Have you ever walked into one of those ‘old man’ bars that only sell about four beers, and that’s that? They’re a dying breed. They usually have about eight fellas, sitting in silence, drinking those massive bottles but with tiny glasses. There’s absolutely no music playing, just the aural penetration of a cacophony of mutterings of words such as, “Uh, harden up”, “Buck Shelford” …
An old school Kiwi pub. Unfortunately, a lot of these old buildings have now been turned into hat shops or have a single piece of art in the window. Just walk through Parnell in Auckland! Apparently, that was a lively area back in the day! How does a scarf pay the rent in Parnell?! That must be some scarf! Sure, there are other themed bars: Irish, Belgian, mini golf. But I want a local bar.
There was an early, negative view of alcohol consumption and still is among some. Pubs had to close early. When more tourists came to New Zealand, especially with the advent of jet air travel, early closing was seen as an outdated concept. The law changed.
The early negative view of alcohol consumption and the ‘6 o’clock swill’, however, seems to have left a horrible hangover, especially when it comes to the destruction or makeover of beautiful old pubs.
This is changing though, with the influx of brewpubs and breweries. A Sunday session in a brewpub is a great day out! But these brewpubs and breweries tend to be in industrial estates, somewhere on the outskirts of a town or city! So here’s an idea … move your fancy hat shops to the industrial estate and bring the boozer closer to the people!
Not all old-school pubs are gone, though. Recently on a tour around NZ, a group of us dropped into a gritty, dreary pub in a small town. No music. It was like a cowboy movie, everyone just stared at us. My wine-drinking friend approached the bar and asked, “A glass of red, please”.
The barman began to pour a glass of Lion Red.
We laughed, said, “Red wine” … He seemed confused. He disappeared for some time and returned with red wine and poured it into a whiskey glass.
Never change, small town New Zealand … never change!
Words by Alan McElroy
