Eltham hotel an unlikely home to war relief project

When Maria Hancock fled Nicolae Ceausescu's authoritarian regime in 1986, she never thought she might end up in rural Taranaki running a small luxury hotel.

She was the daughter of a retired colonel in communist Romania, leading a "privileged" life, but escaped before the 1989 revolution, intent on seeking more freedom.

Nearly 40 years on and after living in several countries, she and her husband have refurbished Eltham’s former post office, an historic two-storey building near a busy crossroads.

Maria and New Zealand-born David fell in love with the high studded, classically styled structure on Bridge Street and bought it in 2019. However, it was tired after its heyday as a post office from 1905 to 1995.

With the help of some talented tradespeople, they set to transforming the building for opening day in April 2021. 

Maria found herself sewing sumptuous curtains, putting up wallpaper and starching sheets ready for the first guests.

The building reminded her of her old life in eastern Europe and she and David wanted to instill it with some European flair.

Despite the hardship for most under Nicolae Ceausescu’s rule, Maria said she grew up comfortably in an area known as Little Paris for its grand buildings and boulevards.

“I grew up in a building three times, four times bigger than this … you could feel the magnitude of the building and big stairs and light,” she told Country Life on a tour of the home.

 “I said in my mind, 'I will never leave my country'. I had a lovely life. I did exactly what I wanted, in those periods of time, because I was privileged.”

But she decided to flee after the offer of a career promotion which would involve becoming a member of the communist party, “a no-no” in her book.

She could see the struggles of people living under rationing and surveillance. Her own family would resort to conversations outside for fear of the Securitate - Romania's secret police - listening in via devices in the home.

“I understand very well, it was very hard even to talk, to talk at home.

“In the street, people, they were keeping their head down. Their faces were grey, and you couldn't find the smile on their faces.”

It is this memory, too, which has inspired Maria and David’s project to help the people of Ukraine as they struggle in a war with the authoritarian regime of Russia.

For two years, the Hancocks have been baking tiny gingernut biscuits to raise funds for the charity Relief Aid, which provides aid to people living in war zones.

“We started making them here in the kitchen and sending the funds and they went quite well. I mean, we sent about $3000 to Ukraine last year, so we knew it was going to be a bit of a long-term commitment and it has been,” David said, putting another batch of biscuits into the oven.

They hatched the idea after looking around for another local "with style", Helena Barnard, who lived last century. They wanted to name their luxury suite after her. 

After learning of the British Empire Medal recipient's prodigious war effort, baking four-and-a-half tonnes of gingernuts for New Zealand soldiers fighting in the two world wars - wrapped in Taranaki newspapers with news of home - they decided they should launch their own charitable project for the people of Ukraine.

Their biscuits were sold locally and were well supported by the townspeople, David said. 

Some had even found their way to people in Ukraine, via Relief Aid workers.

“One lady just broke down and cried. And she said, 'it just helped us so much to know that people on the other side of the world were thinking about us'.”