About Us

Situated in the landmark The Prospect of Howick, the GBS Bar & Restaurant is the place to be seen in Howick Village, an icon that is very well known locally and has had generations through its doors.

Named after the playwright George Bernard Shaw, who visited the Hotel in 1934, GBS has been redesigned into an urbane suburban gastro pub. Inside you find deep-seated couches, mood music and a central bar, all working to create a relaxed atmosphere where diners can enjoy a long leisurely evening. There is a seamless flow out to the sun-drenched leafy courtyard which is ideal for relaxed lunches, after-work socializing and to take in the village atmosphere Howick offers.

The cuisine is modern New Zealand with some dishes offering French or British origin with regular changes to the menu with seasonal produce. Current Proprietor Barry O’Shaughnessy has had a long association with The Prospect. In 1978 Barry worked as Chef and then as Duty Manager for two years. Barry moved on to other Hotels and then returned to take over the lease in 1993. The Prospect of Howick is very community focused and host “The Point to Pub” fun run and fishing competitions each year. Every winter sees our “Dollars for Schools” program which helps raise funds for local schools. During the summer months there are a series of live outdoor concerts on the lawn for all to enjoy. The Prospect is no longer “just a pub”, it’s the meeting place of Howick.

So next time you are passing, stop by for a bite to eat or a drink and say “Hello”, we’d love to see you.

The History of The Prospect

The "Prospect of Howick" hotel, bar and restaurant in Picton Street, Howick was formerly called the "Marine Hotel". There were two Marine Hotels, the modern brick building and a large wooden Marine Hotel both on the same site in the main street of Howick. The first Marine Hotel was built for George Sellwood in 1906, designed by one of Auckland's leading architects Edward Bartley. It was described in 1908 as "the large and well conducted house with views seaward and landward."

George Sellwood owned the large General Store next door and lived on "Glenfern" farm behind the Post Office. He was a director of the ambitious Howick Motor Bus Company in 1904 but the luxurious big heavy buses sunk into the ubiquitous clay roasd of Howick and Pakuranga, regularly calling on the opposition Crawford's horse buses to pull them out, and the motor bus company failed.
Visitors used to come to stay in the hotel in this country seaside village, arriving by ferry to Howick beach's long wharf or by horse from Auckland.

In 1925 electricity arrived in Howick. A prominent citizen was ironing her dress using, possibly for the first time, an electric iron. She left it on, and the whole hotel burned down. There was no fire brigade or reticulated water, although this tragedy forced the Howick Town Board to install reticulated water and start a fire brigade in 1930. The day after the fire a temporary bar was set up under canvas next to the smouldering ruins for local patrons.
In 1930 James Fletcher built the new brick building, one of his first Auckland contracts- the forerunner of Fletcher Construction Limited, one of New Zealand's largest construction companies. It was described as "licensed, first class cuisine, tariff three pounds ten shilling a week or twelve shillings a day" soon after opening. It specialized in honeymoon couples from Auckland.

George Bernard Shaw [b1856-d1950] the famous writer, socialist and Nobel Prize winner for literature stayed here in 1934. He was often called GBS, hence the name of the GBS Bar Restaurant of today. The hotel was popular for wedding receptions, Arrange Hunt Club breakfasts, dinners, lunches, meetings and even Presbyterian Church afternoon teas.
Howick Town Board members Cecil Litten, later Mayor of Howick and Mr Fitzwilliam in 1936 planted the London plane trees on the grass forecourt. The publican used to milk his house cows on a three legged stool and hotel sheets and towels used to dry on long lines supported by long ti tree poles in the paddock between the hotel and the police station 100 metres away in Picton Street in the 1940's and 1950's.

In 1953 the Howick Post newspaper reported that the hotel was the only business open and there were 53 cars outside-the most popular attraction in Howick. The Prospect of Howick replaced the name Marine Hotel in 1977 presenting a new decor moving away from the "booze barn" to an English pub with a garrison bar, reflecting Howick's fencible, soldier-settler history and presenting more modern dining facilities. In 2006 the Prospect of Howick was refurbished moving with the times, opening the modern bar and brasserie attracting a wide clientele, but retaining much of the charm of its rural village origins.

By Alan La Roche MBE, Howick Historian