By: Tracey Kearns12th Feb 2024 12:27PMthe following comments were given to Reid Perkins in a phone conversation with Tim McMann on 8 February 2024

Notes on "The little Dairy"

Tim’s father Larry (aka Barney) McMann owned the Little Dairy from 1961 to 1967.
Previous owner was a man named Hammond. Tim thinks he was the first owner and that the dairy itself was only built in about 1958. Business was always called The Little Dairy. Tim’s father sold the business to Jim Benny who later (he thinks) sold it to someone Dalziel.
Hammond, the first owner, sold Roscoe’s Ice Cream, an American brand. His father started out selling Roscoe’s but later swapped to Frosty Jack’s because of a business deal he had with them. Presumably it was around this time the the glass Roscoe’s sign was covered over.
The street number of the building used to be 105 Main Road.
Other side of the building became the Wine Keg, but before that it was a plumbing business operated by Roy Goodman, who also owned the whole building, as well as the TAB building next door. He later built an apartment above the TAB to live in. It was Goodman who later set up The Wine Keg where his plumbing business had been.
The Little Dairy was well situated for business, being between a bottle store and a TAB. Tim (who used to work in his father’s shop) claims it made the best milkshakes in Upper Hutt. He also says it sold more racebooks than any other shop in NZ (due to proximity of Trentham Race Course).
Tells oft-told story of Police Station across the road getting word that a stolen car was coming down Main Street. Constable Barry Gill attempted to stop it and when it became apparent that the vehicle was going to keep going he threw his truncheon at the driver. However, he missed and shattered the window of the The Little Dairy instead.
Tim also says that a policeman (or maybe former policeman) robbed the TAB but was later caught. It was soon after this incident that The Little Dairy closed.