About 80 years ago, soldier Ted d'Auvergne left an unopened beer behind a Waimate bar for when he came home. He never returned and the beer is still there to this day, waiting for him.
Locals Sue Tily and Mark Tangney have only just taken the reigns as the new co-publicans of Waihao Forks.
“It’s all so surreal… coming from a farming background to hospitality is completely new to me,” Tangney told Seven Sharp.
The pub has been dubbed the ‘spaghetti junction’ of the Waimate district, being used as a centre point for those wanting to get around to other areas of the region.
Being in the hot seat for only a week, Tily and Tangney join a long list of past publicans who have vowed to protect Ted’s bottle at all costs.
“In the event of a fire or flood we have to get that out of the building, first priority… die saving it.”
The story – best told by his grand-nieces Rosa Westgarth and Jan Gibson – explains why d’Auvergne was in such a hurry.
“Uncle Ted was getting ready to go to war and he went to the Waihao Forks Pub to have a beer to wait for the train to go into Waimate to catch another train to Burnham… he decided to have a beer which he drank and then the next bottle of beer didn't get opened because the train arrived so he told the publican to look after it and he'd drink it when he came back,” they said.
Ted was killed during the battle of Crete in 1941, with his unopened beer bottle awaiting his return.
In 2020, almost 80 years after the visit, his presence was felt much more, with the Waimate community raising $45,000 to contribute towards a bronze sculpture of d’Auvergne and his unopened beer. Westgarth and Gibson were glad to hear this news.
“A real credit to the district. The mayor of Waimate and his committee did a fantastic job and the artist, he did a wonderful job.”
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