The claim
On Russell's waterfront, once the lawless whaling port of Kororāreka, the Duke traces its roots to an ex-convict's grog shop of 1827. It claims New Zealand's first liquor licence, issued in 1840. Fire and war took two buildings, and the current one arrived by steam traction engine in 1932. Today it has a bayside deck, rooms and serious wine and beer lists.
What the records show
The hotel traces itself to Johnny Johnston's grog shop of 1827 — an ex-convict, well regarded locally, in its own telling — and claims New Zealand's first liquor licence, issued in 1840. Neither has been traced to a document, and no entry on the New Zealand Heritage List for the building could be found. Two buildings were lost before this one: the first burned in the Battle of Kororāreka in 1845 and a successor in 1931. The house standing now was built in 1875 at Cable Bay for telegraph workers, shipped down the coast and hauled onto this site by steam traction engine in 1932, so the fabric is a century younger than the claim and was never built as a pub at all. The hotel says it has been at the heart of Russell since 1827 and names the Meins as its present hosts.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1827 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| c.1875 | Present building | Building fabric |
What to look for inside
- Claims New Zealand's first liquor licence (1840)
- Original building burned in the 1845 Battle of Kororāreka
- Current building dragged into place by steam traction engine in 1932
Visiting
Duke of Marlborough Hotel is in Russell, New Zealand, at 35 The Strand, Russell. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- www.theduke.co.nz/history
- www.theduke.co.nz/
- www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/go-nz-where-is-new-zealands-oldest-pub/WBAGX5IHUNX2EOUVI5SLMTMY6Q/
- www.theduke.co.nz/history-heritage/
- northlandhistory.blogspot.com/2014/01/who-had-first-publicans-license-for.html
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
Run this pub? There is a badge for it
Free to put on your own site, no permission needed. It shows what the pub claims and what the records support, and it changes when the data does.
How to use it, and how to change what it says — if you have a document we have not seen, we would like to read it.
