Regulars bid farewell to Havelock North pub

Clive man Shann Longley (right) picked up two distinctive eye signs at an auction of chattels from the former Happy Tav, yesterday. With him is his son Terry. Photo / Warren Buckland

Hundreds of items from a Havelock North local with a long history went under the hammer yesterday.

Icons@ The Tav, formerly known as The Happy Tav is set to be demolished, making way for a five star hotel.

Situated on the corner of Porter Drive and Te Aute Rd the building held many memories for the crowd which spilled from its entrances during a four-hour auction from 10am.

Hospitality equipment made up the majority of sale items and started from about $5, but there were also sound systems, building materials and pretty much everything else - secured or not.

A distinctive eye sign from Icons Restaurant held sentimental value for Shann Longley, as he used to work at the bar before its name change.

He had gone to the auction with that specific purchase in mind and was happy to come away with a bargain, paying $50 and $65 respectively for a pair.

"To be perfectly honest I thought they might look good in the garden, that was half the plan, we bought both, one might look good on the fence or something ... it was interesting, it's name is fitting because it certainly ended up being an icon of Havelock North," Mr Longley said.

A set of four roof-mounted disco lights fetched $250, while a collection of wall lamps and exit signs were a bargain at $10, but it was a pair of framed All Blacks rugby jerseys that caught the eye of Bryce Rendle.

"I didn't come for those, but it's the novelty factor," he said.

What lured him in the first place was securing a little piece of history for his boat or garage - perhaps some bar signs - though Jonah Lomu and Sean Fitzpatrick's jerseys would now take pride of place.

"They might go in the man cave I think ... It's just a bit of memorabilia to mark the end of an era."

For Les and Teresa Fly who spent many a night at The Tav the day was about finding a few keepsakes to mark the good times.

They took home five Kiwi Kegs and a box filled with promotional items from Hurricanes flags to Tui hats, which they would probably give as gifts.

"It's such an iconic place, it's been here ever since I can remember," Mrs Fly added. "Maybe we will buy some bar stools too".

Others such as Nan Nuku from Fernhill came in search of a bargain. She picked up a bain-marie but was keeping other items on the wish list close to her chest.

Ms Nuku read about the auction in Hawke's Bay Today and made a special trip to place her bid.

"I'm not finished yet, I'm going for something else but that's a bit of a secret," she said.

The 1960s building makes way for a Havelock North Village Exchange development. The $25 million project has been undergoing planning for 10 years by Lowmac Properties, a partnership between the Lowe and Mackersey families.

Happy Tav business owner Gavin Skinner had leased the building from owner David Mackersey for about 19 years and knew of the hotel development for 15 of those.

Seeing the chattels sold off was a bit of a "mixed bag" for Mr Skinner, who kept just a couple of pieces to remember the place by.

There had been a lot of support over the years, something he celebrated with a closing party on Christmas eve. It was demonstrated again by a great turn out at the auction.

"A couple of guys there yesterday I had never met before, they were at the opening of the bar in 1964," he said.