Pubs aplenty: Stafford St in 1903, looking south up Stafford St hill. The Criterion Hotel is on the right.

Timaru's rich tapestry of drinking dens dates back to the 19th century. The Excelsior is an example. It has gone through many changes and will soon mark its 140th birthday. Al Williams looks at a hotel with a colourful history.

For hundreds of years, the pub has evolved as a place for people to meet and blow off steam.

Kiwi drinking culture has been questioned on many occasions and alcohol has been blamed for breaking down the moral fibre of society. But many pubs have a rich history.

SUPPLIED/Timaru Herald Town of wood: The intersection of Great South Rd, Stafford St and George St, before fire wiped out most of the town's wooden structures.

The Excelsior's story hails back to the days of traders, whalers and sailors. Christened the Criterion at the end of the 19th century, it was one of the first bluestone buildings to be registered in Timaru.

The Excelsior was a contemporary of the Landing Services Building and, like most buildings of that era, was constructed in stone to conform to the bylaws introduced after the 1868 Stafford St fire, which wiped out all the weatherboard structures.

There is some debate as to the age of the building, although official records show it was completed in 1870.

SUPPLIED/Timaru Herald Northern view: Stafford St looking north towards George St and Cain Tce in 1890.

In Victorian times, when the port was further south, the Excelsior was at the centre of the town's commercial area. It started its life as a waterfront tavern. The first few feet of dry land from the landing stage to its doors were the first steps sailors would take upon reaching shore.

It quickly made a colourful reputation for itself and became known from Hong Kong to London, in San Francisco and Marseilles and in every port in between.

As Timaru grew and developed, the sailors drifted to other hotels. The Excelsior changed with the times. Locals who had previously shunned its debauched atmosphere started to patronise the premises.

SUPPLIED/Timaru Herald Wide streets: Stafford St looking south from the intersection of George St and Great South Rd in 1890. On the right of the street, a sign reads ``GS Newey's'', proprietor of the Criterion Hotel.

It has seen its share of less congenial moments, including a double-shooting incident. For years, it was known as a crack den, open for the dedicated drinking fraternity, where dockside workers and public servants would meet for a yarn.

The building stands today as a testament to the Victorian-Edwardian period, which is the foundation of New Zealand's architectural character and the most significant period of Timaru's architectural development.

Significant elements in its construction include bluestone walls, quoins, window and door detail, pilasters, cornice moulding and a parapet.

The Timaru District Council describes the building in its heritage inventory as having aesthetic, architectural, cultural, historical, educational, social, technological, townscape and traditional value.

Records show the first of many alterations and additions began on the building in 1878.

Ronald Shelton bought the building in 1998 and rebranded the business as a party bar. He demolished the accommodation blocks on both floors and built an open-air terrace bar on the first floor.

He joins a long list of publicans who have managed the building and poured drinks for South Canterbury people during the past 140 years.

There was a time when it was a serious pub for serious drinkers, Mr Shelton said. A beer was available in the mornings for those who needed lubrication before their court appearances.

There is, of course, a rich history of quirky stories that go with the building.

Licensee Joseph Murphy had a staircase installed inside the building and made improvements at the rear to include four bedrooms downstairs, a sports room, a billiards room upstairs, six bedrooms and a bathroom, all in response to increasing demand for accommodation. The additions were built of brick.

While Mr Murphy was overseeing the first lot of alterations in 1878, his wife placed an advertisement in the situations vacant column of The Timaru Herald on Wednesday, August 14, 1878.

It read: "Wanted. A girl between 15 and 20 years old, who can milk. Apply to Mrs Murphy, Criterion Hotel."

Legend has it that Mr and Mrs Murphy had the cow accommodated at the rear of the pub, where it kept them in a steady supply of milk.

Mr Murphy's luck ran out when he was charged with permitting gambling in his licensed house.

His defence claimed it was reasonable for someone to have as many packs of cards in their house as they wished, and sometimes they could not prevent other people from playing them.

Mr Murphy was fined 20 shillings and the judge informed his defence that if he wished to appeal the matter, then the fine would increase to 5.

The Woods family was closely associated with the Excelsior for more than 20 years. Andy Woods owned it from 1944 until 1951 when he leased it to his son, Allan Woods.

Allan Woods vacated the premises in 1952.

Subsequently, two of Mr Woods' daughters operated the lease between 1957 and 1966.

Mr WJWattie Sheehan took control in 1966 and set about changing local drinking habits.

He was the first licensee to apply successfully for a variation in trading hours after the introduction of 10pm closing in 1967.

"A large proportion of my patrons are shift workers and to the man who works at night, popping in for a beer in the morning is the same as the day worker going for a drink at 5pm," he explained.

The establishment's colourful reputation was reinforced in 1970, when managers Ray and Adelaide Ferguson transformed the tavern lounge with the vision of enticing customers into a Victorian scene.

They suggested the environment could become a habit to enjoy, and with that in mind, they named their tavern lounge The Habit.

The Habit was advertised as a functional hotel bar, open each day from 8.30am until 7.30pm. There are plenty of stories that suggest night-shift workers would share in the delights of dawn-breaking drinks at 6am.

On record, the tavern managers said it would cost no more to drink in the lounge, because a man ought not to be penalised by high prices for the pleasure of drinking with his wife, and that women who drank with their friends should have the same privileges as men.

Patrons could sit in what was described as New Zealand's own Spanish mahogany chaise longue with its own lovers' seat.

Chandeliers adorned the walls, a walnut refectory table gleamed in the light, crimson plush velvet drapes hung from Edwardian carved Spanish mahogany rods and the bar was adorned with crimson velvet sags and tails to form a canopy supported by Spanish mahogany uprights. Not bad for a den of iniquity.

Things have changed in the hospitality trade, with a host of legislation and bylaws aimed at curbing our nation's thirst for binge drinking. Mr Shelton said he had seen some considerable changes in the 10 years he had been operating in the hotel, including the reduction of the drinking age to 18 and changes to operational hours.