Sometime in the early 00s a little pocket of something potent existed in Pt Chev. The quiet beach-side suburb possessed a grungy, punk rock bar tucked into the row of shops opposite the library.

I’ve described the Ambassador bar as a vibrant, messy, banging rock and roll venue. While I never made it there myself, many friends of mine did. Stories abound about their escapades.

Some played guitar in heavy metal bands, some discovered powdered substances in the toilet cubicle, some danced on the floor and some on top of the bar. The air was smoky, lights were dim and the walls were covered by shiny red wallpaper. Occasionally there would be a late-night venture into the dark theatre space to view Peter Roche’s artwork.

Many a band played their first show here; cut their teeth playing instruments on the 1929 terrazzo floor, pockmarked now from the drinks spilled or many feet that have danced the night away.

Laura MacFehin standing in on vocals for the Drab Doo Riffs, 2010. Image belongs to Natasha Francois.

Anecdotes such as this have slipped into a space between nostalgia and retrospect. Too recent to warrant a faraway look in the eyes, too long ago to remember entirely what took place. Peter Roche owned the bar between 2000-2012 then leased the bar to other owners. He remained the landlord and occupier of the main theatre space until he sadly passed away in July 2020. We held his funeral in between the Level 3 lockdowns, in the theatre space.

You only need to ask one person out of every, say, 5 people who walk through the door to be told a story of the Ambassador bar’s heyday. Or you could ask Peter’s partner, Natasha Francois, who lives upstairs and still watches over the theatre space and the objects within.

There exists a collection of stories from the early life of the Ambassador Theatre, which was built in 1929, focusing on it’s time spent as a cinema. “Pt Chevalier Memories: 1930s-1950s” was collated by local librarian Padmini Raj. These stories are wonderful but I feel that they only give half the picture, as the authors were all children during this time period.

Earlier during my research, I discovered a less-known fact: between 1925-1935 a dancehall existed down by Pt Chev beach. Called “Dixieland by the Sea” it was an incarnation of an earlier venue on Queen Street, “The Dixieland Cabaret”. It attracted busloads of party-goers who travelled from the CBD out to Pt Chev to dance the night away.

It was funded by a Canadian businessman and his heiress partner. They helped to popularise Jazz in Auckland city, providing dance classes and employment for local musicians, as well as entertainment.

Well, dance the night away they did: and dance the night away, we shall keep doing.

If you’d like to be a part of our story by donating to our crowd-funding campaign, to help Cupid bar reach our potential as a venue (once again) at the forefront of Auckland’s live music scene, click this link here: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/cupid

The interior of the Ambassador Theatre, filled with Peter’s artwork, as it looks today. Image belongs to Carolyn Enting.

The Bassy (The Ambassador Bar) c.2000-2012