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36-581: Waitomo Caves Hotel (originally called Waitomo House and later Government Hostel at Waitomo ) is a historic hotel built in 1908 that is located in Waitomo District , King Country above Waitomo Caves in New Zealand . The hotel initially had only six bedrooms, and was later expanded in 1927–1928 with the addition of 24 more rooms, along with a new kitchen and dining room. The building is famous for its unique style of New Zealand Victorian . Some claim that

72-571: A karstic system with stalactites, stalagmites and glowworms 12 kilometres northwest of Te Kūiti. Waitomo also has an Edwardian hotel , built in 1908 and added onto in the 1930s. The hotel overlooks the Waitomo Caves village. Te Anga Road, a winding road from State Highway 3 in the Marokopa River area, leads past the Waitomo Caves, Mangapohue Natural Bridge , Piripiri Caves, and Marokopa Falls. Numerous other limestone caves are found throughout

108-603: A paywall system, with readers being offered unlimited access to content on The Post , The Press and Waikato Times websites for a NZ$ 1.99 weekly subscription fee. Stuff.co.nz has won numerous awards at the Newspaper Publishers' Association awards (currently branded as the Voyager Media Awards ) including Best News Website or App in 2014 and 2019, and Website of the Year in 2013 and 2018. In July 2008, during

144-572: A New Zealand television show. Director Guillermo del Toro claimed to have encountered a ghost when he stayed a night at the hotel. The hotel was the single biggest inspiration for his 2015 film Crimson Peak . Waitomo District The District covers the west coast from Te Maika, on Kawhia Harbour , to the north of Taharoa , to Mokau in the south and extends inland to Maniaiti / Benneydale and Mount Pureora . Waitomo District covers 3,534.84 km (1,364.81 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 10,050 as of June 2024, with

180-484: A cybercafe in Auckland , after announcing its intention to go online more than a year earlier. The development of Stuff was supported by Don Higgins, Corporate Development Manager and Mark Wierzbicki, founding Internet Business Manager. Advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi conceived the name "Stuff", and INL had to buy the domain name from a cyber squatter . In its first month, the site had 120,000 unique visitors. At

216-947: A population density of 2.8 people per km . Waitomo District had a population of 9,585 in the 2023 New Zealand census , an increase of 282 people (3.0%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 678 people (7.6%) since the 2013 census . There were 4,845 males, 4,722 females and 21 people of other genders in 3,588 dwellings. 1.8% of people identified as LGBTIQ+ . The median age was 39.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 2,022 people (21.1%) aged under 15 years, 1,668 (17.4%) aged 15 to 29, 4,197 (43.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,698 (17.7%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 62.6% European ( Pākehā ); 45.3% Māori ; 4.4% Pasifika ; 5.0% Asian ; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English

252-525: Is a fine example of the respective styles of its two architects it was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980 as a Category 2 Historic Place on 28 June 1990. According to stuff.co.nz , Waitomo Caves Hotel is the fourth most haunted spot, and the most haunted hotel, in New Zealand. There have been claims of bathtubs dripping blood, orbs bouncing around the driveway and a Māori princess stalking

288-815: The Covering Climate Now international initiative. In 2019, Stuff launched an investigative journalism documentary series called Stuff Circuit with funding from New Zealand on Air . Notable titles and topics have included Big Decision ( abortion law reform ), Life + Limb (New Zealand's military involvement in the War in Afghanistan ), False Profit (which focused on conspiracy theorist and New Zealand Public Party founder Billy Te Kahika ), Deleted (which looked at New Zealand companies alleged to be complicit in human rights abuses in Xinjiang ), Disordered (which focused on

324-540: The Edwardian period Campbell looked back to the previous century for influence designing a two-storeyed shiplap weatherboard asymmetric building with none of the four facades the same. On two facades it had continuous verandas on both the ground and first floor levels. There was a two-storeyed bay window on the rounded corner. The bay is continued beyond the corrugated iron roof to form an impressive octagonal turret which has an eight-sided pavilion roof. Multiple chimneys puncture

360-471: The Manawatu-Wanganui Region. The Waitomo district was declared in 1976. The current district mayor is John Robertson, who defeated incumbent Brian Hanna in the 2019 New Zealand local elections . The district is a rural, predominantly dairy farming, region. The area's main industries include sheep farming, forestry , and limestone quarrying. The area is known for the popular Waitomo Caves ,

396-653: The Public Works Act. In 1905 the Tourist and Health Resorts Department purchased Waitomo House and its success under their ownership persuaded them to commission a more modern replacement from the Public Works Department. The building was designed by John Campbell who at the time was the architect-in-charge of the Public Buildings Division of the Public Works Department. Despite being designed during

