In high spirits at 95 years

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33189, 31 March 1973, Page 1

In high spirits at 95 years

“I’ve been a whisky drinker all my life. I think that’s what has preserved me,” said Mr J. Wallis, of Frank Street—and frequently of the Papanui Tavern—yesterday, as he celebrated his ninety-fifth birthday with a few glasses of wine. “But it’s getting too dear for me these days,” he said. “I’ve moved on to stout.” The picture above shows Miss Pauline Waugh pouring a glass of white wine for Mr Wallis, her grandfather, at the Papanui Tavern yesterday. It is too long ago now for Mr Wallis to remember when he “walked past the horse trough” to make the first of his thousands of visits to the tavern. “I’ve seen a lot of managers come and go since those days in the old buildings, and a lot of alterations,” he said. Yesterday’s “shout” was put on by the present manager, Mr K. J. Phillips, who thinks Mr Wallis is “a grand old man—and quite a dancer.” He said that Mr Wallis had called in the previous evening with two women friends and danced and sipped until closing time. “I love the dancing,” Mr Wallis said. “But I don’t do so much now, just a spot of Gardening and a quiet life.”