On ya, mate.
The ‘pride of the South’ will be flowing from taps at Queenstown’s Speight’s Ale House again in about six months.
This past Tuesday marked the first anniversary of a devastating fire caused by an electrical fault in the kitchen.
It destroyed the beloved pub, on the corner of Stanley and Ballarat streets, housed in one of the resort’s most iconic historic buildings, owned by former mayor and mayoress, Warren and Lorraine Cooper.
Speaking to Mountain Scene about the past year, publican Clark Frew sums it up in one word: ‘‘Hard.’’
‘‘It took me quite a while to not worry about stuff I couldn’t control … if I can’t control the outcome, don’t put any energy into it, otherwise you just wear yourself down.’’
It’s been a tortuous wait to see the things he couldn’t control come to fruition, too.
Queenstown’s council only granted building and resource consent for what’s expected to be a $4 million-plus rebuild the week before Christmas.
Fortunately, contractor Naylor Love wasted no time getting on with it.
Project manager Chris Baines says at the moment they’re a little ahead of the original programme.
Roofing iron’s booked for install from next Thursday and the tent — keeping the Heritage New Zealand category 2-listed building, which dates back to 1881, safe from the elements — is likely to start coming down from April 15.
After that, the Naylor’s crew, this week comprising nine carpenters, a foreman and site manager, will get to work putting the inside of the building, including heritage features, back together again.
Baines says that’s expected to be finished on July 31, after which the Ignite Architects-designed final fitout will start.
That’s expected to take between six and eight weeks, meaning by mid-to-late September, Speight’s will be pouring at Queenstown’s Speight’s again.
Frew, who describes the Naylor’s crew as “champions”, says it’s a relief to see things moving forward, after what’s been “a long battle”.
He’s also bracing for another potential battle in finding the staff required to reopen.
“It’s a bridge we’re going to have to cross, but at least we can talk about it now, rather than just think about it.”
