The Patea Mail reported on 26 July 1933 that a new 20 room hotel was to built in Waverley for a cost of £5,000. The contactors were Walpole and Patterson of Whanganui and the architects, Piper and Brooker of Auckland.
It appears likely the first licence was granted to Ernest de Tourret. The Patea Mail noted on 10 September 1934 that the Patea Licensing Committee had granted the transfer of the license from Tourret to T. Mckenzie. In July 1935 it was reported that McKenzie had disposed of his interest in the hotel and was moving on.
This corner (Weraroa and Bear Streets) site was where the first hotel in Waverley was built. Known originally as Palmer's Hotel, it was rebuilt in 1870 as a two-story building with seven bedrooms and was renamed the Commercial Hotel.
The Commercial Hotel was destroyed in a blaze in 1909, re-built and again burnt to the ground on 1 May 1933.
The hotel is listed in the Waverley Heritage Inventory (2003).
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