Last drink from the Helvetia Hotel at Goldsborough and Ford’s Hokitika Centennial

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DescriptionA couple of West Coast beers. Last drink from the Helvetia Hotel at Goldsborough to mark its closing in 1954. Ford’s Hokitika Centennial stout.

Old bottles.
Map^[1]ContributorMurray Thomas

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Location (city or town)HokitikaGoldsboroughEventLast drink from the Helvetia Hotel at GoldsboroughOld bottlesFord’s Hokitika Centennial drink

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LinkFacebookDate Created1st January 2018CommentsGlenn Johnston Hi Murray, Russ Gibb gave me one of the bar display bottles from the Helvetia Hotel which he had later put on display at the Railway Hotel at Kumara Junction. It has a wooden arrow through it and a big block of wood inside it bigger than the neck of the bottle. You may have seen it years ago? I like the labelled & full small Ford's bottle!
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Glenn Johnston
Glenn Johnston Neil Bradley can relate tales he heard from his father of drinking at the Helvetia Hotel. Scott Hamilton and I were allowed to keep some bottles we found on the Helvetia site back in the early to mid 70's while ostensibley gold panning. Mick Johnson used to let me pan there. Pity that Helvetia label isn't in better nick!
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Pat Scally Richardson
Pat Scally Richardson Paul Francis
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Willie Teen
Willie Teen Jane Ford
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Laura Mills Detlaff
Laura Mills DetlaffGroup Admin Admins T
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Brian Beban
Brian Beban Does anyone have any history of the Hotel. My Great Grandfather Stefan Beban lived in Goldsborough from the late 1860's until his death in 1910 and had 11 children, including Arthur, Artie Beban my Grandfather. I am writing a family history and Stefan is very hard to pin down. He arrived in Hokitika in 1865 at the peak of the gold rush and moved on to Stafford and then a few Kms to Goldsborough.
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Paul Francis
Paul Francis I think my great-grandparents ran the Helvetia Hotel probably in the early 1900's. Willam and Georgina Hanrahan and their 12 children.
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Glenn Johnston
Glenn Johnston Yes they did or certainly the predecessor Helvetia Hotel at Waimea which was on the same site and burnt down in 1900? The Helvetia name I've heard was a mistake by the sign writer as it was named after a girl Helvetzia Piezzi whose parents owned the original Helvetia in the 1870's. (Not sure who told me this but it was probably Russ Gibb or Bill Heinz) Helvetia is of course a name for Switzerland and the Piezzi's were Swiss so checking the girls name would be required to help verify the story.
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Paul Francis
Paul Francis Thanks Glenn that's most interesting. Here's a photo from our family archive. The open upstairs door is very amusing. I wonder if anyone walked out of it after a few hours in the bar!
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Laura Mills Detlaff

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Rae Wilson
Rae Wilson Archives New Zealand in Peterborough Street, Christchurch holds the early mining records and also the hotel licensing information for the West Coast. They have been indexed which makes it a lot easier to find family or hotel names. If I remember correctly I think it was Russ Gibb who was the last owner of the Helvetia Hotel back about the mid 1950's.
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Glenn Johnston
Glenn Johnston Yes it was Russ Gibb. Quite a bit of relicensing info was reported in the local newspapers and can be found on Papers Past.
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Laura Mills Detlaff

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Glenn Johnston
Glenn Johnston On the 6th of June 1953 a burial service was held for the hotel licence by a Greymouth undertaker and hundreds attended. A "wake" then ensued with many extra bars set up at the hotel to cater for the crowd. A label such as on Murray's bottle and the burial certificate used to be on display at the Kumara Junction Hotel along with the bar display bottle from the Helvetia previously mentioned that Russ gave to me.
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Glenn Johnston
Glenn Johnston This subject has captured my interest so I can add a bit gleaned from stuff just read. Here is a bit of a time line for the Helvetia Hotel; Dec 1875 opening ball advertised and owners listed as Mr and Mrs Piezzi. 1877 hotel burnt but saved from being razed in fire. 1880-81 Mrs Piezzi looking to sell Helvetia Hotel. By 1885 owned by Denis Maher and not sold till about early 1896. By 1903-04 William Hanrahan was the licensee. In 1911 the license was transferred to Michael Hanrahan. Routhan's had the hotel by 1930. Russ Gibb was the last licensee with the pub closing in June 1953. *The 1966 publication "Go West For Gold" says that in 1900 the Hanrahan's Waimea Hotel was burnt down, but a new look hotel the Helvetia took its place. (This is open to several interpretations and needs a bit of clarifying. Did Hanrahan's Waimea Hotel burn down and they then take over the Helvetia Hotel and run that or did they already own the Helvetia Hotel by this stage and rebuild it after the fire? Perhaps the former! )
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Mike Gardyne
Mike Gardyne My father Norman Gardyne used to drive for Fords Brewery

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Last drink from the Helvetia Hotel at Goldsborough and Ford’s Hokitika Centennial

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