Tales from the Past - a look at the history of HANZ Chapters 4 - 5

Chapter 4:

Association history was made on the 2nd September 1929 when the annual general meeting was held for the first time outside Wellington. The venue was Greymouth and the coasters certainly set a fine example with a record number of members attending. Every annual meeting since 1902 had been held in Wellington with good attendances but boosted considerably by the attendance of every hotelier on the Coast, Greymouth broke all previous records. The Association was still basking in the glory of the Ohinemuri result, the probability of the end of the prohibition worry, and the added confidence of having the Aucklanders back in the fold.

Greymouth scored in other ways as well. Most of the delegates from outside the Coast had never experienced the unique hospitality and character of the area, and numerous letters of praise flooded into the ULVA office in Wellington with promises of a return journey. The local branch for the first time in the Association's history, referred to the annual general meeting as a conference, a word in common usage in the United States but not in New Zealand at that time.

The only low point of the gathering was the disclosure of a document signed by the Minister of Justice of the day - referred to in the conference minutes as a "wowser" - barring hoteliers from being appointed as Justices of the Peace. In true West Coast style the local branch had the direction rescinded before the conference ended!! It was hinted that the Prime Minister of the day, Sir Joseph Ward, a leader at various times of both the Liberal and United Parties and a staunch anti-prohibitionist, had intervened at the request of a personal friend in the trade. He died a few weeks after the conference.

Back in Wellington it was business as usual and the name of United Licensed Victuallers Association of New Zealand, with the deletion of the words "and Related Licensed Retail Traders", had become very acceptable and for convenience with common usage became simply ULVA. Unfortunately, things within the trade were unsettled and there were stern words between ULVA and the merchants particularly with home deliveries having a drastic effect on many bottle stores. Mr Bankart had been elevated to the position of the National Council and quite clearly he did not want the Association to exist. The tax payer funder National Council were very powerful and both the Provincial Council and the Association had extreme difficulty in extracting the funding that had previously been agreed to.

The passing of Sir Arthur Myers who had been a great stalwart of the industry and a good friend of ULVA did not help matters and it had to be conceded that Sir Ernest Davis and Bankart had established a very well run empire, particularly in the northern part of the country. The trade unions backed the Brewers and several trivial issues were taken out of context. The National Bible Society campaigned for compulsory Bibles in all hotel rooms and although it was left to the discretion of the individual hoteliers Sir Ernest Davis gained immense popularity by making the good book compulsory reading in his establishments.

However, in 1930 it was decided that the annual conference would again be away from Wellington and Palmerston North hosted a moderate attendance presided over by James McParland re-elected for the fourth successive year. Past President Percy Coyle had been elected Official Representative on the National Council and this was seen as a positive step for the Association as the friendly Irishman had been a great advocate for the hotel sector before and after his stint at President. A year later he was appointed General Secretary of the National Council of the Licensed Trade, a position he served with distinction until his retirement.

Timaru bought a remit to conference seeking the introduction of an apprenticeship scheme in the industry but despite being heavily supported it was withdrawn apparently because of pressure from the union movement. Tom Coltman, of the Grand Hotel in Wellington, in his fifth year as Treasurer, spoke vehemently against the withdrawal and supported the scheme for the remainder of his long stint as Treasurer and President which continued into the '50's.

Three delegates were given permission to leave the conference early - two to catch their respective trains home and one who had received a telegram advising that his hotel had been damaged by fire. Adequately insured but like most hotels during the depression not trading well, the hotelier was upset that the fire brigade had managed to arrive so quickly. He informed the conference before he left that he would be instructing his wife and staff in the event of a future fire to write a letter to the Fire Brigade and to attend when they had a spare moment!!

The issues of the day concerned mainly liquor pricing and associated tariff problems with imported spirits. Coyle managed to persuade the Minister of Customs to reduce duty on whisky and bring the price down from 65 shillings ($12.50) per case to 60 shillings ($12.00). This major reduction was a boon to hoteliers. There was talk of approaching the Prime Minister on the tariff question but it was resolved that such a move may be dangerous as some hoteliers were doing their own deals with the shortfall being paid for by United Kingdom distilling companies. Many of these were Auckland members and a split was the last thing the Association needed at such a crucial time. In addition the country was still in the throes of the worst economic depression the world had ever experienced and many hoteliers had reduced beer prices in bars from 6 pence to 4 pence to try and keep customers and remain in business.

