McDonald’s New Zealand is celebrating its 50th birthday today, marking five decades since the country’s first restaurant opened in Porirua.
The restaurant opened in Cobham Court on June 7, 1976, becoming the first McDonald’s in New Zealand and introducing Kiwis to a brand that would eventually expand to 177 restaurants nationwide.
More than 100 people reportedly queued outside before the doors opened at 10am on opening day. A brass band played as customers lined up to try the new American fast-food chain.
Back then, a Big Mac cost 75 cents, a cheeseburger 40 cents and a hamburger 30 cents.
The Porirua restaurant was built on the site of a former squash court and became the launch point for one of New Zealand’s largest restaurant businesses.
To mark the milestone, McDonald’s has released a collection of stories from its first 50 years in New Zealand, including the challenges involved in opening the original Porirua restaurant.
Among them is the story of Rotorua baker Digby Sykes, who helped create the apple pies sold on opening day. Faced with an order for 1,152 pies, Sykes reportedly worked around the clock to develop equipment capable of producing them in the quantities required.
The company also highlighted an unusual construction challenge. Historical accounts suggest imported building materials used for the first restaurant became caught up in trade restrictions, eventually leading to a deal involving New Zealand cheese being exchanged in place of materials that could not be returned to the United States.
Today, McDonald’s estimates more than 200,000 people have worked for the company in New Zealand since 1976.
While the business has grown into a familiar presence across the country, its New Zealand story began in Porirua.
Fifty years on, the city’s place in that history remains unchanged.
The Cobham Court restaurant was New Zealand’s first McDonald’s, making Porirua the birthplace of the Golden Arches in Aotearoa.
