Record
November 13 2013
The
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Further AvonGo City Ford
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Historic Springfield Hotel set to reopen u by Kent Caddick
A trip to New Zealand to mark their 20th wedding anniversary has led to an Australian family becoming the new owners of the iconic Selwyn pub, the Springfield Hotel.
New playground arrives at West Melton Primary
Following much anticipation a new senior playground has been installed at West Melton Primary School …
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Graduates ready to face the world
Darfield High School’s recent prize giving showcased a new crop of young and hopeful graduates …
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Malvern Community Board welcomes new members The first meeting of the new Malvern Community Board members saw two rookies take their place …
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Peter Richardson, whose grandfather is a Kiwi, said he and wife Michelle came to New Zealand to celebrate 20 years of marriage and spent a week in Hanmer Springs. “After that we came to New Zealand regularly for a holiday and Michelle said I changed as a person and was more relaxed when we visited here.” Michelle said that as soon as they returned to Brisbane Peter would get tense and start stressing out. Peter said they were blown away by how friendly everyone in New Zealand is. “I really don’t understand why so many Kiwis head to Australia, it is so not like New Zealand where you can walk down the street and everyone says hello. If you try that in Australia you are likely to be met with aggression.” So the Richardsons, who owned a construction business, decided to make the move across the Tasman more permanent. “I had always wanted to own a pub so we began looking over here,” said Peter, who has also been involved in restaurants and a family motel business in Australia. “We travelled all around the North Island before coming down to the South Island and were looking at a business in Sheffield when we heard about the Springfield Hotel so thought we would pop down the road and take a look.”
p The new hosts of the Springfield Hotel are, from left: Wade, Michelle (holding family dog Marlon), Peter and Jake Richardson
The pub had closed down earlier this year after former leasee Malcolm West’s company was placed into liquidation, while the property on 2.5 acres and including the backpackers’ accommodation was owned by Queen Street Backpackers. The Richardsons successfully negotiated with Queen St Backpackers to purchase the property and while they
intend to build a family home at the rear of the hotel and reopen the backpackers their first priority has been getting the pub open. So, with his two sons, Wade (22) and Jake (16), Peter has got stuck into refurbishing the hotel, while Michelle and a family friend are sorting out the supply and financial sides of the business. continued on pg 5 …
Residential & Lifestyle Property Experts
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