Rowdyism increase

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34146, 6 May 1976, Page 18

Rowdyism increase

The Vacation Hotel was not the only pub in Christchurch facing a problem with the rowdy behaviour of its patrons, the general manager of Vacation Hotels (Mr R. A. Henderson) said in Auckland yesterday. “Perhaps other establishments are prepared to put up with it, but we’re not. I can’t elaborate on what steps we’ll take to prevent it — but we will,” he said. In recent weeks, the pub has had to cope with a series of brawls, culminating

on Monday night in a beer bottle’s being thrown through an outside window. ‘This is an inherited problem,” he said. ‘The pub’s clientele was there before we came. But it’s reached the point where we’re not prepared to accept it. It’s not compatible with our tourist trade.” Mr Henderson said the pub would be closed only as a last resort, and that the police had pledged to help control any violence. “We plan to make use of section 188 b of the Sale of Liquor Act, which gives the hotelkeeper the right to refuse service to anyone pre-

viously warned not to enter the premises for excessive drunkenness or disorderly conduct,” he said. Other licensed hotels with tourist clientele are reluctant to discuss the problem, but do not deny that rowdyism is becoming increasingly difficult to control. “Public bars can always be a problem,” said the manager of Noahs (Mr C. Rae). “However, in my opinion the police have always been helpful. “If you run a public bar, you must be prepared to accept people from all walks of life,” he said. “After all, that’s what a public bar is.”