Selwyn Times: September 08, 2021

Selwyn Times Wednesday September 8 2021
6
NEWS
• From page 1
But where their fellow potential
buyers saw a lot of work,
Hakkaart and Handley saw
opportunity.
They bought it 10 months
ago and have begun long-term
renovations, with the bar area
shaping up as the shop, gallery,
studio and teaching space.
The couple were planning to
open Labour Weekend, however,
with delivery delays of a front
door and other items due to
lockdown, the opening may
instead be later in the year.
Hakkaart said the bar area had
lent itself perfectly to becoming
an artistic haven. It was a large
wide open space, with darkstained
oregon woodwork.
“We have basically brightened
it and cleaned it all up, lots of
clean white surfaces,” Hakkaart
said.
They planned to ultimately
turn the rest of the building
into a nice home, and would
knock out walls in some of the
bedrooms to make them bigger
and reduce their number to six
or seven.
They have removed a large
macrocarpa hedge and undertaken
other outdoor improvements,
which has yielded two
historic coins, from 1900 and
1901, as well as old broken bottles.
The pub was moved to the
site in 1890 and has had many
additions, including a first storey,
since.
“It’s a character building, and
it’s obviously a historical one. It
lacks historical listing because
of all the changes it has had
over the years. As part of the
Hororata community, it has a
huge amount of history tied into
it, everyone around here would
have stories about the place,”
Hakkaart said.
He said the pub’s heyday was
in the 1980s and 90s when it was
a stopover for skiers, and visited
by locals and others passing
through.
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Opportunities presented
SPACIOUS: Frank Hakkaart’s workspace inside the former
Hororata Hotel.
While those days were gone,
today Hororata remained a
destination township, he said.
It had many weekend visitors
from people driving and biking
through, as well as classic car
rallies.
He said they were looking
forward to opening their doors,
although ironically have had to
turn some people away.
“The number of times we
have had people turning up at
the door, they are wanting a
beer or wanting to use the TAB
or whatever. We are having to
say: ‘It’s been 10 years mate’,”
Hakkaart said.
‘I like fixing things, and
this is a big fixer-up’
• By Susan Sandys
FRANK HAKKAART is
utilising two of his skills at the
former Hororata Hotel – pottery
and home renovation.
As he sets up his pottery
studio with gallery and teaching
space, he is giving the old building
an extensive makeover.
Hakkaart has operated West
Melton Pottery for five years
while based at West Melton.
Now he and fiancé Sarah Handley
are transitioning that business
into their new residence and
gallery at the former pub, called
The Artist’s In.
Hakkaart said buying the
former pub and moving out to
Hororata had made perfect sense
for the couple, as the studio at
West Melton became too small
to teach growing numbers attending
his classes.
Not only did the former hotel
offer more space, it was well
located, lending itself to become
a central area for Selwyn’s wide
range of artists to display and
sell their work.
“The gallery, the size it is, is a
real bonus. It means we can open
it up and create a craft art hub
here in Hororata,” he said.
However, the building needed
a lot of work. This is a challenge
Hakkaart is more than happy
to take on, having come from a
ARTIST: Hakkaart is
enjoying having more
space for potting inside
the hotel.
PHOTOS: GEOFF SLOAN
background of home renovation.
When he and his late wife
lived in Dunedin, Hakkaart was
a stay-at-home dad who would
renovate the couple’s homes and
work casually as a handyman.
“I like fixing things, and this
is a big fixer-up,” he said of the
former hotel.
“It’s a great project to do for
the next five to 10 and 15 years,
depending on how the body lasts
really. I like to be busy, and this
just ticked all those boxes,” he
said.
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