Little River Inn

29/09/2026

𝘼 𝙨𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩...
Things move along apace, and on 23rd May the Nutts leave Wellington on the Shaw Saville liner, Corinthic, bound for London. It is to be their reward for a lifetime of diligence and hard work. With them are Mrs. Nutt’s brother and Samuel, the eldest son. But Mary Nutt will see neither the Old Country, nor her new home in Kaituna. On 7th June she succumbs to illness, and dies on board the Corinthic, aged 65. She is buried at sea. The rest of the party arrives in London on July 8th but decides to curtail their trip and leaves London on October 6th on the Arawa.
Tragedy had shadowed Samuel Nutt’s life, with the stillbirth of grandchildren, the death of a daughter in her first year of life, and now the death of his wife. But misfortune would continue to dog him with the death of another grandson, Samuel James, aged just one day, on January 30th, 1908. But in Little River it’s almost as if they can’t accept that the Nutts have gone, with many continuing to refer to it as “Nutt’s Hotel”.
Samuel would live for another 10 years, his failing eyesight making life increasingly difficult. On October 2nd, 1918, he died at Kaituna in his 82nd year. On October 4th at 1:00 p.m. a funeral procession, consisting of much of the Wairewa district, left Kaituna, heading for Addington cemetery.

⏳To be published in : 𝖡𝗈𝗍𝗍𝗈𝗆𝗌 𝖴𝗉! 𝖠 𝖧𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖫𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝖱𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖧𝗈𝗍𝖾𝗅, 𝖻𝗒 𝖱𝗈𝖻𝗂𝗇 𝖬𝖼𝖥𝖺𝗋𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖽
**Image: www.findagrave.com/memorial/141147407/samuel-nutt

26/09/2026

It certainly feels like 3 hours earlier today 😂🥱

Too tired to cook tonight? We’ve got you. Chef’s got two tasty roasts on—beef 🥩 and pork 🍖. Just the thing for a cold, rainy day!

🧡

23/09/2026

It’s all going on at the Inn today! 🧡

We’re open from midday for lunch, afternoon catch-ups and whatever else the day brings☀⛱

🍻 Happy Hour: 4–7pm
🎟️ Peninsula Pot: 5–7pm, with a ticket for every purchase
💰 Tonight’s Pot: a whopping $1,350!

Come on INN and make a day of it🍻

22/09/2026

𝘼 𝙨𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩...
The world changes, age catches up with all of us, and as 1906 rolls around Samuel Nutt makes the decision to sell the hotel. He’ll be 69 this year, and no doubt starting to feel the creaky effects of age. The hotel has been up and running for 29 years now, with Nutt the proprietor for nineteen of those years. He’s improved it, expanded it, and increased his land holdings. Now he proposes to sell the hotel, the house and fifteen acres of land. But after a flurry of advertising, nothing happens. Perhaps he changed his mind; perhaps in those uncertain times no-one was willing to gamble money on a business venture in a remote community. Whatever the reason, Nutt plods on into winter. His licencing issues have long since vanished, and he’s now a long-standing and respected member of the community. Like most people at that age, Nutt is attending more funerals than weddings. People of his generation are passing on, older members of the Coop and Birdlings families amongst them, and December of 1906 sees the death of George Robinson, without doubt the most prominent member of the Māori population of that era.
In late 1906 Nutt engaged the services of S & A Luttrell, architects, to design a new home in Kaituna. Now it emerges that things have been happening behind the scenes, and on May 17th of 1907 the Akaroa Mail runs the following item in its personal column. “The friends of Mr. S. Nutt are aware that he has disposed of the Forsyth Arms to Mr. Gaskin, late of the Springston Hotel. Mr and Mrs Nutt and family were no less than nineteen years at Little River, and the old couple intend taking a trip to the Old Country at an early date. On their return they intend to reside on their Kaituna property, where a new house is now being built for them.” But while the Mail advertisement of the 17th had framed the sale of the hotel as a well-kept secret, Nutt had already advertised on the 10th that he was seeking a transfer of the licence to Joseph Gaskin.

