WEST COAST HOTELS

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 July 1945, Page 4

WEST COAST HOTELS

SOCIAL VALUES STRESSED MR. DOWELL'S EVIDENCE CHRISTCHURCH, July 22. Explaining that he did not wish the witness to make any admission, Mr. Justice Smith, Chairman of the Royal Committee on Licensing, today questioned Mr. Durham Dowell, of Greymouth, on his ideas on the social values of, and need for, hotels on the West Coast. Mr. Justice I Smith said the Licensing Committee reported that after hours trading was more or less prevalent, and prosecutions came before the Court from time to time. The Committee took the view that the lawful sale of liquor during evening hours was needed. It also had reported that there was no disorderliness. He asked if Mr. Dowell would say that was correct. Mr. Dowell: Yes. In Greymouth I and Westport; an undertaking was made between hotelkeepers that,, when a ship blew its whistle, it was an unwritten law that sailors were chased out of hotels to join their, ships. In Greymouth the other evening; a boat was up to sail at 6 p.m. and two sailors were ordered but at 5.45 p.m. “And if the whistle went at 10 p.m.,” asked the chairman. “The same thing,” replied Mr. Dowell, amid laughter. The chairman: "Give us some idea of the social values and the need of hotels? Do they take tiie place of clubs? Do people gather there in the evenings and have a drink?” Mr. Dowell: “Take the hotel in Blackball, where 20 or 22 miners stay. Well, I would say some of the miners entertain their friends. If they are permanent boarders, you will find them entertaining their friends to a certain extent in private bars. , , , . x, The chairman: “The hotel is the home of the miner and he entertains his friends?” Mr. Dowell: “Yes.” _ “Do citizens gather in the hotels m the evenings for a chat?” Witness: “Not to my knowledge! There are instances where they have. That is proved by prosecutions. I know the Coast gets a name for after hours drinking, but my own opinion is that it is very exaggerated. There is no part of New Zealand where it does not go on. The exisL ing laws tend to make it that way. Continuing witness said that at 5.20 p.m. Greymouth saw the miners from Rewanui and Runanga coming in by train and tearing off the train up to the other end of the town for a “spot” before 6 p.m. After- being m the bowels of the earth all day, they had to guzzle,to be home by 6 p.m. Some bushmen cut timber 24 miles from mills. They got home late, and wanted a “spot” before they went home. Mr. Justice Smith: “Are there instances of an actual need for liquor in evenings, apart from these workers who have to travel some dist3^)ces?,, “Yes, the waterside workers,” replied Mr. Dowell. “They work till 11 p.m. and they have crib at 9 p.m. In Greymouth, through an unwritten law, they went into two. hotels and had a glass of ale and theii ciib. At present that is stopped.” . “Since the Licensing Commission began?” asked the chairman. Mr. Dowell: “No.” (Laughter). Mr. Justice Smith: “When ,did it stop?” ' Mr. Dowell: “About three years aB “Who stopped it?” asked the chairm an, “I don’t know whether the Inspector had a quiet talk about it,. and stooped it,” replied Mr. Dowell. “There were two hotels where watersiders could have a pint of beer with their crib and go straight back to work.” LITTLE DISORDER.

; Further questioned, he said that 1 liouor was sometimes consumed at country dances. 1 “And with all this, you say there ; is little disorderliness?” asked the ! chairman. Mr. Dowell replied that drunken- ■ ness in Greymouth was very rare. “To what extent does drunkenness exist on the West Coast compared with Greymouth. Is it bad in any other place?”—No. “Your view is that if»licences were granted freely, and hours were extended, no harm would occur. Y es Objections by the Licensed Trade on the West Coast to any transfer of licences from there to other districts if a redistribution of licenses took ■ place following recommendations of the Royal Commission on Licensing ! were expressed to the Commission by ’ Mr. Dowell. He said the Combined ’ Westland, Grey, Buller and Motueka Committees urged the retention of Licensing Committees, which should fix the hours they considered suitable for their districts, subject to the opening hour not being before 9 a.m.. cind closing Ijour not later than 11 p m., with the present two-hour closing on Saturday afternoon to be rescinded. The Committees should not be restricted in their powers to authorise the removal of licences from one-part of a district to another, and should determine accommodation according to the requirements of the particular locality. Their opinion was that houses being financed by the Trade was not inimical to the public,’ as those who did the financing took every care to select persons who would be successful as licencees. They were opposed to State control. , z . To Mr. P. Malthus (a memoer of the Commission) Mr. Dowell said that Hokitika, with a population of under 3,000. had 14 licences, which were giving good service, and providing a living for people. Mr.-Malthus: It seems out of proportion to places like Hamilton, a fast growing town of 22,000, with only four licensed hotels. Mr. Dowell: I admit that this is so. There are far too many at Hokitika, and too few at Hamilton. I agree with you there. MINERS’ RECOMMENDATIONS A complete revision of the present hotel licensing regulations was recommended to the Royal Commission on Licensing at a meeting of the Buller Miners’ Central Committee. Mr. G. English was appointed to represent the committee at the sitting of the commission in Christchurch this week. The meeting considered the present hotel trading hours were unsuitable for the workers of the Buller district, and the coalminers in particular, and the- delegate was instructed to advocate the return ' to pre-war hours—--9 a.m. to 6 p.m.—with an extension from 7 to 10 p.m. on week nights and to 11 p.m. on Saturday. The abolition of the 2 to 4 p.m. closing on Saturday was included in the recommendation, and it was also recommended that the strength of beer be restored to the pre-war standard.