Жаңа Зеландиядағы Тоңгариро шатосының тарихы

Hotel in Tongariro National Park, New Zealand

The Grand Chateau, also known as the Chateau Tongariro, was a hotel and resort complex located close to Whakapapa skifield on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu, within the boundaries of Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's oldest national park. It is also close to the volcanic peaks of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe. The building was completed in 1929 and, despite extensive refurbishment, still retains much of the style of the pre Depression era. It is listed by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 1 historic place. The Chateau Tongariro Hotel closed permanently on 5 February 2023, largely because the building has significant seismic risks.

In 1887 the paramount chief of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Horonuku Te Heuheu Tukino, permitted use of the tribe's land including the sacred mountain peaks of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro – to the people of New Zealand. The agreement was to ensure the area's protection for all time, for all people. In the early 20th century, the approach to Whakapapa was only for the fit and strong. There were miles upon miles of wild country to cross on foot or horseback, wild rivers to ford and mountainous terrain to navigate. Climbers Bill Mead and Bernard Drake imported the first skis seen in the North Island in 1913, and in July of that year were the first to attempt to ski on Mount Ruapehu. They realised the Whakapapa Valley was "much better than any other area of Ruapehu for skiing as well as for summer parties, if it could only be given road access and huts." Rodolph Wigley (1881–1946), the managing director of the Mount Cook Tourist Company, took up the option. He formed the Tongariro Park Tourist Company with a vision to build what was at the time known as The Chateau, alongside the original Whakapapa ski huts, on a land lease of 63 acres. To raise capital for the undertaking the company was floated on the sharemarket, where it was poorly subscribed. The company signed a lease with the government on 9 November 1928, a condition of which was that the building had to be erected by 31 March 1930 (barely 17 months away) and that it "cost not less than £40,000 or more than £60,000". Despite only £30,000 of shares being taken up, Wigley let a contract in late 1928 to Fletcher Construction Company, which also involved Fletchers buying 15,000 of shares in the Tongariro Park Tourist Company. The Chateau was designed by Timaru based Herbert Hall (1880–1939), architect to the Mount Cook Tourist Company, who modelled his design on the Canadian Resort of Lake Louise. Influenced by the hotels built by the Canadian Pacific Railway, such as the Château Frontenac, he designed a neo Georgian structure of four stories and basement. The hotel was lavishly appointed, with panoramic window views, hot and cold running water in every room, and custom made high quality furniture. Wigley had led Fletchers to believe that if they overspent the company would be reimbursed by the Mount Cook Tourist Company. Unfortunately due to the Depression it was in difficulties and so would not pay for the increased expenditure. James Fletcher, the head of the company, approached the Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward and asked him to increase the government loan to £60,000. Ward agreed and Fletcher obtained a promise from Wigley that the bulk of this injection of money would go to pay Fletchers. The Tongariro Park Tourist Company was by now in serious financial trouble, which was not helped by spending lavishly fitting out the hotel. Wigley reneged on the deal and passed on only £10,000. The onset of the depression delayed hopes of a tourism boom; to secure their debt Fletchers put the Tongariro Park Tourist Company into receivership in February 1931, took control of the hotel, and ran it for 3 months before walking away with a loss of £19,000, (which included £1000 of losses incurred during their period of ownership).

In 1932 the hotel was taken over by the National Park Board, who quickly transferred the title to the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, which owned and ran the hotel for the next 26 years. The Chateau then served as a rest and recuperation centre for Air Force personnel returning from service in World War II. After the War was a boom time for Whakapapa skifield, with the installation of ski tows, chair lifts, and new facilities. By the early 1950s the power supplies at the complex were becoming inadequate. In June 1952 the Ministry of Works requested the King Country Electric Power Board to provide a 500 to 600 kW power supply to the Chateau. This resulted in an 8.5 mile long overhead 11 kV transmission line being constructed and commissioned in 1955. This not only supplied power to the chateau but also to the Whakapapa ski field and to several mountain huts on Mount Ruapehu. In the early 1960s a second line was constructed and commissioned in 1964 by the King Country Electric Power Board to improve the reliability of supply to the Chateau and other customers in the area.

In 1990, during a period of Government privatisation of assets, the Chateau was sold to Kah New Zealand Limited, a subsidiary of Oriental Holdings Berhad (OHB), a Malaysian based conglomerate owned by the Loh family, with hotel and restaurant holdings in Singapore and Malaysia. The new owners invested NZ$3 million in refurbishing the complex and renamed it The Grand Chateau (although it is still widely referred to as Chateau Tongariro); the ski area was sold to a separate company. To avoid disturbing guests, the expansion used a Scandinavian system of modular construction, with the rooms built in Auckland and trucked to the site where they were installed using a crane. The Chateau was operated by Bayview International Hotels and Resorts, which is also a subsidiary of Oriental Holdings Berhad (OHB). After the 2008 global financial crisis, skiing holidays dropped off, and Kah New Zealand posted losses for four straight years, totalling $1.9 million, before making a profit again in 2016. Tourism New Zealand raised the possibility of resorts like Chateau Tongariro being purchased by the Government, as was done in 1932, but this was rejected.

When a long term lease expired in April 2020, Kah New Zealand switched to monthly leases, rather than take a new long term lease. On 27 January 2023, it became known that the hotel's future was uncertain over required earthquake strengthening. Four days later, it was announced that Kah was to close the hotel permanently on 5 February and hand it to the Department of Conservation, due to seismic risks.

A detailed seismic assessment indicated that the building represented a risk to occupants that was 25 times that of a building complying with standards for new builds. Deficiencies were identified with parapets and chimneys at risk of falling, inadequate bracing, unreinforced masonry infill, and under strength foundations.

In 2023, the Western branch of the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects recognised the Chateau Tongariro with its Enduring Architecture award. The award citation said:text=Its place in New Zealand’s architectural history is more than a building that’s highly recognisable. The Chateau represents architectural excellence in an era when the country was uncertain about its vernacular but aspired to showcase its wonder.