Gala day planned for Saturday’s opening of new Liquorland

Press, 28 October 1981, Page 16

Gala day planned for Saturday’s opening of new Liquorland

The opening of the 1400 square metre Liquorland Hornby on Saturday promises to be a gala event. The fourth Liquorland in the Christchurch area will be officially opened by Mr M. A. Connelly, M.P., at 11 a.m. and the whole day’s other proceedings will be covered on Radio Avon by Phil Darkins, with appearances by Tony Williams and Oily Ohlson. A barbecue lunch will be held at mid-day, followed by a number of charity competitions during the afternoon.

The 8637-litre Para pool now on display at the Hornby Mall will be moved to the Liquorland site by Saturday to find out how long it actually takes a group of people to empty the pool, with proceeds from the guessing game going to the Hornby Community Care Centre. A tandem bicycle race,

using all 22 tandems available, will be held between Christchurch’s four Liquorlands, starting at Ferry Road, on to Byron Street, to Merivale, and ending at Hornby at about 3.30 p.m. The competitors will be members of local social groups and the winner will be awarded the Para pool for his club.

Also on display at Hornby Mall now is the Mini which will be won by one of the customers at the new Liquorland between Saturday, October 31, and Saturday, November 14. Each purchase during that fortnight will put you in the draw for that Mini.

Each purchase before 5 p.m. on the opening day also makes customers eligible to win a trip for two to Hobart. Another competition with major prizes will entail watching the bottom of bottles.

Speaking of the promising future of Liquorland Hornby, the manager, Mr W. A. (Woody) Jones, pointed out that research had shown the biggest beer flagon trade in Christchurch to be in the Hornby area.

“And when it comes to good prices and quality, we can compete with anyone in Christchurch — particularly with the standard brands of liquor, such as whisky, brandy and gin,” Woody said. “Another feature will be its promotions centre for any kind of liquor or food — and combined. This will cover anything from cheeses to gourmet foods, and other promotions in a wider field. “The promotion area will be fully utilised this Saturday, including the launching of a new Lion Breweries beer.

“Liquorland will also provide the facilities for fill-your-own sherry, port and

fruit juice flagons,” he said. Woody Jones started in the liquor trade with the Coffey family at the Caledonian Hotel 20 years ago. That hotel changed hands five years ago but he stayed on as wholesale manager for Lion Breweries. On the

sporting side, he played for Papanui and Canterbury as a rugby league representative. Mrs Lynn Golding, the assistant manager of Liquorland Hornby, started in the wine and spirit industry 12 years ago in Melbourne. She came to New Zealand for a

holiday 10 years ago and is still here. Lynn was the South Island representative for New Zealand wine companies for seven years before going to the Caledonian Hotel two years ago.

The manager of the Hornby Trust Hotel, Mr B. J. Mackie, says: “The trust is very pleased to obtain the services of Mr Jones and Mrs Golding, both of whom are well known in the trade and are respected for their marketing ability."