In 1931 the conference returned to Wellington with James McParland from Wellington's Hotel Cecil retaining the Presidency but in a close ballot James W Young of Bransons Hotel in Dunedin replaced Pat Brodie of Auckland as Vice President. There was concern expressed that although there were several apologies from the Auckland area, only the branch secretary turned up for the annual meeting.

The effect of the depression on hotels was evident from the remits. Otago and other southern areas wanted home brewing made illegal while other areas wanted extended hours to 8pm at least. There was considerable dissension concerning the retention of six o'clock closing given that it was a war time restriction introduced almost two decades earlier.

Probably the most significant event of the early 30's was the registration of ULVA as an Industrial Union and the appointment of assessors under the Association's advocate Mr W J Mountjoy of the Wellington Employers Association. For the record the first six assessors appointed to represent the Association in award talks were Percy Coyle (Wellington), T A Heath ( Provincial Hotel, Napier), James McParland (ULVA President), J.A Boulton (Christchurch), M J Walsh (Auckland branch secretary) and M O'Brien (Crown Hotel, Otautau Southland). They held their first meeting in the new board room of the Association's premises leased from the AMP in Featherston Street, on 30 September 1932 - the same day that the ULVA executive met in the new premises for the first time.

For several reasons the 1932 conference, scheduled for Christchurch, was cancelled for the first and only time in the Association's history. Several executive and special meetings around the country, mainly concerning the prolonged industrial award talks, the associated absence of hoteliers from their establishments in difficult trading times, and the transfer from rented to leased premises all contributed to the cancellation much to the consternation of Canterbury who eventually gained some consolation by hosting the 1933 gathering.

One of the great characters of the industry died in 1932. Patrick J Griffin, the Honorary Consul for Ireland, was described by Pat Lawlor as an urbane, neatly dressed little Irishman, beloved by the sons of Erin, the licensed trade, the racing, boxing and journalists fraternity and the Police Force. He was the senior vice president of the Association when he died and due to become president at the conference which ironically he had been the instigator of calling off. He was the licensee of the Pier and Gresham Hotels in Wellington, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and obviously groomed for the Presidency of the Association. His funeral was one of the largest seen in Wellington, and the cortege included 30 Members of Parliament, several Judges and Magistrates, the Commissioner of Police, hundreds of priests and nuns and obviously members of the licensed trade from all around the country.

Towards the end of the depression the Association realised rather suddenly that the finances were in a critical state. The lease of the new premises and justifiable bonuses paid to secretary Oakes and Percy Coyle had been substantial but many hoteliers had been unable to pay the annual fee of one guinea ($2.10) set by the constitution at the setting up of ULVA. At an emergency executive meeting held in September 1933 it was disclosed that there was barely 50 pounds ($100) left in reserves.

Many of the branches - who collected the hoteliers' levy - had not been forwarding the money and it was resolved that "due to the situation, all branches be written to plainly setting out the position and informing them that unless all contributions were forwarded without delay it would be accepted as an indication that ULVA was no longer required and further that those hotels and branches who were unfinancial would be listed as defaulters!!"

To make matters worse the Association was threatened with eviction by the land lord for unpaid lease payments and it was necessary to sell desks and furniture to delay the process. Another urgent executive meeting was held the following month and Treasurer Tom Coltman read the riot act criticising not only the branches but his own head office for lack of communication and inactivity in reaching the parlous state they now found themselves in. He also revealed that the National Council had been negligent in their contribution of only 500 pounds ($1000) when their promised figure at the time of the constitution of ULVA had been three times that amount.

Percy Coyle then addressed the meeting pointing out many positive issues achieved by the Association without help from the National Council. For instance Coyle had done a deal with the Performing Rights Association whereby ULVA paid 60 pounds ($120) per annum for the use of radios in all members hotels irrespective of the number of radios. This had been an ongoing problem as many hoteliers were in arrears and had refused to pay the levy during the worst years of the slump. Many who did pay passed the fee on to the illegal bookmakers operating in most bars. Percy Coyle not only produced the contract setting out that all arrears, overdue accounts, and judgment summons had been wiped, but also the account for 60 pounds which was unanimously passed for immediate payment.

Coyle's address obviously had the desired effect. He was a highly regarded man and just that morning had been appointed to the executive of the New Zealand Travel Corporation - later the Government Tourist Bureau. As general secretary of the National Council he had performed admirably on issues for hoteliers in award matters, licensing issues, and restoration and tenure problems particularly in country areas and had to oppose the industry heavyweights on his council who quite clearly would have been delighted to see the Association fold.

