Shamrock Cottage

Howick’s first inn, once known as the “Royal Hotel” is now a former restaurant, Shamrock Cottage, located in Selwyn Road, just a few minutes from Howick Beach. The hotel was built in 1848 and was originally a liquor store for the Fencible soldiers. Noted for its fine wines and hospitality, it boasted 14 rooms, a kitchen and stabling for four horses. Captain William Crush Daldy, founder of the Auckland Harbour Board and Auckland Fire Brigade, named Shamrock Cottage after his first command, the schooner Shamrock which he sailed to New Zealand from Liverpool in 1841. Captain Daldy and his wife, Amy, a notable suffragette, used the cottage as their holiday home from 1894 until 1903.