, for in 1900, William sold the properties to William A H Scheib who obtained an Accommodation Licence on 4 June 1900 which included “permission to keep the post office”. Scheib reportedly purchased the inn and farm in March 1900. Things did not get off to a good start as he lost some oaten sheafs and a chaff house and cutter in a fire on 18 March 1900.[10]

Perhaps William McLeod was not in the best of health which may have been the reason for selling. He died in 1904.

[10] Otago Daily Times, 20 Mar 1900, page 4

William Alfred Henry Scheib – 1900 - 1907

William (known as Alfred or Alf) came from Cromwell, where the Electoral Rolls report in 1893 that he was a tailor and later had a bicycle shop. He had purchased the tailoring business of James Roy shortly before January 1893 as indicated in newspaper advertisements. It appears he was a cyclist of some repute prior to coming to Queensberry and he would have had personal knowledge of the Queensberry Inn during some of his reported cycling trips. He was also a councillor at Cromwell (took his seat September 1899 for the Kawarau Ward), played in the Central Otago Brass Band and was also a rugby player. He had married to Inez Rosa de Bettencor from Cromwell, in 1896. In all, they are reported to have had eight children but a birth entry for Iris, who married in 1916, cannot be found.

Alfred apparently travelled to Alaska in 1898 and this report appeared in the Wanganui Herald on 26 July 1898:

Alfred was granted his Accommodation Licence for the Queensberry Inn on 4 June 1900.

After they left Queensberry, they moved to the Luggate Hotel.

*Scheib Family in 1921 - L to R Standing: Ernie, Violet, Eric, Iris.*
*Sitting: Vic, Inez, Ona, Alf, Edna. Daphne absent*

John Brenssell – 1907-1907

John (known as Jack) was the most unsuccessful proprietors of the Queensberry Inn. He purchased the Inn in April 1907 for £720 from William Alfred Scheib. His contribution to the purchase was apparently a whole £20 and he borrowed the rest. Amongst the secured lenders, it is believed the major one was local businessman, D A Jolly.

John had sold his team of eight draught geldings in Dunedin on 28 March 1907 to raise some funds towards stock etc. He was originally from Arrowtown and was then normally resident in Cromwell.

The following appeared in the Evening Star 27 March 1908 following being adjudged bankrupt on 20 March 1908:

A hearing before the Court on 14 September 1908 requesting a discharge from bankruptcy makes it clear what the problems were. Brenssell was represented by B S Irwin:

“The acting Assignee said he understood a telegram had been sent to his Honor(sic) direct.

His Honor: Yes. It wants a good deal of explanation.

Mr Irwin: I understand the assignee reports that the bookkeeping was bad.

His Honor: There is no account of liabilities.

Mr Irwin, appearing in support of the application, said that the man was a waggoner, and sold his team, and was put into the hotel by Mr Jolly. He carried on for six months, when the mortgagees closed down. When he went into the hotel, he owed £100 and after being in six months, his debts mounted to £300. He planted 70 acres in crop. When cut, this crop would be worth about £400. Before it was cut however, the mortgagees seized and sold the property, and the crop was lost to the bankrupt. Brenssell believes that if he had been allowed to cut the crop, he would have been able to meet his liabilities.

Bankrupt was examined at length.

Mr Fisher said he thought the state of the books was the result of ignorance.

His Honor: The bankrupt had no right to go into business at all. He was insolvent when he went into it and as a matter of course, in a few months his difficulties increased. It is impossible from the books kept by the bankrupt to say exactly how the money went. The fact remains however, that after a few months he was £200 more to the bad than when he went into it. I don’t think there is any suggestion of dishonesty or fraud. It is a combination of ignorance and muddle. At the same time, however, no satisfactory records have been kept after bankrupt had gone into business. It is not a case for immediate discharge. Order for Discharge suspended for nine months.”

Some of the expenses would have been spent on renovating and making repairs to the Inn that were called for by the Warden’s Court in 1906.