At the end of his oration he was given a standing ovation and it was unanimously resolved that "we all go forward together" and that the annual conference be held in Christchurch on 2 November 1933.

At conference the Association refused an application from "New Zealand Licensee" for official recognition and although no reasons were given reference was made to "the circulation of some scurrilous destructive propaganda in the Southland area." It was in fact several years before an amicable decision was reached with the magazine. The hardy annuals were unanimously supported, like later pre-war hours restoration and Government reduction of duty on beer and spirits - with a rider -wine is not a priority!! Sadly only 24 hoteliers and the secretary of the Mt Cook Tourist Company from Timaru attended the conference and James W Young of Otago replaced Jim McParland as president. The highlight of the Christchurch conference was probably that it heralded the introduction of the first type written annual general meeting minutes in the Association's history. It was a pity because the Cantabrians had gone to a lot of trouble to make their first conference a success.

Napier applied for the 1934 conference to coincide with the New Zealand amateur boxing championships, the Hawkes Bay Gold Cup race meeting and the Licensed Trade golf in September. Because of the political situation, Wellington was preferred, as the General Election was originally planned for 1934.

The Coalition United/Reform Government had been generally supportive of the industry but as the depression deepened Labour withdrew its support for the coalition and clearly indicated that the Licensing Act of 1908 should only be an agenda item if it concerned tourism which had become a major issue as New Zealand and most of the rest of the world came out of the Great Depression.

The Coalition was in disarray and in desperation increased the term of government to 4 years with the next election to take place in 1935. The Labour Party was no friend of the licensed trade and redundant licences were a major issue. However, the convenient 4 year term suited Napier who hosted the 1934 conference in the Napier Borough Council Chambers. The magnificently restored chambers hosted for the first time an executive meeting on the 18 September 1934 prior to the Conference the following day.

32 members attended but the numbers had been affected by a rail strike which resulted in only a few arriving from the South Island, but as with the West Coast a few years before the publicans from the east emulated their counterparts from the west and swelled the ranks. Hawkes Bay, as usual, was magnificent in the spring, but those attending from out of the area saw for the first time and were visibly effected by the dreadful aftermath of the terrible earthquake of 1931.

Further drama emerged following the sincere warm welcome from the Mayor Mr C O Morse, who thanked the attendees profusely for patronising the city. President James Young after one year in office intimated that he should stand down as he considered himself to be a failure mainly because of the financial situation and the effect of the "Licensee" scandal in his area notwithstanding that he personally had had anything to do with the events that took place.

An urgent adjournment was taken and Young was coerced into taking the chair and indeed retained the presidency until 1936. The conference dealt with the usual matters and the hospitality was excellent. Although times were still tough the hat was taken around at the end of the conference and the collection boosted the Mayor's Relief Fund by over one hundred pounds.

The General Election was duly held in 1935 and it is now part of history that neither of the Coalition parties gained a seat whilst Labour Government swept to victory under "the plain clothes Saint" Michael Joseph Savage by 30 seats. They polled 55 seats , with National away back on 19, and 6 Independents

This critical political scenario had a large effect on the industry for many years. It was thought that the Coalition Party had not been good friends of the trade but they did have an ally in George William Forbes who had been Prime Minister from May 1930 until the Labour landslide of 1935. Previously deputy leader of United in the Coalition, he virtually led the Party during Ward's ill health and became Prime Minister when Ward died. Educated in Christchurch, he farmed at Cheviot, was a former famous Canterbury rugby half back in the 1890's. Probably most importantly given the times, he wasn't scared of a drink.

Although not apparent and purporting to support the coalition, Labour saw the depression as a means of splitting the coalition and winning the 1935 election. Forbes led the new party named National Political Foundation, the fore runner of today's National Party and was described thus by a colleague "ﾅa great political half back behind a beaten pack he was thoroughly hardened in the fray of dangerous rushes and revealed his greatest talent for the defence leading up to 1935!!"

Besides the charm of Savage, there was another thorn in the side of the industry's popularity. The Rev Colin George Scrimgeour, known to thousands of New Zealand radio listeners as "Uncle Scrim" of "Friendly Road Radio" charismatically espoused the evils of drink and the plight of the workers on his station which had been taken over by the Labour Party. A strict Methodist, not surprisingly, he became the Auckland City Missioner, but thankfully because of his conscientious objection principles he fell out with Labour when the war started and moved to Australia, and was understood to have later set up television in China.

