The Heritage New Zealand category 2 listed building at the southern State Highway1 entrance to town was listed by One Agency last week.
The listing describes the hotel as ‘‘a true piece of Oamaru’s Victorian heritage’’.
It features ten bedrooms, a ballroom, library, music room, formal dining room and several lounge spaces.
The Junction Hotel was built for John McKay in 1879 and originally contained 34 rooms.
Mr McKay declared bankruptcy not long after the hotel’s opening and in 1885 the property was sold to Oamaru hotelier Patrick Corcoran.
The building had been used for different purposes since its time as a hotel, including a general store, a vegetable store, a bottle store and a second-hand bookshop.
It had been largely neglected from the late 1990s until it was purchased in 2019 by the current owner, Ian Murton, who ‘‘resurrected [the building] as a home, not a commercial hotel venture,’’ the listing reads.
The hotel had been operated part-time as a boutique Victorian-era homestay, offering high tea and home tours.
The Waitaki District Council website states when Mr Murton took over the building he found kicked in walls, missing doors, a leaky roof and window joinery in dire need of repair.
The restoration was supported by the Waitaki District Heritage Fund and Heritage New Zealand’s National Heritage Preservation Incentive Fund.
Mr Murton has been approached for comment.
The 320sq m building is for sale by negotiation.
