Fairlie – Pub and Pies

Fairlie is a town we have driven through in the past, but never actually stayed there.  As we were taking things at a slower pace this trip, why not stop and see what we think of this little place, we decided.  It was just a short 51km from Geraldine.

Fairlie is the home of the famous Fairlie Pies.  We went to investigate, and could hardly believe our eyes.  Here it was, mid afternoon on a Sunday, and queues of people went waiting to get into this shop and buy their pies. I would have thought the lunch rush would be well and truly over.  Peeping inside the door and there must have been another 30 queuing inside the shop, just as well they had several people serving all these pie hungry customers.

Queues of people on a Sunday afternoon

Opening  as a tiny family business with a team of four in 2010, this business has grown to be one of the best known and most awarded pie-shops in the country – Fairlie Bakehouse.  After years of working in high-end hospitality, trained chef and owner Franz Lieber set out to create a retirement job for himself. He never imagined he’d be producing around 2,500 pies a day and end up working with a team of fifty.  We wanted to try these famous pies too, but decided not to buy any till the following morning when we were moving on.

Fairlie is part of the McKenzie District, named after Scotsman James MacKenzie, who came to New Zealand seeking a better life in the 1850. After working as a shepherd, he took up a lease of land in Southland, and the lease required him to stock the land with sheep.  James MacKenzie used his knowledge of a mountain pass known only to the local Maoris to spirit away 1000 sheep in the dead of night from a station near Timaru.  Soon caught, he managed to escape and his theft took on a degree of notoriety because he had stolen the sheep from one of the wealthiest settler families in Canterbury.  He was finally caught, convicted and sentenced, recommended for a pardon, and sailed away from New Zealand shores.  The district was named “MacKenzie Country” after his arrest for sheep stealing.  His ability with his dogs was highly admired and the statue in town pays tribute to James MacKenzie and his dogs who pulled off the daring sheep rustling over the mountain pass.

James MacKenzie and his sheep dog

We parked up for the night behind the Gladstone Grand Hotel.  

The Gladstone Grand Hotel

No charge for this, so it was only fair that we gave them some custom, we went into the hotel for 4zees and our evening meal.  After checking out the menu we both ordered beef Cordon Bleu, very generous servings and delicious indeed.

Dining in the hotel

The next morning Robin was tasked with joining the queue bright and early before our breakfast  to purchase our pies, cold if possible.  He was under instruction to get a salmon and bacon pie for me, and  pork belly and apple for himself, these would be for our lunch.  Plus two creamy chicken pies which we would freeze for a later meal.  His mission was successful, and we would soon be tucking into our first Fairlie Pie at lunchtime.