$ FREE ADMISSION

Opening Hours: Mon – Fri 10am – 4 pm, Weekends and Public Holidays 10am – 2pm.

24 Victoria St, Cambridge , NZ | CONTACT

Opening Hours: Mon – Fri 10am – 4 pm, Weekends and Public Holidays 10am – 2pm.

$ FREE ADMISSION   24 Victoria St, Cambridge , NZ | CONTACT

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The Clements Hotel
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The Clements Hotel was named after Archibald Clements who built the first hotel on this site on Duke Street.

From Ireland to Cambridge

Originally a draper from Ireland, Clements immigrated to New Zealand and quickly became part of Cambridge’s founding years.  In 1866, he built the Masonic Hotel which offered travellers and settlers accommodation, dining and stables.

Why “Masonic”?  For two years, the hotel was home to Cambridge’s fledgling Masonic Lodge before the lodge closed.

A Civic Leader

Clements played a key role in shaping Cambridge’s civic life:

  • Justice of the Peace and local court official (1877)

  • First Chairman of the Town Board (1877)

  • Borough Councillor (1886)

  • Mayor of Cambridge (1888)

  • Member of the Road and Waikato Health Boards

He and his wife Frances Sarah Clements added shops beside the hotel and raised their daughter Anna Marie here.

By 1882, the Masonic had grown to 40 bedrooms, a billiard room, and a striking two-storey verandah.

Masonic Hotel, 1898 CM2958/20

Fire and Tragedy

Disaster struck Duke Street more than once.

  • 1889: A fire wiped out thirteen buildings opposite, but the Masonic escaped with only scorch marks.

  • 1899: A dark chapter unfolded when licensee William Carroll fatally assaulted his wife Elizabeth.  He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Archibald Clements eventually sold the hotel in 1900 and retired to Auckland, where he lived to the age of 91.

1911: Destroyed by Fire

Would Clements recognise his hotel today?  Not at all.  On 13 November 1911, fire struck.  Within half an hour the Masonic was reduced to ashes.  A faulty chimney spark was blamed.

Owner Victor Cornaga, originally from Malta, commissioned Auckland architect John Currie to design a replacement.  Influenced by French Beaux Arts style and Edwardian commercial classicism, the new brick building rose quickly under the workmanship of builder Fred Potts.  It opened just seven months later in 1912.

A Community Hub

For the next century, the Masonic was at the heart of Cambridge’s social life.  It hosted functions, welcomed the Waikato equine community and became a gathering place for locals.

  • The Cornaga family helped found the Cambridge Trotting Club.

  • The Cambridge Hunt Club held its traditional Hunt Breakfasts here.

  • In the 1980s, the Masonic Lounge was named after champion sire Sir Tristram, linking the hotel firmly with the town’s racing legacy.

From Masonic to Clements

In 2025, Jo Pannell and Gerry Westenberg carried out a multimillion-dollar upgrade.  The hotel reopened with a new name: The Clements, honouring the man who started it all back in 1866.

Posted in Town Trail Walking Tour
Cambridge Museum