Victoria Arms Hotel

Situated in the Old Cromwell precinct the Victoria Arms Hotel has been offering food, refreshments and lodgings for nearly 150 years. Established in 1863 and was the only pub that survived the flooding caused by the building of the Clyde dam.

The Victoria Hotel (renamed the Victoria Arms Hotel by NZ Breweries in the 1960’s) was established in 1863 by Mrs. A Box who owned the hotel for 14 years, until she sold out to Mr. James Stuart in 1877. Mr Stuart was the former owner of the Ferry Hotel in Bannockburn. James Stuart owned the Victoria Hotel until his death in 1899 and his wife carried on with the hotel, having it re-modelled near the turn of the century.

The building of the Clyde Dam saw the drowning of the only other two hotels operating at the time, leaving the Victoria Hotel (also known as the top pub) as the only hotel operating in Old Cromwell town, which it still is today.

The Victoria Arms Hotel has been offering food, refreshments and lodgings for nearly 150 years, and plans to continue doing so for the next 150 years.