It is located at the junction of State Highway 87 and the Old Dunstan Road, approximately halfway between Outram and Middlemarch.
[1] Clarks Junction was an important stop on the trail to the goldfields of Central Otago in the years following the 1860s gold rush.
It was a well-known sight for travellers between Dunedin and the Maniototo, because it was for many years painted bright orange,[3] which enabled it to be seen from a great distance.
Gillian and Adrian Bardrick owned the hotel from 1999 to 2019 when they sold it to Tony Bennet and Tania Profit,[4] who renovated the hotel and operated it for a year before closing down due to the 2020 COVID-19 Lockdowns.
The hotel was not opened and was sold as a residential property in July 2021.