His smile says it all.
Almost 18 months to the day after Queenstown’s Speight’s Ale House was destroyed by fire, the doors have officially reopened to the public.
Reflecting on the intervening period, publican Clark Frew says it’s been a ‘‘long, arduous and sometimes trying’’ time, but to be back in his happiest place is ‘‘absolutely amazing’’.
‘‘It’s just nice to be in a space that you actually love — I feel comfy here, and I hope punters do, too.’’
At 7.05am on Sunday, March 19, 2023, Frew got a call from Michael Cooper, one of the sons of his landlords, former Queens-town mayor and mayoress Warren and Lorraine Cooper, informing him there was ‘‘a bit of a fire’’ in the building, and he might want to check it out.
Intending to go to a Highlanders game in Invercargill, Frew told his wife, Rhonda, ‘‘there must be a wee bit of a fire or something going on at work’’. ‘‘I said to Rhonda . . . ‘I’ll zip in there, check it out, and then I’ll head down to Invercargill’. ‘‘I came over the hill and saw the smoke whistling up and I thought, ‘whoa, if that’s our fire, we’ve got big, big problems’.
‘‘And it was.’’
The fire, caused by an electrical fault started in the kitchen, travelled up the ducts and into the roof space.
At its peak, 45 volunteer fireys worked to bring the blaze under control — a fire appliance from Invercargill, equipped with a cantilevered ladder, was also summonsed to help.
While the kitchen was destroyed, the rest of the building, which dates back to 1881 and is Heritage New Zealand category 1-listed, was ruined by smoke and water.
Ultimately, the entire building was gutted — that included being required by Heritage NZ to pull up all the floorboards so any remaining artefacts beneath them could be retrieved (there were none) — while the Coopers also had to apply for building and resource consents.
That process held them up, significantly.
The Coopers have owned the former Lake County Council building since the late 1990s — Warren says while the initial purchase ‘‘created a bit of controversy’’, because he was the mayor at the time, it’s been ‘‘great adventure’’ since.
‘‘Sometimes good, sometimes bad — during the period of time that the council were procrastinating [it was] very, very bad.
‘‘Trying to get a resource consent, it was as though we were trying to dig up an ancient burial [ground] or something.’’
‘‘The quality of the building is so much better than I ever expected it could be,’’ Warren says.
He and Frew say they’re indebted to Naylor Love, in particular.
‘‘If it wasn’t for this [being a] historic building, it would have been open last December, but it just shows when you get a good bunch of dudes, with the resources they’ve got, things happen so quickly and it’s amazing.’’
They’re also beholden to Michael.
Lorraine: ‘‘The family have been amazing, and we want to pay tribute to them all, but particularly to Michael, who has handled it for us.’’
Frew: ‘‘He’s been an absolute champion.
‘‘As I was panicking and stressed out, it was a great [comfort] for me having someone to yarn to.’’
Warren: ‘‘I think we’ll keep him as our son.’’
Frew notes the positive side of the fire is one of Queenstown’s most iconic and best-loved buildings has been rebuilt and reinforced to ensure it stands the test of time.
And while the look and feel of the interior has changed, the ‘‘heart of the business’’ hasn’t.
‘‘We’re just a simple bunch of people, who want to make people’s dreams come true,’’ Frew says.
