Pubs, Hotels, Taverns and Bars in Northland, New Zealand

The Duke of Marlborough Hotel, Russell, Northland

Kororāreka, now Russell, was a rough whaling port whose grog shops earned it a reputation as the "hellhole of the Pacific", though missionaries probably exaggerated it. Joel Polack opened the country's first commercial brewery there in 1835, and on 30 October 1840 the Duke of Marlborough received New Zealand's first liquor licence; the hotel was burnt during the Northern War of 1845 and later rebuilt. Over on the Hokianga, the oldest part of the Horeke Hotel is said to date from around 1833.