'I do' photos wanted for Sign of the Takahe book

If you, your parents, relatives or friends have ever been pictured raising a glass at the Sign of the Takahe, the image could end up in a new coffee table book covering the history of the venue.

Andrew Male, who runs the Gothic-style Cashmere landmark, has launched a public appeal for photographs - preferably monochrome - to illustrate a publication he plans to release before Christmas.

The Englishman started delving into the history of the building during the first Covid-19 lockdown and realised there was wider interest in it when the restrictions were relaxed.

"People would ask about the history of the place," he said.

"I’d be able to tell them a little bit and they’d say: 'Have you got any books?' Or anything like that.

"There had been flyers (leaflets) but nothing major."

Male did some research at Canterbury Museum, where he accessed old photos and slides, while the central library, Tūranga, has Sign of the Takahe financier Harry Ell’s notebooks.

But rather than just regurgitate facts and stock standard photos, Male wants the public to provide a personal touch.

"If someone got married there and then their daughter got married there 20-30 years later, I’d love to hear about that sort of stuff," he said, adding it was imperative the subjects were named and there was a back story.

Male said he was particularly interested in images from the 1950s - and even earlier if possible.

"I’d love black and white ones," said Male, who is compiling a binder of photos and wedding reception schedules.

"People getting married in the 1940s would be great."

But he doesn’t need photos of people just standing outside the building, which opened in 1920 as the partially constructed Tram Terminus Rest House.

Originally envisaged as a tearooms, the building was eventually finished in 1948 - 30 years after the first sod was turned.

The book will cover the earthquakes - Christchurch City Council completed a $2.8 million restoration project in 2017 - and Male’s first-hand experience of operating a cafe/restaurant business during the pandemic.

"When I first took it over we were rip-roaring along, it was really, really busy. And then Covid came along and it changed the whole aspect,” said Male, who leased the Sign of the Takahe from the city council in 2019.

History of the heritage building on Hackthorne Rd

• The Sign of the Takahe is a neo-Gothic style building.
• Construction began in 1918, spearheaded by city councillor and MP, Henry George (Harry) Ell.
• Part of the building opened to the public as the tram terminus rest house in 1920.
• Ell died suddenly in 1934, having never seen the building completed. Construction of the building continued under the direction of architect J. G. Collins. The city council bought the building in 1942 and it was finally completed in 1948.
• A $2.8 million city council earthquake repair was completed in 2017.

-If you can say ‘I do’ when asked if you have a family-orientated photographic memory of the Sign of the Takahe, email info@signofthetakahe.co.nz.