Highs & Lows: Masonic Hotel, Gisborne
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Top Left: During the 1954 Royal Tour, a young Queen Elizabeth II arrives beneath the grand verandah of the Masonic Hotel, one of Gisborne's most prestigious buildings at the time.
Bottom Left: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stand on the recessed central balcony of the Masonic Hotel, acknowledging the local crowds gathered below during their 1954 visit.
Top Right: The entrance of the former Masonic Hotel today, photographed from almost the same position as the 1954 royal arrival.
Bottom Right: Once the social heart of Gisborne, the Masonic Hotel now stands vacant and weathered. As a ghostly reminder of its former glory, the recessed central balcony where the Queen and Prince Philip greeted Gisborne crowds in 1954 can still be seen between the hotel's imposing white columns.
If buildings could talk, the old Masonic Hotel would probably begin with:
"Sit down. This may take a while."
And fair enough.
For more than a century, the Masonic occupied one of the most prominent corners in Gisborne.
Standing at the intersection of Gladstone Road and Lowe Street, it wasn't just a hotel. It was where visitors arrived, where deals were done, where stories were swapped, and where Gisborne showed off its best suit.
At one point, it was the most prestigious hotel in the city.
Then something very Gisborne happened.
We more or less forgot about it.
A Hotel Rebuilt, Rebuilt, and Rebuilt Again
The Masonic's story began in the 1870s. Like many early New Zealand hotels, it experienced fires, rebuilds, expansions and the occasional brush with disaster.
The Masonic Hotel was so-named as there was a Masonic lodge premises on the upper floor.
The version most people remember today was constructed between 1928 and 1930 during a period when Gisborne was feeling confident about its future. It was grand, modern and unmistakably important.
For decades it stood as one of the defining buildings of the city.
Then the Hawke's Bay earthquakes arrived in 1931.
The hotel survived, although its distinctive tower did not. The tower was removed, leaving behind the building we recognise today.
The Day the Queen Had Lunch
In January 1954, Gisborne received a visitor who attracted slightly more attention than the average tourist.
Queen Elizabeth II.
Fresh from her Coronation Tour of New Zealand, the newly crowned Queen and Prince Philip visited Gisborne as part of the first ever tour of New Zealand by a reigning monarch.
Across the country, an estimated three out of every four New Zealanders saw the royal couple during their visit.
When they came to Gisborne, the Masonic Hotel became royal headquarters.
The hotel's Royal Suite hosted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and photographs from the day show huge crowds lining the streets while police attempted the difficult task of keeping enthusiastic Gisborne residents vaguely organised.
The Queen lunched at the hotel before continuing her official engagements. Hotel staff reportedly crowded the balconies hoping for a glimpse of their royal guest.
Imagine explaining to someone in 1954 that seventy years later the building would be sitting empty and unloved while people argued on Facebook about what should happen to it.
History has a sense of humour.
Gisborne's Most Famous Ghost Building
The building ceased operating as a hotel in 1987.
Since then it has spent decades in slow-motion decline with various plans of refurbishment announced and then quietly forgotten.
If you've read our article on Gisborne's ghost buildings, you'll already know the Masonic is one of the undisputed heavyweights.
Currently it’s been held in limbo due to a dispute involving drug deals, tax evasion & ownership.
Not quite abandoned.
Not quite restored.
Not quite forgotten.
Just... there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Growing older.
Collecting rumours.
Every Gisborne local seems to have a theory.
Someone knows someone who nearly bought it.
Someone heard redevelopment was imminent.
Someone swears construction is about to start next month.
Someone else heard that twenty years ago.
The Masonic has become the architectural equivalent of "I'll get around to it eventually."
Peak Gisborne
Of course, there is a certain irony in all this.
Many cities would consider a four-storey heritage landmark sitting on the most prominent corner in town to be an urgent matter.
Gisborne looked at it for several decades and collectively replied:
"Yeah. We should probably do something about that."
Then wandered off to the beach.
This is not necessarily a criticism.
One of Gisborne's greatest strengths is its refusal to panic.
The downside is that occasionally a building that once hosted royalty can spend a generation waiting for a decision.
The Rumours
Ask locals about the Masonic and the conversation quickly becomes interesting.
There are stories of hidden rooms.
Stories of old tunnels.
Stories about former hotel guests and their ghosts.
Stories about what remains behind locked doors.
Like all great old buildings, separating fact from fiction becomes increasingly difficult with time.
The building's long history has created a layer of local mythology that may be almost as valuable as the bricks themselves.
Whether any of the rumours are true is almost beside the point.
The mystery has become part of the attraction.
The GisborneNZ Take
The old Masonic Hotel tells a story that is bigger than one building.
It tells the story of Gisborne itself.
A city confident enough to host a Queen.
Relaxed enough to let one of its grandest buildings end up hosting pigeons and drift into limbo.
Hopeful enough to believe that next year might finally be the year something happens.
One day the Masonic may be restored.
One day it may find a new purpose.
One day the lights may come back on.
Until then, it remains exactly what every good ghost building should be:
Part history.
Part mystery.
Part local legend.
And very, very Gisborne.