Chapter 5:

As the country came out of the throes of the depression the affairs of the Association brightened somewhat under the last year of President James Young. Young had faced some difficult years and there was obviously going to be more problems ahead with the unions relishing the new government. It was soon apparent that Young was going to struggle but there emerged a "white knight" in the form of Thomas Coltman whose family had owned and operated the Grand Hotel in Willis Street in Wellington since 1921 and under his son Jim continued doing so until the Grand was demolished in the 1970's.

Tom Coltman was a strong advocate for ULVA and had served as treasurer since 1926 and as a vice president since 1932. When he succeeded Young as president in 1936 he continued as treasurer during his presidency and right through to the early 1950's. In his first speech as president he read the riot act with a stern warning to delegates attending the annual meeting back in Wellington after two years. He said that too many members had used the depression years as an opportunity to become apathetic and not helped by the wholesalers and retailers had allowed levies to be unpaid to the detriment of the hotel trade.

He particularly emphasised the fault of the main centres and larger towns and cities and illustrated that they could all learn a lot from the Buller branch where the local president Mr J A Daily of the Royal Hotel in Westport personally attended to the collection and forwarding of subscriptions and "as one of the smallest branches they portrayed an example that might well be followed by their more affluent confreres!!"

Members took notice. The financial position improved and there was no resistance to Coltman when single handedly he set up an emergency committee in Wellington to deal with what he described as mundane matters. He was obviously the chair and the "elected" members were Reg Stewart of the City Hotel (now Flannagans) and Charles McParland of the Tramway. Full executive meetings were kept to a minimum to cut costs and no one seemed to complain about the emergency committee dealing with major issues.

With the retirement of Pat Brodie from the industry Auckland could only muster one nominee and as there was no nomination from Greymouth, Coltman instructed one to be found who must be a licensee, lessee or owner and most importantly a financial contributing member.

Coltman dealt strongly with the Unions who were seeking a 12% wage increase and finally settled at 7% after a lengthy negotiation. He insisted on combating what was left of the prohibition brigade by insisting that every effort be made to get the right people on the electoral rolls not just to preserve continuance but to ensure that the most suitable people were elected in the licensing polls.

By 1936 it became obvious that the 40 hour week was inevitable along with compulsory unionism, and the prospect of the Labour government's scheme of one big union could force licensees to join. The secretary of the Wellington Employers Association Mr W J Mountjoy and Percy Coyle set in train a process to register the Association as an industrial union of employers. Each branch convened a special general meeting with appropriate public notice to meet the requirements of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act and were admitted to the Federated Dominion of Industrial Union of Employers after a very long and rather expensive exercise.

Rules and regulations had to be drawn up with the new title requiring new letter heads and stationery and despite several attempts to negotiate with the unions there was no response. Under the articles of the new registration employers and workers faced unheard of issues like time sheets specifying hours of work "for the betterment of both parties" and formal specified notice of meetings for negotiation purposes, all issues that diehard licensees did not want a bar of.

Coltman managed to convince some members that it was essential that the new process be adopted for all on a national basis but Auckland decided that they wanted to continue their own former operation and Dunedin and Greymouth were suspicious of how the new legislation would affect licensees who had been quite happy with the previous system. Coltman took his emergency committee along with Mr Mountjoy to wait on the Minster of Labour anticipating that the intended process would fall apart. To his amazement the Minister received him warmly and immediately opened negotiations with the unions and other industry leaders with the result that within a week the registration of 24 ULVA branches was effected and Mr Mountjoy was rewarded by the Association with 10 guineas ($21) for his efforts!!

Matters remained somewhat stable in the years leading up to the Second World War and to their credit many hoteliers accepted the relationship with the unions and indeed the unions generally reciprocated. Auckland, although lawfully registered and to all intents and purposes contracted with the rest of the country, did not take part in the Association affairs but seemed to operate efficiently in their own way.

The matters that the Association dealt with were mainly trivial. Price cutting was a problem, mainly in the South Island, the magazine "N Z Licensee" could still not get official recognition for some reason that every one seemed to have forgotten about, branches settled into the role of industrial union of employers with comparative ease and the prospects of a 40 hour week seemed to be a lot more amenable than first thought.

