Criterion Hotel (Daniel O'Brien, proprietor), Devon Street, New Plymouth. The Criterion Hotel is a fine three-storied building with wide balconies; it is situated in the centre of the town, and is complete and up-to-date in every respect. It contains forty-one bedrooms, several sitting rooms, a large drawing room, a splendid commercial room, and a billiard room. The tariff is moderate; the table and accommodation good, and the liquors of the best brands. The proprietor makes the comfort and convenience of guests and travellers his first consideration.

Mr. Daniel O'Brien, the Proprietor of the Criterion Hotel, was born in Melbourne, Australia, in the year 1847, and was brought up on a farm in Victoria. He took up horse racing, and in 1867 came to New Zealand. For a time he was part proprietor of the Empire Hotel in Oamaru, and from 1883 to 1888 he conducted an hotel and racing stables at Riccarton, Canterbury. He has at various times been owner of such well known horses as Carbine, Trenton, Tasman (who won the first New Zealand Cup), Loyalty, and many others, and is still an owner of racehorses, and takes a keen interest in sport. Mr. O'Brien is married.

Collis, photo.
Devon Street: Looking West.

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Collis, photo.
Mr. D. O'Brien.

Taranaki Hotel (Henry John Julian, proprietor), Brougham Street, New Plymouth. This hotel is built of wood and iron. It contains twenty-five rooms, of which seventeen are bedrooms, and seven are sitting rooms; and the dining room will seat twenty-eight guests.

Mr. Henry John Julian, Proprietor of the Taranaki Hotel, has been in charge of the establishment since the beginning of the year 1904. He was previously, for a short time, landlord of the Midhurst Hotel, and for some years before that had the Railway Hotel at Inglewood. Mr. Julian is referred to in another article as a former member of the Inglewood Town Board.

Mr. Robert H. Campbell, formerly proprietor of the Taranaki Hotel, New Plymouth, is a native of Ireland, and arrived in Auckland in the year 1870. After a short time in that city he went to Canterbury, where he was engaged in farming and contracting for about two years, and used seventy horses, and fourteen double-furrow ploughs. In 1882 he removed to Parihaka, where he received from the Government the transport contract for the conveyance of the troops, and removal of the Maori prisoners during the Te Whiti disturbances, and employed in the work about forty teams. Mr. Campbell next removed to Greymouth, where he acquired the well known Club Hotel, which he conducted for four years. After this he was successively in occupation of the Mail Coach Hotel, at Hawera, and of hotels at Woodville and Stratford; and in 1898 he acquired possession of the Taranaki Hotel in New Plymouth. Mr. Campbell, who is a very keen sportsman and an active supporter of racing, afterwards removed to Kaponga.

The Terminus Hotel occupies one of the best sites in New Plymouth in St. Aubyn Street, overlooking the sea. It is a modern two-storey building, surrounded on the front and sea side by a broad balcony, which provides a pleasant promenade. The house contains about twenty-five bedrooms, with smoking, commercial, drawing and ladies' sitting rooms, all furnished comfortably and with good taste. The hotel stands on about two acres of nicely laid out grounds. A short distance from the hotel, and surrounded by shrubberies, there are two detached cottages; one of which contains nine rooms, and the other two rooms. In each case the rooms are well furnished, and at either cottage married couples or private families can enjoy the privacy of a home. The “Terminus” has also a fine tennis court, which affords visitors an opportunity for healthy recreation. The situation of the house is considered the most healthy in New Plymouth, and persons who take up their quarters at the “Terminus,” find that the mild climate, combined with the bracing sea air, soon restores their health.