The mortgagees apparently sold the Inn and buildings to Mary Sachtler, which was approved on 3 Dec 1907. The actual transfer appeared to have occurred on or about 28 October 1907.

Mary Sachtler –1907 - July 1909

Mary had recently become a widow when her husband William died as the owner of the Sachtlers Commercial Hotel in Wānaka.

Mary would have been well-known to the mortgagees involved in Brenssell’s bankruptcy and with her hotel experience, the ideal person to step in temporarily (perhaps). But it was still a commercial transaction for her as she had to mortgage the Inn property to borrow £300 from D A Jolly & Sons from 28 October 1907. In July 1909 she sold the Inn to John Perriam and she moved to Kokonga and operated the Kokonga Hotel. In November 1911 she was advertising the land, livestock and equipment of that hotel for sale. The hotel building was completely destroyed by fire on the night of 7 November 1911 and Mary’s sister, Dorothy Carlton, was seriously burned.

In 1912 she married William Reid from Bannockburn. In 1913 she is recorded as the owner of the Bannockburn Hotel and then William followed in the period 1914 – 1915 as owner.[11] But Mary was to return to the Queensberry Inn a little while later.

[11] The Bannockburn History Project - http://oldbannockburn.nz/Home/Index

John William Perriam – 1909 - 1915

Whilst John purchased the Inn in July 1909 and obtained the necessary licences, the renewal in 1910 was subject to various repairs being undertaken, which were completed and the licences approved. However, that was maybe a portent of what was to come.

All was not ‘plain sailing’ health wise, as he ended up in Cromwell Hospital, seriously ill in July 1912 but managed to recover.

John’s second marriage was to Mary Cameron nèe Lacey in 1904 and they had five sons during their marriage. John’s previous marriage was to Elizabeth Auchinvole nèe Trevathan (a widow) who he married in 1894 and divorced in 1902. Whilst married to Elizabeth, he operated the Cromwell Brewery that she received from her previous husband as a settlement.[12]

In August 1915 he sold out to William Reid of the Bannockburn Hotel. The sale was approved in December 1915. John passed away in 1923 aged 55 years.

[12] https://bimboe9.tripod.com/NZ%20Familt.htm#John%20&%20Elizabeth%20Perriam

William and Mary Reid – 1915 - 1925

It should be noted that renewals of licences by the Health Department had been subject to repairs at both the Bannockburn Hotel and the Queensberry Inn, so the latter building was slowly deteriorating and perhaps William was not so keen on undertaking repairs. In any case, he was called up by the Military Service Board and in 1917 was appealing for more time to sell his business, pointing out that out of nine brothers, six were already serving, another had passed fit, so he would be the eighth brother called up. He was given until March 1918 to sell, but with the possibility of a further extension implied.

Time went on. The 1923 renewal approval would only be forthcoming if certain improvements were made and William and Mary were trying to sell via newspaper advertisements that extolled the success of the business, but without success. In June 1925, William’s application for renewal of licences was declined due to the “dilapidated state of the premises.” At the previous annual meeting William had been warned that the licences would not be renewed for a further year on account of the “out-of-repair” condition and if anything, a year later it was worse.

It meant that the Inn had to be closed, and the Reids had to cease serving alcohol by 30 June 1925.[13]

The committee said they would only consider a renewal for new premises to be built but that did not happen. As a result, the Inn ceased operation as a hotel/public house on 30 June 1925.

William continued to try to sell the properties but unsuccessfully, for quite a while.

[13] Wakatipu Licensing Committee, Dunstan Times, 8 June 1925 Page 5

Subsequent Owners

This is a list of subsequent owners, possibly not in the correct order (apart from the last two):

Tom Allison
Bert Lawless
Alex Stalker
Denis Fastier
In 1993, David and Bev Belsham took over the property and started a restoration project converting what was the groom’s quarters into comfortable B&B rooms. The “Stables” as the building is known, is under a New Zealand Historic Places Heritage Covenant.
In 2011, Jenny and Jed Hall became the owners.