Richmond Club no longer ‘God’s waiting room’ as membership soars

Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Richmond Club general manager Jimmy Summerfield says the club’s members have grown exponentially in just over six years, from 1100 in 2019 to nearly 11,000.

There is no smell of stale beer, the sound of children echoes from the play area and the membership is growing at a Christchurch club thatis no longer chained to the working men’s club moniker.

On the corner of London St and Stanmore Rd, the $15 million post-quake rebuild of the Richmond Club has lifted more than just its street appeal, it has introduced award-winning facilities, reduced its average age from 63 to 59, and increased its membership ten-fold.

It has seen “extraordinary growth,” Richmond Club general manager Jimmy Summerfield said, from 1100 members in 2019, when the new facility opened, to nearly 11,000 six years later.

The old Richmond Working Men’s Club was brought down after the Christchurch earthquakes, giving way to a multi-million dollar facility opened in 2019.

And it is still growing. Every month 200 people are signing up to the $30 annual membership, or $15 for the over 60s, which activates a 50c discount on all food and drinks, access to the courtesy van, raffles and facilities, and the ability to buy alcohol on the premises.

But why is the possibly old-fashioned idea of a club growing in popularity in the 21st century?

“Our secret sauce is our service, we have phenomenal staff,” Summerfield said.

“It’s like a mini convention centre for the local community” unlike the former clubs where visitors could “smell the stale beer in the carpet”.

“We’re changing the mindset of what clubs used to be.”

It has award-winning squash courts, a children’s playground, gaming room, pool tables, dart boards, a function centre, live music, live sport screens and three different areas to eat and drink, including The Tap Room, The Custodian Cafe and the Critic Sports Bar.

The facility is home to a variety of areas including three eateries, three award-winning squash courts, a gaming area and function centre.

“There’s many little strings to our bows.”

He said it had moved with the times and was no longer the “departure lounge” that working men’s clubs were once known as, referring to the older clientele.

Clubs NZ Canterbury and North Otago area board member Maurice Nutira said there was a stigma around the clubs being “God’s waiting room” due to their traditional popularity as old men’s drinking holes.

The Kaiapoi Club, formerly branded as a working men’s club, only allowed women members in 1985 and younger members eventually followed.

Nutira said junior members were joining to participate in the clubs’ sports, especially pool and darts.

“We’re ringing them in and teaching them protocols and behaviours and values.”

There was a misconception about clubs, he said - they were “totally different” from the days “when granddad drank there”.

Richmond Club member Paul Williams, 37, has been a member for a few years, taking advantage of the access to darts, pool and cheaper beer than most pubs.

While Richmond had “grown another leg” since the earthquakes, he said some clubs hadn’t “changed with the times” leaving them floundering instead of flourishing.

“They’ve got to have an atmosphere” and the Richmond Club’s entertainment was a “draw card” for people, Nutira said.

Paul Williams, 37, a St Albans local, has been a Richmond Club member for a few years enjoying the darts and pool, and participating in club competitions.

Summerfield says on a busy day the kitchen was serving 1000 meals including lunch and dinner serving classic fish and chips, pizza, roasts and bangers and mash all at a reasonable price.

He said his local mates were members, and he followed suit.

Originally from Manchester, UK, he remembered going to the working men’s club back home with his dad at 16, but that was when “old men” dominated the establishment.

The Richmond Club was established in 1888, making it one of the oldest in the country, and despite dropping the title, it remains one of a handful of registered working men’s clubs in New Zealand.

Registered working men’s clubs support their community through sponsorships, training, and events.

Nola Oldham, left with friends Julie Shindler, Noleen Forbes and Elaine McKinlay is a member of the Hornby Club but preferred the Richmond Club for its “nice meals”.

The Richmond Club had been going for 137 years, Summerfield said.

“If the old girl [former building] was still standing, it wouldn’t be sustainable in this market. It was very different.”

Nola Oldham, 89, was at the Richmond Club with a few friends for lunch - her Hornby Club membership allowing her access to all the other clubs in Canterbury.

She said she joined the Hornby Club in 1986 when women were first allowed to sign up. Her husband had been a member since the 1960s.

She liked having access to indoor bowls and having a drink with her husband.

But despite Hornby being her local, she had trekked across town to meet friends and have a nice meal.

“This is the best club,” Oldham said.

It recently won its third consecutive People’s Choice at the Hospitality Awards for Excellence, beating hundreds of eateries and hotels around the country.

Summerfield said on a busy day the kitchen was serving 1000 meals including lunch and dinner offering classic fish and chips, pizza, roasts and bangers and mash - all at a reasonable price.

“There’s not many restaurants you can go to with a two in front [of the price],” he said.

“You can go out and get a meal and a drink for $30 and $35; you’re lucky to get a meal in town[for that].”