Bellamy's (or Bellamys) is the name given to the in-house

catering Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major services be ...

service and dining facilities of the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

. Named after an earlier British parliamentary institution, Bellamy's has been in existence since the establishment of the New Zealand Parliament in the 1850s. Originally the service was used exclusively by members of Parliament (MPs) and their guests, but now includes a restaurant open to the public. Bellamy's has been based in the

Beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

since the summer of 1975–76.

History

John Bellamy was the deputy housekeeper of the British

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

who, in 1773, set up a small dining room for MPs. The original dining service expanded to include several lobbies for exclusive use of MPs. The British Bellamy's was destroyed in the burning of Parliament in 1834. The name ''Bellamy's'' was later adopted by New Zealand's colonial parliament for its refreshment facility. New Zealand's earliest Bellamy's in 1854 was a

lean-to A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing lean-to structures are generally used as shelters. One traditional type of lean-to is known by its Finn ...

attached to the rear of the

General Assembly House The General Assembly House, colloquially called "Shedifice" by the members of Parliament, was the first building to house the New Zealand Parliament in Auckland. It was in use by Parliament from 1854 until 1864 during the time that Auckland was t ...

, Auckland. In 1854 the first Bill passed by the New Zealand Parliament was the Licensing Amendment Act (informally called the "Bellamy's Bill") that permitted the sale of alcohol on the premises of Parliament. Bellamy's was modelled as a premier dining facility; silver plate, crockery and table linen were shipped from Britain. With the relocation of Parliament, Bellamy's moved to Wellington in either 1865 or 1867. In 1907 a fire destroyed the parliament buildings, including Bellamy's dining hall. Bellamy's was then based in Government House to the south of Parliament House until its demolition for the construction of the Beehive in the 1970s. Bellamy's dining hall served as the main social gathering place for MPs and their guests. It was originally closed to women; the "No Women Permitted" sign over the dining hall was taken down in 1933 when the first female MP,

Elizabeth McCombs Elizabeth Reid McCombs (née Henderson, 19 November 1873 – 7 June 1935) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party who in 1933 became the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament. New Zealand women gained the right to vote in ...

, was elected. In the 1990s, the catering service was opened to all parliamentary staff as well as MPs. , a restaurant called ''Bellamy's by Logan Brown'' is located on the third floor of the Beehive, with table reservations now available to all members of the public. Other facilities include a members' only dining room and ''Pickwick's Bar''.

References

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External links

Bellamys by Logan Brown
Catering and food service companies of New Zealand 1854 establishments in New Zealand Parliament of New Zealand Companies based in Wellington

History

See also

References

External links