One Brewery Where Once There Were Five

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30366, 15 February 1964, Page 15

One Brewery Where Once There Were Five

The land, buildings and equipment belonging to Ford’s Brewery, which has ceased operations, will be offered for sale by auction at Hokitika tomorrow morning. This leaves Westland Breweries, Ltd, as the sole brewery now manufacturing and distributing on the West Coast There were five breweries on the West Coast in 1928. these being Stewart's at Coal Creek (Greymouth), Monteith’s at Reefton. Davis and Mandel’s at Hokitika, arid Pern’s at Kumara. The Omoto Brewery, just

outside the town of Greymouth, also held a licence.

An amalgamation of these firms took place-in 1928. Mr Robert Ford was managersecretary of Pern’s Brewery at the time. Four years later he founded Ford’s Brewery at the cornea- of Gibson quay and Davie street, Hokitika, and he was managing-direc-tor until he retired. Mr Ford died three years ago. Originally a banker, he became interested in Pern’s Brewery. He was later attached to Westland Breweries and became widely and popularly known throughout the whole of the West Coast.