(42) Theatre Royal and Puettelkow's Provincial Hotel, corner Tay and Conon Streets, c.1880

Component — Box: ICC-0998

Identifier: S27520001_042

Staff Only

Theatre Royal and Puettelkow's Provincial Hotel, corner Tay and Conon Streets

Scope and Contents

Theatre Royal and Puettelkow's Provincial Hotel on the south west corner of the intersection of Tay and Conon streets, Block XII, section 14.

Dates

c.1880

Conditions Governing Use

This item has no known copyright restrictions. Please reference Invercargill City Libraries and Archives A0105 S27520001_042 when re-using this image.

Biographical / Historical

August Heinrich Puettelkow was a native of Prussia. He leased the land on the corner of Tay and Conon Streets and built the Provincial Hotel in 1862. He built the Theatre Royal in 1863 on adjoining land in Conon Street, between the hotel and the Mechanics’ Institute (Lake Wakatip Mail, 3 October 1863 p6). It opened in December 1863 (Southland Times, 28 Dec 1863, p.2).

Puettelkow held the licence for the Provincial until 1868 at which time he retired from business and the licence was transferred to Joseph Farrar Jones. In 1869, the licence was transferred back to Marie Louise Puettelkow, A.H. Puettelkow’s wife, after her husband’s death. Maria was later remarried to Henry William Mayo in 1872. The Provincial and the adjoining Theatre Royal were destroyed by a disastrous fire on 21 April 1884.

Puettelkow’s building of his two boats on the street outside the hotel made headlines. The Danzig was launched in February 1866 (Report in The Southland Times 14 February 1866, p.2). The Waihopai was launched in October 1867 (Report in The Southland Times 25 October 1867, p.2). Both vessels were launched into the Invercargill Estuary and Puettelkow engaged them for coastal freight service.