Focal centre for district

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33064, 3 November 1972, Page 11

Focal centre for district

Residents of the Hawarden district will gain a new community facility with the opening of a trust tavern in the township today. Situated at the corner of the Horsley Down Road, which is on the Christchurch route to Lake Sumner, and Gladstone Street, the tavern is expected by some to become a focal point which the district has been lacking.

The tavern would become even more of a centre of community activity should the Hawarden Licensing Trust proceed with its tentative plans to provide a games room with indoor bowls and possibly other facilities, that would create more of club atmosphere.

Costing about $51,000, including land purchase, the tavern will have a lounge bar of close to 1300 sq. ft, and a public bar of about 480 sq. ft. For a town the size of Hawarden, spacious provision has been made for off-street parking, although this area may well be taxed this afternoon for the opening ceremony and this evening when many visitors are expected to celebrate the occasion. Visually interesting The construction of the tavern has involved the alteration and extension of what was formerly a large summerhill stone house with a high pitched gable roof. This section of the building accommodates the public bar and the service areas. The lounge bar has been provided by a large concrete block extension with the double repetition of the high pitched gable roof over this wing creating added visual interest both to the exterior of the whole building and to the interior of the new wing with its exposed Oregon trusses and ceilings following the roofline. Panoramic views Windows in the bar areas give panoramic views across flat and rolling country to low hills and higher

mountain ranges, snowcapped in the winter. Windows high in the gable ends of the lounge bar serve the double purpose of making full use of natural lighting and giving added architectural interest. The stippled blue and greens of the carpets and the golds and fawns of the sun drapes in the bar rooms are set off against generally subdued tonings of paints used for the walls and ceilings. An added splash of colour has been given by using a washable wallpaper on one wall. The bar tops and a part of the fronts are finished with a slightly streaked white vinyl and vinyl has been used as the floorcovering through the service areas also. Modem equipment The most modern equipment has been installed in the tavern, which has a walk-in cool store, not only to house the three draught beer tanks but to ensure that there will always be ample stocks of chilled bottled ales and wines on hand. Over-the-bar bottle sales will be serviced from two glass fronted display cooler cabinets. The tavern could be readily adapted to include a games room or for other purposes without any major structural alterations as provision was made in the original house for future upstairs accommodation. The opening of the tavern will end more than five years of negotiations and planning, which stemmed from a request by Mr J. F. Warwick for the Waipara County Council, to support an application for a licence. A move for licensed premises in the town dates back to a least 1952, however, when Mr W. R. E. Booker convened a meeting with a view to applying for a licence to establish a hotel with the dual purpose of providing accommodation for agricultural workers, school teachers, and staff for businesses and the Post Office. Although 59 persons voted in favour of the hotel with five against, the move did not reach fruition. Confidence in future The chairman of the trust (Mr S. J. S. Barker) has every confidence in the future of Hawarden and the tavern. “I believe that the tavern will be a focal point in the district and that the district will show a greater progress because of this,” said Mr Barker. “With the rise in confidence in farming and with Hawarden being the gateway to Lake Sumner and the other Hurunui lakes, with good fishing and scope for other recreational activities, Hawarden could become the centre for a variety of activities. “In the longer term the

tavern could become something in the nature of a! district club with the future! development of a games j room. Township facilities "Few towns of the same size can provide the services available in Hawarden — high pressure water, sewerage system, allweather rubberised bowling rink, golf course, swimming pool, and a district high school. Sections are available on high pressure water and sewer for about $4OO each, with some providing fine views of the mountains. “An increased demand has been apparent for sections in Hawarden recently and the Waipara County Council was helping to meet this by extending its Gladstone Street subdivision,” said Mr Barker.