The Josephine Kenning Room 1
Josephine Kenning was a woman of determination and prominence in Lumsden's history.  As a woman on her own with two children, she took on the Royal Mail Hotel in 1899 when it was reported to be in “disgraceful condition” but within weeks of taking possession the whole character of the house changed under her eye.  So cunning was her business acumen, that she was courted to come across to manage the Elbow Hotel which once stood across the railway tracks from us.  
 
The Josephine Kenning Room is a lovely corner double room with a shared bathroom nearby.
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The John Ellis Room 2
John Ellis, widely known as Captain John Ellis, was born in Devon in 1809.  He joined the Royal Navy as a boy and made his first small fortune at a young age by buying and selling tobacco.  As a founding family in Southland, John Ellis was an early pioneer of both Victoria and Southland.  He was noted for his sound business qualities which have been inherited by his descendants that are still locals to this day.  More progress in the early days of Southland are due to the enterprise of the Ellis family than any other in the province.  
The John Ellis Room is a lovely, sunny corner double room with a shared bathroom nearby.  
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The Grace Daley Room 4
Born in Longridge just outside Lumsden in 1901, Grace McDonald lived her entire life as a local member of the community.  Nicknamed “Wean”, she married her husband Jim at the age of 36 and they worked together to become prominent in the building of the Lumsden we know today.
 
The Grace Daley Room is a bright and comfortable double room with an ensuite with a view overlooking White Hills.
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The Lady Barkley Family Room
The railway from Invercargill to Kingston traces its origins in Southland’s famous wooden railway.  An engine specially designed to operate on wooden rails was imported from Australia.  She was named The Lady Barkley after the wife of the Governor of Victoria and hailed as “the first engine that ever snorted along a New Zealand tramway”.
 
The Lady Barkley Room is a spacious family-style accommodation with a queen bed and two sets of bunk beds.
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The Jesse Mason Room 3
As a housemaid at the hotel in 1900, Jessie Mason would have help an enviable position for a female of that era.  A Southland local, Jessie grew up a farmer’s daughter and began work at the hotel not long after her family immigrated from Scotland.  In September of that year, a fire destroyed part of the original Royal Mail Hotel and Jessie courageously was the star witness at the trial giving evidence before the jury.  The speculated cause of the fire…sparked from a locomotive. 
 
The Jessie Mason Room is a spacious triple room with both a queen and single bed with ensuite.  Beautiful bright room with lovely views beyond the town and the hills beyond.
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The John McPherson Room 5
The first school in Lumsden opened in 1879 in a loft above the stables at the back of the nearby Elbow Hotel.  A child injured by a fall from the loft wasn’t the only objection that teacher John McPherson had to the school’s location in that many men “the worse for liquor” came into the stables using bad language.  Mr. McPherson lamented that the children were being taught the work of the Devil from below faster than he could teach them the work of the Lord from above.  
 
The John McPherson Room is a spacious and sunny triple room with both a queen and single bed and a shared bathroom nearby.
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The James Earl Room 6
Born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1866, James Earl arrived in New Zealand on the ship Invercargill in 1873.  As one of the oldest residents of the Lumsden district, he worked for the New Zealand Agricultural Company and gained vast knowledge of sheep management.  He managed large sheep stations in the area and his contribution was at the cornerstone of the establishment of the sheep industry in Southland. 
 
The James Earl Room is a cozy twin room with a quiet and comfortable feel.
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The Dick Dobson Room 7
In the early days, large mobs of cattle were driven down country on the way to the market and, on one such occasion, when a mob was passing through Lumsden an excited beast charged Bertha Tucker, the young daughter of the Royal Mail proprietor at the time, as she ran across the open space between the railway and the hotel.  Dick Dobson, an ex-Queensland cowboy, was oiling his engine and refilling the water tanks, noticed the fleeing girl and caught the charging steer by the horns, and flipped it on its back; no doubt saving her life. 
The Dick Dobson room is a cozy single room with a quiet and simple feel.
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The Peter Hanson Room 8
There was much commerce in the blossoming Southland economy during the 1860s which had both livestock and people traversing between Bluff and Wakitipu.  The discovery of gold in the Wakatipu district intensified this travel and highlighted the current poor road conditions.  The Southland Provincial Council determined railway was the only option and, after much struggle, was finally completed in 1878.  It is said that the coming of the railway was the making of Lumsden which until then had been marked only by a shepherd’s hut.  Peter Hanson was commissioned to build the Royal Mail in 1862 to service these travelers with hotel and stables opening in 1867 where she stands today.  
 
The Peter Hanson Room is a cozy twin room with a quiet and simple feel making it an economical stay for singles and couples.
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