Pub purchase ends dry spell

A pub with no beer is no joke – especially when it’s the only one in town.

So spare a thought for the thirsty hordes of Mangaweka, where the local has been closed for half a year, forcing drinkers up the road to Taihape, or south to Ohingaiti.

But relief is in sight, as the Langholm has just been bought by shearing contractor Dave Gordon and his business partner, following the unexpected death of former owner Lyn Watson last September.

There is one slight complication though: Gordon plans to lease out the bar. This may hold things up a bit, although all that will be needed to get the taps pouring again is a licence and stock, because everything else was left in place.

Gordon said he had been looking for a base for his shearing operation, so would be adding up to 15 rooms to what is already available at the pub for his staff.

Numbers in the gang will swell to about 35 at the time of the main shear from October, arriving from the likes of Britain and France.

He reckoned regulars would be ‘‘over the moon’’ at the news the pub had been bought and would soon be back into the swing of things. A couple of locals had so far expressed an interest in leasing the bar.

Gordon, a shearer for 20 years, mainly throughout Europe, said he settled on Mangaweka because it was central to Taihape in the north and Hunterville down south.

‘‘I love the Rangitikei,’’ he said. Gordon lives in Utiku and said he had jet-boated the river for 20 years.

The pub was very much the proverbial hub of the community before it closed.

It hosted dinners and events, as well as karaoke, New Year’s events and birthday parties.

The hotel was built 60-odd years ago and has a distinctive art deco frontage on one side. It has four guest bedrooms, two owners’ rooms, a dining room and an ‘‘al fresco drinking and dining area’’.

Close to State Highway One, it attracted passing motorists, backpackers, cyclists, motorbike groups and other travellers.