AFTER 38 YEARS

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVI, Issue 22934, 3 July 1944, Page 4

AFTER 38 YEARS

Liquor Bars Open In Invercargill Novelty Responsible For Big Business (N.Z.P.A.) INVERCARGILL. July 2. The opening of hotel bars in Invercargill after a period of 38 years of No-licence was celebrated with enthusiasm yesterday, when business was commenced in four licensed premises—the Kelvin, the Clvde, the Appleby and the Brown Owl. At all four places business was exceptionally brisk between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and again between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The three bars and the restaurant were crowded throughout every hour of the six that they were open for business, and there was no let-up for the barmen, waiters and other attendants. If this rate of buisness could be maintained there would be no doubt about the Invercargill Licensing Trust not only making profits but substantial profits. Yesterday was a special occasion which many people considered called for an unusual degree of conviviality. Besides, for many people who could not remember the time when Invercargill had hotel bars, there was the appeal of novelty. As one man put it: “At the moment hotel bars are a nine days’ wonder in Invercargill. Tills attitude to the bars will soon pass, and they will be accepted as part of the normal life of the city as they are in other places." The Trust will probably have to wait for another festive occasion before it again experiences a volume of business comparable with that done yesterday.

Many persons i'ere agreeably surprised with the up-to-date standard of the bars, especially those in temporary premises, and apparently they had formed conclusions from the unfinished exteriors of these premises and had expected something rather crude. A Real Novelty The bars did not provide the real novelty. They were just average hotel bars with some improvements. The real innovation of the day was the licensed restaurant at the Brown Owl. This is an establishment new to New Zealand and opinions vary as to how the experiment will work out. One opinion may be expressed in this way: “Alcohol and tea will not mix, and in time alcohol will drive out tea. This licensed restaurant will eventually become a lounge bar.” it is not the intention of the Trust that this should be the outcome, and the opinion may prove to be wrong. Certainly many people visited the Brown Owl for morning or afternoon tea in spite of the brisk demand from other customers merely for drinks. All drinks were served at tables. There is no bar counter at the Brown Owl.

Half an hour before the bars were due to open there were not many people about the streets in the vicinity of the Kelvin. There were no large queues at the main doors, but there was a large crowd on the pavement opposite. Perhaps they were sheltering from the wind, or, perhaps, with Press photographers busy here and there making a pictorial record, they were diffident about being seen in a queue waiting for a hotel bar to open at 10 in the morning. When the doors were opened the small queue quickly entered and from across the road dozens of men and some women hurried to join in the rush. Attendants Busy The attendants in the bottle department were quite as busy as the men behind the bars. Soon after 10 o’clock it was almost impossible to get a seat in the Brown Owl. Waiters attired in neat cut-away jackets served drinks and waitresses attended to customers who ordered teas. Tire city was quiet between 2 and 4 o’clock, but very soon after 4 all bars and the Brown Owfl were again crowded and late comers found difficulty in being served. The demand for spirits, particularly whisky, seemed to be very heavy, and it was not always possible to obtain what was ordered. If there was no whiskv, either brandy, gin or rum Was available. The w'eather yesterday was unfavourable. After a stormy night the city woke to find itself under a light blanket of snow', the first of the winter, and in spite of brief periods of wintry sunshine. the day was cold and miserable. The weather did not damp down the convivial spirit of the occasion; it may. in fact, have stimulated it by creating a demand for something to keep out the cold. Australian Interest A Sydney message states: The New Zealand licensing experiment at Invercargill is being watched with great interest in Australia. The establishment of the Trust is described in a leading article by the “Sydney Sunday Telegraph” as “an experiment in civilised drinking, which throws into harsh relief Sydney's hoggish beer swilling habits. Instead of being at the mercy of greedy publicans, who sav when, how and what you shall drink—and then throw it at you—citizens of Invercargill are being encouraged by their Licensing Trust to drink comfortably and decently.”