This is one of the older shops of the line of commercial premises along Beach Road which face the harbour. It was built probably soon after 1888 and probably as a butcher’s shop.
At different times later in its life it was a grocery store, a shoe store, a home, a boat-hire premises, a TAB (betting shop), a gift shop, a wine shop and a real-estate agency. This varied career is typical of commercial premises in small New Zealand towns.
It is a simple gable-ended building, built parallel to the street with a verandah over the footpath. Exactly which features of the building are original or early is unclear, but older features include the rusticated weatherboards and some of the windows.
