History
A brief History of The Norcross Falls Heritage Trust
The Falls Hotel is a two story Kauri building built in 1854 by “Long John” McLeod, a mill manager for Thomas Henderson (the founder of Henderson). It was originally built on the corner of, what is now known as Rail Side Avenue and The Great North Road, and was constructed to provide accommodation for the workers at Henderson Mill.
According to historians, the original Hotel had 22 rooms, a small general store, and handled the local mail. The first hotel manager was John McLeod although it is not known if this is the same John McLeod who built the building.
The name of the building has changed numerous times over the years. In 1873 it was known as McLeod’s Hotel. In 1874 the name changed to Aritui Hotel and then 5 years later it became the Oratia Hotel. These name changes are thought to have occurred whenever a new manager was in charge and a new license was needed. In the 1880’s it was renamed Falls Hotel, probably because of it close proximity to the Waitakere Falls. The Waitakere Falls were the most spectacular falls in the ranges until the reservoir dam was built which slowed the falls to a trickle. Again the name changed in 1925 to the Central Boarding House and in 1931 it changed to Central Private Hotel but was used as boarding house for the next 30 years.
During this time Steve Ozich was the owner responsible for many of the improvements to the building. He added bathrooms to the rear; two extra doorways to the verandas on both levels and also added the veranda screens. He was the unfortunate owner when fire struck.
The Norcross Family have run businesses in Henderson for over 75 years. They kindly gifted the building to the community in 1996. Bob Harvey, the mayor of Waitakere City at the time, authorised moving the building to its current resting place in December of 1996.
In 1997 Henry Norcross was appointed the chairman of the Reconstituted Falls Hotel Preservation Trust and proceeded to complete its restoration. Restoration was quickly completed and the Falls Hotel was opened for business on June 22nd 1998, with the Mayor of Waitakere City officially re-opening the building on July 25th.
For over 150 years The Falls Hotel has been an integral part of the community’s past. It is acclaimed as one of the oldest (if not the oldest) buildings in Henderson.
History of the Norcross Family in Henderson
The story of my family’s association and love of Henderson is well told in the Norcross family history published on January 1 2000. It doesn’t tell the story of my grand fathers and fathers financial generosity to the Holy Cross Church and Holy Cross School…
While my sister Ann, brothers Charlie and Anthony and I were all running successful business in Henderson we had the opportunity to employ many hundreds of West Aucklanders.
At its peak Norcross Printing employed 168 of those. My wife and I purchased the half share in The Falls Hotel that we did not own and officially gifted it to the citizens of West Auckland in 1996. In 1997 the then Mayor of Waitakere City Bob Harvey asked me to be Chairman of the Norcross Falls Hotel Preservation Trust after the original trust had gone into recess.
I accepted the position and together with a group of other West Auckland business people we raised $1.1 million and completely restored the building and reopened it to the public in July 1998. Although it was at the Mayors suggestion that we call it The Norcross Falls Hotel we decided as a family that we should not include the word Norcross. 16 years later I am still Chairman of the Falls Hotel Preservation Trust.
In 1999 The Henderson Heritage Trust was formed and I was the original Chairman. The first project was to restore the Henderson Railway Station. Council and a previous group had tried in vain to secure the station but Trans Rail stated it was not possible. So in 2003 together with another member of The Heritage Trust (Mr Vic Sunde) we flew to Wellington and by the end of the day Trans Rail agreed to sell us the station. So my wife and I purchased the station and in turn gifted it to The Henderson Heritage Trust.
Mr Michael Joyce took over as Chairman of The Heritage Trust in 2004 and have since restored The Anglican Church on the Corban Estate and the railway station thanks to major financial contributions from The Falls Hotel Preservation Trust we believe The Falls Resturant is a focal point in West Auckland Society. Over the years in HendersonI have been involved in the following organisations.
Chairman of Save The Children Fund
Chairman of Holy Cross Church Christian Doctrine Program
Chairman of Holy Cross Church Planned Giving
Chairman of Liston College Advisory Board
Chairman of Henderson Free Bus Committee
Chairman of Henderson Rotary Club 1977 78
President of Henderson Businessmens Association
Chairman of Rotary District 292 Student Exchange Program 1978 79
Appointed a Justice of the Peace 1980 – 2022 / 42 years
District Governors Assistance District 292 1980 81
Presented with a Waitakere City Millenium Award 2000
Chairman of Falls Hotel Preservation Trust 1997
Chairman of Henderson Heritage Turst 1999 2002
Elected to Waitakere City Business Hall of Fame 1998
Chairman Westgate Partnership 2013
Image Gallery
The Norcross Falls
The Falls Hotel
Sitpan (Steve) Ozich was the owner of the Falls Hotel for approximately sixty years purchasing the building in the late 1920s. He was a Croatian immigrant arriving in New Zealand at the age of sixteen in 1906. Over the years Steve did various jobs including working as a gum digger, carter and orchardist.
