The Brothers Hotel Historic Stately Residence


Christian Brothers residence opening 1921
St Josephs Cathedral and Priory to right c1896.

Christian Brothers residence in the 1920's
Old Tram to Roslyn coming past St Josephs Hall

Brothers Hotel 2005
The old backyard now our carpark

Crane working in the carpark during renovation
The balcony reconstruction

The balcony before reconstruction
The balcony after reconstruction

The Christian Brothers Order had been on the property at 295 Rattray street since 1876 and the current Stately residence was built in the early 1920's in the area known as the "Vatican" district. At one time the huge residence housed up to 13 Brothers. In March 2005 there were only 4 remaining.

The Christian Brothers for most of its history has been associated with education. In Dunedin it has been involved in Christian Brothers Junior and High schools, St Pauls, St Edmunds and in recent times at Kavanagh College.

The Renovation April 05-Nov 05

The massive renovation spanned 8 months and entailed, new plumbing with 15 tiled ensuites, new wiring, installation of a central heating system, earth quake proofing and fire rating etc.

The intention was always to retain the original heritage character of the building and being sympathetic to it’s history. Unfortunately the 3rd level of the residence was dramatically altered in the 1950/s with the loss of the three dormer windows in the roof line. The addition of the substantial balustrade and the awnings have gone some way to soften the earlier alterations. We are very pleased with the overall result and we hope you will be too.