First thing to do here is declare my absolute bias – I love relaxing at the Northcote Tavern, having a beer and the great food with friends and family. I’m a regular on a Sunday for dinner. It is a special place that has evolved to have a real community and family focus.
The Northcote Tavern has been part of the Shore since the 1800s. As you will discover in the history portion of this feature, there has been a pub on the site since the 1850s.
The ‘modern-day’ Northcote Tavern is indeed all about family. For the past 30 years it has been the life and passion of the Milne family – brewery veteran Billy Milne, his wife Kim, their daughters Angela and Sarah and their extended family.
It was his job working for Lion Breweries that first brought Billy Milne to the Northcote Tavern. After running pubs for the brewing giant around the country for over a decade he arrived at the Northcote Tavern over three decades ago, January 1989. When Lion decided to sell all their pubs a few years later he and Kim jumped at the chance to buy the tavern and the rest is history.
With Billy slowing down, these days it is Kim – with the assistance of their daughters Angela and Sarah – who run the tavern day to day. Doing a fantastic job. It is no secret that the pub business has changed dramatically in recent times and the Northcote Tavern is an example of how positive that change has been.
Yes, the ‘Tav’ is still a place for people to have a drink and hang out with friends and enjoy themselves, as it has always been. But it is now so much more. Kim Milne says these days sport, food, family and community are the key ingredients.
As this issue of Channel Magazine was being put together a complete renovation of the kitchen area was under way at the tavern to continue improving its ever-popular food offering. The kitchen is closed until June 10th, with food trucks engaged to fill the gap in the interim.
When the brand spanking new kitchen re-opens in June it will be with a slightly revamped menu – being sure to retain all the firm favourites.
So what makes the Northcote Tavern so special?
“We feel we have the dining areas, bars and outdoor areas pretty much as our customers like them,” says Kim Milne. “There’s still an historic feeling about the place but we are now catering for the requirements of the modern community.”
“Sport is important and our regulars love Callan’s Bar, named after the pioneer who first established a pub here. The local community love the old-world charm of the Highlander Bar. Visitors say it is like walking back in time. Our outdoor areas continue to grow in popularity. We love the days when the sun is shining and we have families enjoying our hospitality with youngsters hanging out on the lawns and in the outdoor areas with other regulars and visitors. It’s a lovely atmosphere.”
Another example of the change that has gone on at the tavern has been the conversion of the old bottle store to become Point Espresso, where locals and visitors can get great coffee, biscuits, cookies and other non-alcoholic drinks. They also have Nice Blocks – the natural and organic ice block brand that is hugely popular in the summer.
Channel Magazine is teaming up with the Northcote Tavern to present a monthly feature we are calling ‘TavTalk’. Our aim is to profile interesting locals who enjoy the tavern. There is always a lot going on there with interesting people and groups using it as their meeting place. The regular Karaoke nights are popular and the tavern has its very own fishing club that has been going for decades. In this issue we chat with Jake Morrissey of Point Bistro37 who provides the great food at the tavern. Read more here.
See you at the Tav!
Northcote Tavern – 37 Queen St, Northcote Point.
Phone 09 480 7707. Email: northcotetavern@gmail.com
Visit: www.northcotetavern.co.nz
The very first hotel was built on the site in the late 1850s, over 160 years ago. It was built by Philip Callan, an innovative Irishman from County Cork who arrived in Auckland with his wife Jane in 1840.
Philip Callan bought a lot of land around Stokes Point – as Northcote Point was called in those early days. He built the first wharf and set up a brickworks on the beach from which he built a onestorey brick hotel and operated with a publican’s bush licence. That cost five pounds per annum with no restrictions!
That first hotel was called ‘The North Auckland Hotel’ and later the ‘Ferry Hotel’. This is said to be due to the fact that a condition of operating the hotel was they had to… “keep a boat of a certain size, capable of carrying a certain number of passengers; and the boat was to run a certain number of times during the day”.
Despite being an early pioneer in the area, the Callans fell on tough times by the 1870s, with Philip Callan declared bankrupt. They lost the licence to operate the hotel. Jane died in 1881 and Philip in 1884.
History records that “Ireland can be proud of these two settlers who left the misery of existence in the terrible years of famine to make a new life in New Zealand. They made an early and notable contribution to the successful settlement of the North Shore.”
After a fire, which destroyed the original building beyond repair, tenders were called for the building of a handsome family hotel of two storeys in the Italian order. Messrs Hammond & Sons were the architects and the two-storey hotel, looking pretty much as it is today, was opened for business in 1884.
There was the addition of a new wing on the Queen Street side of the hotel in 1936 when the property was purchased by Mrs Myers of Campbell Ehrenfried Brewery – later to become Lion Breweries run by Sir Douglas Myers.
Since then, despite being renovated, the hotel has basically remained unchanged in appearance to the present day and still retains the charm and atmosphere of a by-gone era. It was turned into a ‘Tavern’ after the bridge was opened in 1956.
The current owners, Billy and Kim Milne, took over running the tavern in 1990 for Lion Breweries. They then purchased the business and land and buildings from Lion in 1995.
