Our History

Colonel Whitmore was sent here to protect the settlers. He named the district Rissington after the neighbouring village he came from in England. Captain Anderson obtained Omatua at the end of the Land Wars and built his home here in 1861. The house changed hands several times and became unoccupied until it was purchased in 1907 by Mr Frank Hutchinson. He married Amy Large in 1907 and the couple restored the homestead which had been unoccupied for several years and had honey running down the walls from all the bees camping there.

In 1911, Miss Jerome Spencer who had been principal at Napier Girls’ High School, moved into live with Mr and Mrs Hutchinson, and ten years later, in 1921 started the first Country Women’s Institute at a meeting in the Garden Room. From 1956 they met monthly at Omatua.

In 1953 a group of Guides used the property for training, and from then on, it was leased to the Guides for a ‘peppercorn rental’. In 1961 the Absolom family generously gifted Omatua and five acres to the Girl Guides of Hawke’s Bay.

Unfortunately, in 1979 the original homestead needed to be replaced, however it was replaced with a modern complex, giving Omatua a new beginning. Facilities include meeting rooms, accommodation, redeveloped picturesque gardens and camping areas.

Since then, Omatua has been host to many events including conferences, seminars, retreats, training, reunions, weddings, picnics, school and church groups, Guiding and Scouting groups, and family groups. We welcome all groups and organisations. The lodge was taken back into ownership by the Absolom family in November 2019.

February 14th 2023 bought with it Cyclone Gabrielle. The cyclone delt a savage blow to the Rissington district where the normally gentle Mangone river became a raging torrent of water, silt, trees and debris. Flood water swept through the lodge and demolished a large amount of the buildings whilst devastating the gardens and surrounds. Omatua has recently been given new lease of life over the 9 months after the cyclone and extensive work has been carried out on the buildings and gardens to bring Omatua into the 21st century, while still honouring its past and long history.