# ⏳To be published in : 𝖡𝗈𝗍𝗍𝗈𝗆𝗌 𝖴𝗉! 𝖠 𝖧𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖫𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝖱𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖧𝗈𝗍𝖾𝗅, 𝖻𝗒 𝖱𝗈𝖻𝗂𝗇 𝖬𝖼𝖥𝖺𝗋𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖽

**Image: S. and A. Luttrell architects: 1902 c. Christchurch City Libraries Blog

20/09/2026

🏉🔥 NRL SEMI FINAL TONIGHT! 🔥🏉

⚔️ WARRIORS vs KNIGHTS
⏰ 6PM TONIGHT
📺 LIVE & LOUD at the INN!

Grab a table, grab a drink and UP THE WAHS! 🙌🏉

19/09/2026

🎉 **Got a birthday coming up? Come on INN!** 🎂

Celebrate with us and the birthday boy or girl gets a **FREE dessert**—making your day extra sweet! 🍨🧡

We might even sing to you… sorry in advance! 😂🎶

Book your birthday table👉www.littleriverinn.co.nz

16/09/2026

💰 PENINSULA POT – $1,300 THIS WEEK! 💰

Nick thought he had it in the bag last week… but didn’t quite take it home! 😅 So the pot rolls over to a whopping $1,300! 🤑

Grab a (free!) ticket with every purchase between 5–7pm this Thursday—you could be the lucky one! 🍻🧡

16/09/2026

We’re so excited to see this lovely little local store back open after the big flood earlier this year! Welcome back Déjà New Preloved Goods Little River 🎉🧡

Pop in for a browse, hunt out some fabulous preloved treasures, and give them plenty of support♻️👗👜✨

Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose, Regift❣️Selling a wide range of preloved goods, clothing, vintage items, books & much more 🛍️ Located in Little River on the picturesque Banks Peninsula-a wonderful day trip🚗🍃Consignment based store, but accepts donated items

15/09/2026

𝘼 𝙨𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩...
Despite his advancing years, Samuel Nutt was still expanding. In May he bought nineteen and a half acres of land adjacent to the hotel at a cost of £831 ($181,000). The property was well developed, with a five-roomed house, a four-roomed cottage and various outbuildings. Things had been a little quiet at the hotel, the road being closed due to flooding and slips. The water level was such that the Council had ordered skiffs to be brought from Christchurch, so that the outflow of the lake could be reached. May also saw another inquest at the hotel, into the death of Tamata Waka, who, it was determined had “died from the effects of a gunshot wound inflicted by his own hand while temporarily insane”.

Times were changing, and November 1st, 1903, was a milestone date. The first motor car journey from Christchurch to Akaroa was undertaken, the trip being completed in an astonishing 5 hours, even allowing for refreshment stops at every pub along the way. From the Forsyth Arms to Hilltop took a mere 25 minutes. It’s hard to say what Nutt, a diehard horseman, would have thought of this turn of events, although at this early stage the horseless carriage would have been considered faddish. But the fact remains that Nutt had ruled the Forsyth Arms through a period of great economic and social change, and while the timber-rich economy of Wairewa, and its relative isolation, may have shielded him from the full impact of those changes, the future was knocking at the door. Coop’s mill at Springvale closed in 1904 and was then moved to Kaituna. Having exhausted that supply, it would later be moved back to Springvale, chasing the ever-receding timber line. But the simple fact was that the timber was running out, and once the trees were gone there would be only farming.

⏳To be published in : 𝖡𝗈𝗍𝗍𝗈𝗆𝗌 𝖴𝗉! 𝖠 𝖧𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖫𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝖱𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖧𝗈𝗍𝖾𝗅, 𝖻𝗒 𝖱𝗈𝖻𝗂𝗇 𝖬𝖼𝖥𝖺𝗋𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖽
**Image: Postcard of old Hilltop Hotel on Summit Road, Christchurch-Akaroa Highway c1920

13/09/2026

🧡 FULLY BOOKED TONIGHT! 🧡

We’re looking forward to a big one at the Inn tonight, including hosting our Banks Peninsula Netball teams for their end-of-season prizegiving! 🏐🏆

A huge thank you to everyone joining us tonight and for supporting your little local 🧡

We’re looking forward to a fantastic evening — see you all soon!