Hopgood Pies will never be forgotten in Riverton - 1976

The Hopgood Pie will never be forgotten and is named after Mr R.J. Hopgood who has owned the bakery in Riverton for 28 years and has now handed it over to his son Kenneth Hopgood.

Do people remember the old Hopgood Pie which we actually called the "Riverton Pie".  It was a mutton pie which my father loved, Ted Mortimer of Makarewa.  He use to pour heaps of black sauce on them.  There was an article in 1976 said that the Hopgood Bakery had been going for 28 years which means that it started approx. 1948.  Mr Hopgood said that bakeries have changed a lot in the time he has been in business and there were two in Riverton, two in Otautau and one in Orepuki.  who all dealt mainly in bread and a few cakes to keep the locals happy.  With the bigger companies taking over, he was one of the last real bakeries in Southland to stop making bread.  In 1976 he said there was a resurgence in the demand for his pies, which he puts down mainly to the new secondary school which has from one to seven.  He then distributed 120 dozen pies a day for local consumption and to hotels and retailers around the province. 
He had fond memories of regatta days when up to three train loads of visitors consumed 150 dozen pies over the counter.
Mr R.J. Hopgood was the mayor of Riverton for six years and was now handing the business over to his son, Kenneth Hopgood.

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