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432-519: The Stuff Group's North Island newspapers Taranaki Daily News , Manawatu Standard and the Wairarapa Times-Age would be hosted on The Post 's website while South Island newspapers The Southland Times , Nelson Mail , Timaru Herald and Marlborough Express would be hosted on The Press 's website. This reorganisation was part of the Stuff Group's transition towards

468-573: The Stuff logo was changed from black to the colours associated with the pride flag . In 2017, Stuff's first podcast Black Hands received over 3 million downloads and was the number one podcast in five countries. Stuff also produced Gone Fishing with Radio New Zealand , which won podcast of the year at the 2019 NZ Radio Awards. In 2018 Stuff launched Quick! Save the Planet to increase news coverage of climate change in New Zealand and in 2019 Stuff joined

504-409: The Stuff news website, which will remain free. On 17 January 2024, Stuff rolled out a new website and app with a new layout and design. It was immediately met with overwhelming criticism, due to a number of features and sections previously being available removed, including the search function and the technology section. The new design also caused a number of functionality issues, mostly around loading

540-539: The Stuff website to Fairfax Media . Fairfax upgraded the website in December 2006, and again on 4 March 2009, adding the ability for visitors to personalise the homepage. The first mobile phone news service from Stuff began in 2003, in a partnership with Vodafone New Zealand . On 21 April 2009, Stuff launched a dedicated mobile site. On 1 February 2018, the parent company of Stuff changed its name from Fairfax New Zealand Limited to Stuff Limited . In December 2018 Stuff

576-494: The Waitomo Caves Hotel. In March 2012, a team of paranormal investigators from Haunted Auckland and Strange Occurrences performed an overnight investigation of the hotel, however their findings were inconclusive. In late 2001, a television program called Hauntings screened on New Zealand's TV2 featuring an episode involving the Waitomo Caves Hotel. In 2006, Waitomo Caves Hotel was featured on an episode of Ghost Hunt ,

612-635: The Waitomo district. Stuff.co.nz Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). As of early 2024, it is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff was founded in 2000, and publishes breaking news, weather, sport, politics, video, entertainment, business and life and style content from Stuff Ltd's newspapers, which include New Zealand's second- and third-highest circulation daily newspapers, The Post and The Press , and

648-463: The atmosphere. It has also been reported that some rooms have moving lights, objects and even screams. In 2011, it was reported in the Waikato Times that a paranormal investigator for The Quantum Foundation, a Waikato-based research group, claimed to have had a time slip experience – an alleged paranormal phenomenon in which a person, or group of people, travel through time via unknown means – at

684-416: The census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 759 (10.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 4,152 (54.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 2,448 (32.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $ 35,600, compared with $ 41,500 nationally. 438 people (5.8%) earned over $ 100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15

720-427: The corridors. Some people have also reported experiencing the dining room going cold, laughter, the feeling of 'something' walking through them and the noise of a maid's trolley going along the long stretch of hall in the lower part of the hotel. It has been reported by hotel staff and guests that a ghost likes to play tricks on them or that apparitions have been seen in the dining room, along with an uneasy feeling in

756-423: The highest circulation weekly, Sunday Star-Times , as well as international news wire services. Stuff has won numerous awards at the Newspaper Publishers' Association awards including 'Best News Website or App' in 2014 and 2019, and 'Website of the Year' in 2013 and 2018. The former New Zealand media company Independent Newspapers Ltd (INL), owned by News Corp Australia, launched Stuff on 27 June 2000 at

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792-453: The hotel is haunted. In response to the increasing numbers of tourists that began visiting the Waitomo Caves in the late nineteenth century early cave explorer and tour guide Tane Tinorau Opataia together with his wife constructed a house in 1901 when they converted to provide tourist accommodation in 1904 calling it Waitomo House. In that same year the Government nationalised the caves using

828-555: The hotel's 45 rooms not up to a suitable occupancy standard, which was contributing to tourists staying in Rotorua rather than in Waitomo. However the Tanetinorau Opatai Trust, was not in a position to fund the work as it had not received any income for seven years from its 51% share of the Waitomo Caves tourism operation. This was due to a long-running dispute between the descendants of Tane Tinorau Opataia which put distribution of

864-529: The increasing number of visitors to the Waitomo caves. As a result, it was enlarged between 1927 and 1928 by adding a two-storeyed plastered reinforced concrete tiled roof extension which is now called the “Art Deco Wing”. This extension was designed by the Government Architect John Mair . In line with the Art Deco style of the period Mair incorporated architectural influences from many sources with