What appeared to be minor issues actually became quite important in the development of the culture of the hotel industry. For instance in 1937 the following motion was put to the executive "that the present hours for the serving of dinner at hotels is considered most inconvenient especially to tourists and visitors arriving late, and that an extension from 8pm to 10:30pm be suggested as more suitable." The motion was put by Mr E J Kiely of Hawkes Bay and seconded by Mr F J Fay of Otago who according to the minutes was not even at the meeting!!

The suggestion caused an uproar not only around the executive table but throughout the industry and it was referred to Mr Coltman's emergency meeting who left it to the discretion of the individual hotelier and the issue was never raised again although subsequent meetings commented favourably on the extended hours.

A major issue in 1937, at the insistence of president Coltman, was the need to appoint a National Organiser of ULVA. Frank Oakes the long serving secretary agreed that there was pressure and the secretary of the Timaru branch Mr J M C McLeod had indicated his interest in the position. He came to Wellington for the interview and impressed the emergency committee with a job description he had created covering trade defence, pricing, unfair competition, industrial matters, wholesale trading, information for licensees, legislation and finance. He was given the job at 130 pounds ($260) per month although he had asked for 150 pounds. The wily Coltman suggested a 3 month contract with a review and for the first few weeks all went well.

McLeod settled the price war problems in Christchurch and organised a 10% accommodation discount for bona fide Commercial Traveller Association members on the condition that they discouraged their members from staying in motor camps. He also stabilised the automatic subscription payment process which had been a shambles for years and particularly through the depression years.

However, he could not help Auckland who had serious industrial problems and needed help without wanting to be seen as great supporters of the Association. Auckland workers wanted to negotiate but not through the Arbitration Court. McLeod had excellent results after visiting Christchurch and Dunedin and when he met the licensees of Wellington he described them as "worthy of the retailers needed to operate in the Empire City" in his first monthly report to the emergency committee who just happened to be based in Wellington.

Long serving Palmerston North president and national councilor George Luoni died suddenly in 1938 and when attending the funeral McLeod found out in no uncertain manner that the Taranaki and Hawkes Bay contingents who had travelled south for the wake did not share the same enthusiasm for their new national organiser. They had taken umbrage to some of his rather hostile circulars and his handling of the trade defence fund and standardisation of the automatic levy and were alarmed at the way the wholesaler and brewing sectors were monopolising the provincial councils.

Despite this, McLeod's contract was extended for another 3 months and he was invited to join the Association's assessors for wage rounds. However, McLeod's short but rather memorable stint as our first national organiser came to a sudden halt when he returned to Auckland and criticised the hoteliers in the smaller insignificant units for holding the gun at the heads of the larger units and the wholesalers, and according to the minutes wrote his resignation on the Limited Express on the way back to Wellington!!

The immediate pre-war years were dogged with industrial trouble. In 1938 a National Disputes Committee was set up followed shortly after by a new union for hotel clerks. In Napier the licensee of the Criterion Hotel was prosecuted for an alleged breach of the N.Z Licensed Hotel Workers Award and fined 20 pounds ($40). ULVA appealed the case and won and this very important precedent was a major blow to the union movement. It appears to have been the first occasion on which the Association funded and fought an important test case for the benefit of the whole hotel industry.

Not such good news was a letter from the Minister of Transport, the Hon Robert Semple, who wrote to the president concerned at the numbers of convictions recorded against the drivers of automobiles after having imbibed. He asked for suggestions to combat this growing problem and received a suitable reply offering co-operation.

A Dominion price list created in Wellington soon became popular throughout the country and helped to encourage Auckland to think seriously about getting back into the fold. Auckland were encountering a new "enemy" - golf clubs selling liquor without a licence. Many Queen City hoteliers who were keen golfers boycotted their favourite golf clubs and achieved some publicity for their stand but no action was taken. Correspondence of the day suggested that many golf clubs were "protected like the hen pheasant" as some of their membership boasted magistrates, judges and policemen!

The New Zealand Tobacconists Association were also up in arms complaining about the sale of tobacco and cigarettes in bars other than to bona fide guests. They claimed that it was an agreement made several years before which ULVA denied until the Tobacconists produced details of just such an arrangement consisting of a hand shake agreement before the First World War. Fortunately no living witnesses could be traced or identified and the dispute went away. One win for the hoteliers though was an arbitration appeal decision relating to the 40-hour week, in that any overtime had to be paid in the week that it was earned and could not be saved or stock-piled.