The Tauranga Hotel Fire, 1936

These dramatic photographs from the Tauranga Heritage Collection show the fire which destroyed the Tauranga Hotel in February 1936.

The fire, which started in the hotel’s staff quarters, drew large crowds and is remembered by many older residents including Mrs Peg Gresham (nee Murray), owner of Gresham Guarantee Garage which was on the corner of First Avenue and Devonport Road.

“The Tauranga Hotel was at the far end of The Strand. In 1936, in the summer of that year, it went up in flames. I don’t know how it happened but it was a most tremendous blaze. A truck parked outside the Bank of New Zealand in Willow Street had a tarpaulin over it and the tarpaulin caught on fire.”

Images courtesy of the Tauranga Heritage Collection.