Historic Sites : Bath House
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| Back then: The Coronation Bathhouse in Queenstown Bay pictured back in the 1930s |
Bath House
Article from Mountain Scene :
Bustling cafe restaurant The Bathhouse is a far cry from its original incarnation built in 1911 to commemorate the coronation of King George V.
Down the years, the fortunes of the iconic building have ebbed and flowed like the waters of Lake Wakatipu, on the shores of which it stands.
It began as a fashionable bathhouse, complete with changing stalls, jetty and diving platforms but was later abandoned, vandalised and flooded to become derelict.
Threatened with demolition in the 1980s, the structure was eventually saved, renovated and reborn as an architects’ studio and then a restaurant.
To mark its centenary, elderly residents of Frankton’s Wakatipu Home & Hospital are being treated to high tea at The Bathhouse today.
Current restaurant operator Karen Brown: “I’ve been here all my life and we used to play in the bathhouse when it was ruins.
“It is such a beautiful site.
“I bought it two years ago with Alana Gould. I always thought it was a shame the restaurant was fine dining – it should be used by everyone.
“It is definitely a challenging little place to work because it is so tiny. On a sunny day the whole place can be full with more than 100 people inside and out, but only two chefs can fit in the kitchen.
“Patrons are always asking ‘where’s the kitchen’. They think it’s underneath.”
The Bathhouse on Marine Parade is now a cafe by day offering tapas and then a popular restaurant by night.
The first sod was turned by Miss H.E. Beety, with appropriate pomp and circumstance, during a coronation procession. Miss Beety had written to the borough council offering £20 – about $3500 in today’s money – towards the construction of a bathhouse.
It was built by John Salmond at a cost of £315 – about $55,000 now – with the distinctive crown added by another contractor.
Officially opened in March 1912, it became a popular public changing room and children’s play area.
But in the 1960s, when a town swimming pool was built, the bathhouse fell into disuse. It then became a summer teahouse for students and was also later used by the Wakatipu Rowing Club, which tacked on an addition.
By the late 70s, the building was dilapidated and needed major restoration. The council had planned to demolish it in 1988 but the Department of Conservation and the Historic Places Trust replaced rotten timber.
By 1993, all that remained of the original structure was the central octagon. It was run-down, subject to vandalism and vulnerable to flooding.
The council offered the building for commercial lease and the project was taken on by local heritage architect Jackie Gillies, who restored and transformed it into her studio.
Then in 1996, Gillies converted the bathhouse into a restaurant, reinstating the original changing room wings in a new form and adding a kitchen.
Restaurateur Guy Evatt took over the building, also raising the structure by about 50cms to lift it above the flood line and installing an underfloor wine cellar.
Evatt was followed as restaurant operator by Ben Chardome and now Brown. Evatt also on-sold the building to Queenstown landlord Chris James.
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