Steve eventually became a real estate agent, land valuer and taxi driver. At this time he brought the Falls Hotel for his wife Anna to run as a business. The Falls Hotel was located at the corner of Great North Rd and Station Rd, now known as Railside Avenue. The hotel had previously been known as the Oratia Hotel and Steve renamed the Falls Hotel the Central Hotel.
Prohibition meant that the hotel could not serve alcohol so Anna Jane and her five children ran it as a boarding house. Located close to Henderson railway station there were always men looking for accommodation and the thirteen upstairs bedrooms were almost always full. For a pound a week they were given a bed, breakfast, cut lunch and dinner. At the same time seven days a week morning and afternoon teas were also available at the Falls Hotel.
The house suffered two fires the second fire in 1952 began under suspicious circumstances during the night, allegedly started by the jealous girlfriend of one of the boarders. A previous fire years before had been started by painters causing the roof to catch fire. Neither of these two incidents caused any great damage to the building.
In the early 1950’s the house ceased to be a boarding house and became a home to Steve’s extended family members.
1961: The Falls Hotel was moved about 14 meters back from the Great North Road side of the house. This gave better access to the property and Steve space to build more shops on Railside Avenue.
1978: Steve sold the house to the Norcross Family and moved to Rathgar Road to live with family members. Steve died in 1994 aged 103 years. His wife Anna Jane predeceased him in 1972 aged 79 years.
1996: The hotel was moved to Falls Park and renovated into a restaurant downstairs and conference rooms upstairs.
As told by grandchildren of Steve Ozich.
The Henderson Railway Station
The Henderson Railway
The line was open for business to Henderson on December 21, 1880 with an extension of the existing timetables of mixed trains but it was not until July 18, 1881 that the link was finally completed with the Kipara Railway at Kumeu. The Waitakere tunnel had been a major undertaking, the stiffness of the clay presented many problems as did the filling in of neighboring swampland. Started on the Swanson side a perfectly straight shaft of 270 yards was driven through the ridge to meet up accurately with the face of the cutting on the Waitakere side. On January 28, 1881 a formal breakthrough was made amidst cheers that re-sounded through the tunnel before the contractors, foreman, miners, bricklayers and laborers marched to a banquet led by Mr Collins, a blacksmith, playing patriotic airs on the flute. The men were complimented on their work and on an unblemished safety record. Unfortunately the following day a ganger was killed when he was struck by a work train.
The first passenger train to run between Auckland and Henderson did so on March 17, 1881, a special train carrying patrons to the annual Henderson’s Mill, St. Patrick’s Day race meeting. The train consisted of twenty carriages, some of which were actually passenger cars but the majority were benched and canopied wagons popularly known as “cattle trucks”. The train was hauled by four locomotives.
Rail travel for Henderson settlers put Auckland within easy reach and solved many problems for the previously isolated community. All trains were mixed trains, goods trains with accommodation for passengers attached at the rear. The carriages were small, spartan, four and six wheelers with longitudinal seats. First class compartments boasted horse hair cushions on the seats and coir mats on the floors, wooden seats were considered satisfactory for the second class passengers. Smokers were generally expected to stand out in the cold on the carriage platform but where a compartment was provided for them large brass spitoons were fitted. Lighting was by means of colza oil lamps. Improvements came gradually but the speed at which Auckland could be reached far outweighed the discomforts.
St Michael's Church
Corban Estate
Old St Michael’s is an Anglican church, built in 1914. In 1962, the building was moved aside to make room for the present Anglican church, and later the old church was moved across the road into the grounds of CEAC, the Corban Estate Arts Centre, where it was restored by the Henderson Heritage Trust during 2007. The gothic style building with a steep pitch roof, arched windows, and stained timber interior is listed as a Category 3 historic building. An early bishop of Auckland laid the foundation stone. It is no longer used as a church, but is available for hire for weddings and all kinds of functions (through CEAC).
History Articles of Norcross Falls Hotel
