LIQUOR "D DAY"

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 152, 29 June 1944, Page 6

LIQUOR "D DAY"

INVERCARGILL BARS

PREPARING FOR SATURDAY ; (Special) INVERCARGILL, this day. For weeks the people of Invercargill have been waiting with interest and, the thirstiest ones no doubt, j with a good deal of pleasant anticipa- > tion for July 1, the day on which J liquor bars will be opened in the city { after a dry period of 38 years. The I day has been called variously D day, > independence day, zero hour and just i July the first. Recently public interest has been . increased" by the works that have 1 been going full speed ahead on the ; erection of two temporary licensed > premises in the city, one at. the : corner of Kelvin and Esk Streets, in the business area, and the other at the corner of Clyde and Eye Streets, . not far from the business area. The plan of each building is the same, and they have been erected in record ; time, there being a race between the , workmen on the two jobs to achieve ; the quickest results. The speed of : the erection of the buildings has been . greatlv aided by the fact that much , of each building was prefabricated. ; The shells of the buildings appeared almost like mushrooms overnight. ' but nevertheless, a great deal of ■ skilled carpentry work has been done ■ inside the building, and the good pro- : "ress made with the interiors has ■ been made possible only by the men working overtime night aftei night. ' It is expected that, except, perhaps, for some finishing touches, the m- ; terior of the Kelvin Stfeet premises will be finished by the opening day. The Clvde Street premises are not so far advanced, but the work here was commenced several days aft-i the work at the Kelvin Street premises. I,ike Kecreation Huts After the opening day there will be a considerable amount of work reciuired to makG thG cxtGrioi appearance of the buildings more attractive, but this can, no doubt, be done at a more leisurely pace. Any opening day pictures of the buildings will not, therefore, show their planned external appearance, which will be much more attractive than is the present appearance. It is understood that the exterior walls are to be rough cast. At present the buildings, except for a more generous allowance for window space, look more like the average canteen or recreation hut in a military camp than anything else. They have been criticised on that score, but the reply of the men on the job is, "Don t criticise till you see the finished article." There is considerable difference of opinion as to whether the bars will have to deal with an overwhelming rush of customers on Saturday. There are those who foresee queues waiting for the doors to open, and it is said that people are coming from all parts of Southland and as far away as Dunedin to celebrate the occasion. Others consider that curious sightseers will be more numerous than prospective customers. It is probable that there will be many sightseers, and that quite a number of people will visit the premises not for the purpose of buying a. drink, but to inspect the appointments. This, by the way, is not a variation of the old joke about "interior decorations," though, no doubt, many will succeed in killing two birds with one stone. Race Against Time Public curiosity has been whetted by the talk that has been current that the trust would introduce something new in the way of liquor bars 4 They may be disappointed by the apparent iack of novelty. It must be remembered that to fulfil the implied promise of • the Government that liquor would be on sale in bars in the city by July 1, the trust has had a keen race against time. Besides, it has been hampered by difficulty in obtaining materials, furnishings, supplies and other necessities. The new premises will be opened on Saturday, each provided with a kitchen, but meals will not be served, at least not in the meantime. They will, therefore, not be kiosks or cafes, of which so much has been heard; that is, they will not be places where morning and afternoon teas will be served as well as alcoholic refreshments. These, no doubt, will come later. The main innovation at the moment is the establishment of a licensed restaurant. The Brown Owl restaurant and milk bar, which the trust has taken over, will continue to be run as such with the exception that customers, if they so desire, will be able to have alcoholic drinks with their meals. Nothing stronger than milk will, however, be served at the milk bar. Licensed restaurants, though common enough in many countries, are no doubt a novelty to most New Zealanders. , Will Prices Vary? One question that has been exciting a good deal of interest and discussion is that of the prices the trust is likely to charge tor drinks. Will those who patronise private bars have to pay more than those who patronise the public bar? The trust is to decide this question at a meeting this afternoon. A point made in favour of uniform prices for drinks is that the Trust will not discourage the practice of men breasting the bar and indulging in a steady bout of drinking if it charges more for drinks served to people who sit at a table and consume liquor in what one well-known resident of Invercargill called "a civilised manner." It is probably true to say that the Trust has the goodwill of the majority of the people of Invercargill, and that this will be cemented at last among a certain section if uniform prices are charged ; for drinks. Many prohibitionists are among ; those who wish the Trust well. They, ; no doubt, deplore the carrying of < restoration, but the more philosophical among them hold the view that, ■ since bars must come back, it is ■ better they should be under some l form of public control than under private ownership. i They consider the Trust has been ' given a great social task, and that ] the experiment is probably the < most important regarding the con- < duct and control of the liquor trade i in the history of the Dominion. 1