Working men's club revamp tapping into changing times
Friday, 4 January 2019
A Christchurch working men's club is undergoing a $16 million redevelopment to make it 'more relevant again'.
Hornby Working Men's Club general manager Paul Inwood said about 60 per cent of its 8000 members were over 60, and the club needed to both support its local community and grow its membership into the wider Selwyn area to ensure 'a more sustainable future'.
The new facility, due to be completed late 2020, will include three dining areas – a cafe, a sports bar, and a restaurant with an indoor playground – three conference rooms, and a mezzanine function room.
'With the changes to New Zealand's traditional drinking culture, the club must provide more of a family environment,' Inwood said.
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'One of the ways of doing that is reinvigorating the club and making it more relevant again … a lot of younger people might not know what a working men's club is about.'
Working men's clubs emerged in the industrial areas of England from the mid-19th century to provide recreational and educational services for working men. The first New Zealand club was set up in Dunedin in 1874, and three years later clubs were founded in Wellington, Napier and Greytown.
Clubs NZ represents about 300 working men's clubs, chartered clubs, RSAs and sports clubs, with more than 300,000 members.
Chief executive Larry Graham said many social clubs across the country were trying to become relevant again as dining habits changed and their memberships aged.
The Greymouth club was one that fell victim to dropping patronage in 2017 after 70 years on the West Coast.
Clubs were paying closer attention demographic changes and building their business around the age and income of local families, Graham said.
'What works in Ashburton doesn't necessarily work in Papanui, or the Hawke's Bay,' Graham said, noting gaming was still very popular nationwide.
However, he said there was a shift generally towards providing better food and entertainment options.
People wanted somewhere they could 'have a beer, have a meal, and bring the kids along'.
'There used to be a stigma about coming down to the club for a beer but there are some places now where the club is the place to go.'
Christchurch's Papanui Club grew from 4000 members to 12,000 after a $14m rebuild completed in 2016. The new complex features a sports bar, a traditional carvery, and Argentinian-inspired restaurant.
General manager Brett Gay said its growth was due to having a more modern facility with more dining options, and because it was more welcoming to younger members and women.
The committee and members wanted to attract a younger audience because too many clubs that had not done so had found they literally had a dying membership, he said. One rule change is that hats are now allowed to be worn in the sports bar.
While some members 'would like their old little club back', most realised the upgrade and changes were necessary and meant they had better facilities, Gay said.
Gay has been at Papanui for a year, having previously worked in sports clubs in New South Wales. He said from what he had seen, working men's clubs in New Zealand were 20 to 30 years behind clubs in Australia, when similar changes started to be made.
The Hornby Working Men's Club was founded in 1956 for employees of the local freezing works and glassworks – some of whom are still members.
Inwood said the club had to value its long term members – 'our core business' – while proactively seeking a new generation of members.
'From a younger person's view, they might say 'do you have to be working to be part of the club?' Or 'do you have to be a man to be part of the club?' It's about throwing back the curtain and throwing some light on those things.'
The club will remain open during the redevelopment, which starts on Monday with the demolition of its eastern wing.