The earthquake resistance of Chateau Tongariro is still under evaluation

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Grand Chateau Tongariro closed its doors permanently on February 5th of this year. Photo/Wikimedia Commons

By Jamie Ellingham of RNZ

It seems unlikely that Chateau Tongariro will reopen anytime soon while assessing its earthquake resilience.

Now in the hands of the Department of Conservation (DoC), it is being treated as a seismic hazard.

The manager of a nearby resort said the uncertainty left a clear hole in the tourism market ahead of the peak winter season. That is unlikely to change as the State Department sought clarification of the seismic rating of a listed historic landmark in Tongariro National Park.

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Long-term tenant Kah New Zealand withdrew from the mansion in February, and the building returned to the supervision of the Foreign Office.

His absence has been significant, said Sam Clarkson, manager of the nearby Skotel Alpine Resort.

“It will definitely have an impact over the winter, from an accommodation perspective for the public, not just ourselves.

“What will affect us is the additional services provided by the palace, which are bars and restaurants, which are now closed. But people will still need a place to eat and they will knock on our door.”

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That might sound good, Clarkson said, but Skotel was really over capacity.

“It’s actually very upsetting for everyone involved, who are looking for a place to eat, and we’re really not able to cater to them because we’re already full.

“We can’t just put 500 people in our restaurant. It just doesn’t work like that.”

Kah’s 30-year lease expired in April 2020, but he continued to operate the mansion until this year. When conducting due diligence on a potential lease renewal, I sought a seismic assessment that found concerns. However, the exact contents of the report are not known.

“What needs to happen is to understand what’s going on with the seismic report – something no one has seen – and deal with the condition the property is in and make the appropriate decisions,” Clarkson said.

He was clear about the impact of the indefinite shutdown.

“It just makes the place tickle. There’s a constant fallout for local families because they don’t have jobs. It’s negative in every way.”

“It is an iconic building and needs and deserves to be managed – hopefully by a New Zealand entity – to put the love it requires.”

Still awaiting seismic evaluation

Weston Kirton, the mayor of Ruapehu, said the Department of Defense was doing its own seismic review of the palace.

“We are waiting anxiously in this regard to see what level of earthquake strengthening is required for this particular building.

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“Once we have those results, there will be discussions with the DoC about where it should go from here.”

Although the short-term future was uncertain, there seemed to be interest in the palace in the long term.

“We know there are a number of people who are interested in this process and they are meaningful people with some experience in the hospitality and hotel business, so we know they will engage with the local iwi and other stakeholders,” Kirton said.

In a statement, Deputy Director of the State Department’s Office of General Organizational Support Mike Tully confirmed that it had received inquiries from interested parties.

He said the State Department would be in contact with them when they are able to discuss the future of the palace.

We are currently working with the previous tenant [Kah] To terminate matters related to the previous lease. We also collect information about the condition of the palace, including potential earthquake risks.

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“Once the outstanding circumstances with the previous tenant have been resolved and we have more information about the condition of the building, we will be in a position to make decisions about the future of the building.”

That information included its seismic status.

“Until we receive a detailed seismic assessment, we don’t know the earthquake risk with the building. We are currently treating the building as a seismic hazard until we know more.”

KAH has not submitted its seismic assessment to the Department of Defense.

Tully said the DoC has been working with Kah on end-of-tenancy arrangements, so she can’t comment on whether the parties have reached an agreement on how to handle Kah’s improvements to the building.

The palace is still being maintained

Meanwhile, the palace was not left to decay.

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“We have conducted an assessment of the condition of the building, which will provide information on immediate repair and maintenance work. We have maintenance staff working Monday through Friday, covering routine maintenance checks and responding to urgent issues such as leaky pipes.”

The golf course on the property was being kept in “tidy condition,” Tully said. The palace property belonged to Kah.

“We have offered to support Kah for the sale of items of high heritage value, such as Carl Kahler’s painting of pink and white porches, to a public museum.”

RNZ has contacted Kah’s parent company Bayview International for comment but has not received a response.

– RNZ

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