Tyler hangs up clippers

A central Auckland barber is hanging up his clippers after almost half a century.

Allan Tyler, 69, will retire at the end of next week, 49 years after he first started cutting hair in the central business district.

In July Tyler will turn 70, which coincided with the end of the lease for the Queens Arcade barbershop Hair For Men, where Tyler worked beside barber John Daube.

Working for five decades on Queen St and Victoria St meant Tyler cut the hair of High Court judges, chief executives, university lecturers and scientists.

Kevin Sherlock, who had been getting his hair cut by Tyler for 15 years, said he was at a loss for where he would go once the doors were closed.

In 1968 20-year-old Tyler finished his barbering apprenticeship and began to cut hair in the Strand Arcade on Queen St.

Two years later he opened a salon called Mayfair Hairdressers in the back of a bookshop on Victoria St, and in 1986 he moved into the Queens Arcade.

He said he’d been successful because he provided quick, quality haircuts, fostered good relationships, and offered clients good conversation.

His most enjoyed eras in Auckland were the America’s Cup, the Lions Tours and even the 1987 stock market crash.