900-520: The new homepage with several users reporting the homepage to be stuck in a loading loop. A story posted by Stuff touting the new design and also seeking feedback received over 300 responses with about a dozen positive and the rest negative. Comments on this story were later removed. Since the rollout, traffic and readership has reportedly dropped by up to 20%. On 6 October 2024, Stuff Digital's Head of Growth Janine Fenwick confirmed that Stuff.co.nz would be reorganising its regional news content. Content from

936-471: The new rooms had bathrooms and most were very small. Ownership passed to the Tanetinorau Opatai Trust in the 1980s as part of a Waitangi Treaty settlement. The trust subsequently leased the hotel to the Taharoa Tourism management group which markets the hotel as part of its Wellesley Hotels and Resorts portfolio. By 2012 the hotel was due for a planned $ 3.5 million refurbishment with approximately 20 of

972-570: The revenue to the trust on hold while the dispute was heard in the Maori Land Court, before being referred to the Maori Appellate Court. Despite the case, funding of a refurbishment began in June 2014. The case was resolved in favour of the trust in 2015, which freed up eight years of accumulated revenue. Because the hotel represents the work of two different eras of Government architecture and

1008-428: The roof. Despite its apparent size the hotel only had six guest bedrooms. The other rooms were an office/reception, kitchen, dining room and staff rooms. Tents were however available to accommodate more guests (though these may not have very comfortable on cold winter nights). The timber used in its construction was transported into the area on horse-drawn carts. As it was remote from town water and power supplies water

1044-725: The thick concrete walls, decks and patios being in the Spanish Mission style of the Spanish missionary settlements in California while the concrete pillars and facades are in the Cape Dutch style often seen in South Africa. The result was in sharp contrast with the earlier building. As well as a large kitchen and dining room the extension added another 24 bedrooms to the hotel which allowed the hotel to accommodate up to one hundred quests. None of

1080-538: The time, Wierzbicki described the name as a copywriter's dream, although he conceded that "it's not without risk, especially if we stuff up." The start up was built by a group of engineers from a few tech companies in Wellington led by founding CTO and engineering manager Will Everitt and project manager Bill Alp and used a software platform from News Corp Australia's news.com.au . On 30 June 2003, INL sold its publishing assets including The Dominion Post , The Press , and

1116-440: The treatment of people with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome ), and Fire and Fury (which looked at vaccine disinformation and conspiracy theories in the wake of the 2022 Wellington protests . The documentaries are published on Stuff's website. In November 2019, Stuff's Life + Limb documentary's coverage of unexploded ordnance on New Zealand Defence Force firing ranges in Afghanistan prompted Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to order

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1152-402: The trial of Clayton Weatherston , press.co.nz, a subsidiary section on Stuff, accidentally ran the headline "Guilty of Murder" the day before the jury delivered the verdict. The article was quickly withdrawn, and Fairfax executive editor Paul Thompson said it was a mistake "we take very seriously." On 17 April 2013, to celebrate the passing of same-sex marriage in New Zealand , the colour of

1188-553: Was merged into Nine Entertainment . On 25 May 2020, Nine Entertainment sold Stuff and its holdings including the Stuff website to Stuff's CEO Sinead Boucher for NZ$ 1, with the transaction completed on 31 May. This marks the return of the company into New Zealand ownership. On 30 May 2022, Stuff updated its logo and brand colours. On 27 April 2023, Stuff confirmed that it would launch separate subscription-based websites for three of its newspapers: The Post , The Press , and Waikato Times . These websites will co-exist with

1224-483: Was pumped from the Waitomo Stream and fed back up the slope to the hotel, while electricity was generated by a dynamo powered by a petrol driven motor engine. Completed in 1908 the building which is positioned upon an escarpment overlooking the village was originally called the “Government Hostel at Waitomo” and is today known as “The Victorian Wing”. By the mid-1920s the hotel was proving to be too small to accommodate

1260-557: Was spoken by 96.4%, Māori language by 12.0%, Samoan by 1.1% and other languages by 5.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.3% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.7%. The percentage of people born overseas was 11.3, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 28.2% Christian , 0.8% Hindu , 0.8% Islam , 4.6% Māori religious beliefs , 0.5% Buddhist , 0.6% New Age , 0.1% Jewish , and 0.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 56.1%, and 8.1% of people did not answer

1296-547: Was that 3,792 (50.1%) people were employed full-time, 1,020 (13.5%) were part-time, and 270 (3.6%) were unemployed. The seat of the Waitomo District Council is at Te Kūiti , which had a population of 4,890 in June 2024. No other village in the district has a population of over 500. The district has a land area of 3,534.84 km (1,365 sq mi), 94.87% of which lies in the Waikato Region and only 5.13% in

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