A watercolour of the Aohanga Hotel, undated.
Source: Wairarapa Hotels past and present / Kevin Fearon and Alexander Johnston. 1998 

Aohanga Hotel

Today it seems extraordinary that a 15-bedroom hotel would be built near the estuary of the Aohanga River, north of Mataikona, but this hotel - built in the 1850s - was a watering hole for locals and a crucial stopping point for the many who used the "coastal highway" to walk from Wellington to Ahuriri in Napier.

At a time when there were hardly any roads, pakeha travelled round the country by walking round the coast, or used the little steamers which regularly called at places such as Castlepoint. The coastal highway was also used to bring livestock up from Wellington.

There was a ferry to get across the Aohanga river estuary, as there was also at the Whareama River mouth, and Lake Ferry.

John Groves senior, storekeeper for Thomas Guthrie, observed that people called regularly at the Castlepoint Store for food and other supplies, including a fair bit of alcohol. It seems the coastal highway was well used.

The Aohanga Hotel - also known as the Aohanga Ferry Hotel - was in existence for some 50 years.

The North Wairarapa Roads Board - which covered the Tinui and Castlepoint districts, right up to Akitio - held its first meeting at this hotel.

Pāpāuma Marae 

The 6880 hectare farm on which the hotel sat is owned by the proprietors of the Aohanga Incorporation and is home to Owhanga Station and the Papaumu Marae. Each year the Aohanga Horse Sports are held, with riders trekking up from Mataikona and Castlepoint.

Sources:  Wairarapa Hotels past and present / Kevin Fearon and Alexander Johnston. 1998
Aohanga Incorporation website