Obituary: Queenstown character a man of letters

Otago Daily Times

5 days ago

He may have run a humble burger joint, and much later an even more humble pie shop, but Mike Burke, who has died aged 78, was one of Queenstown's great characters over the 25 years he lived in town.
After winning an Ansett mystery weekend in Queenstown in '92, he and his then-wife Susan shifted here from Wellington and opened Berkels — a corruption of his nickname — the following year.
For the following 10 years, Mike was the genial host for a bunch of regulars, in particular, while also entertaining visitors including many celebrities.
After Sir Tim Shadbolt lost his Invercargill mayoralty the first time, he was even taken on as the burger bar's Basil Fawlty-style breakfast chef.
An avid golfer and former tennis player who'd once even beaten future New Zealand star Onny Parun, Mike instantly recognised one visitor, Boston Globe tennis writer and TV commentator Bud Collins, who was on his way to the Australian Open.
Collins was so impressed he wrote a short piece for the Globe which was later displayed in Berkels.
One regular, Lionel Williams, recalls Mike used to farewell him each time with the quote misattributed to Winston Churchill, "onward and upward, take no prisoners".
He says Mike was once screening an America's Cup yacht race for his regulars when two visitors attempted to come in.
"He ran to the door and said, 'sorry, the restaurant's closed, the chef's pissed'."
Mike's also fondly remembered as a man of letters, literally.
He penned dozens to all and sundry including high-profile politicians like Sir Robert Muldoon, who said he'd drink to his health, sports administrators and other corporates — sometimes applying for jobs, other times complaining about flat beers, for example.
His hobby had started in 1986 when he wrote to Augusta National Golf Club asking if his 12-strong group — "when I say 12, 10 know which end of the club to pick up" — could come and play 'two fives' at the famous course.
"Could you ensure the carts are well stocked as the Murphy boys take on a vacant look if they're out of reach of a cold sherbet at any one time?"
Needless to say, his request was refused.
However, as with English satirist William Donaldson's fictional character Henry Root, who also wrote audacious letters to the powers-that-be, it was the many funny replies he received that were almost as fascinating to read.
So much so, Mike published a selection of letters, and replies, when he got them, in a book entitled Burger Me Days.
After Berkels closed, he took odd jobs before opening Eat Humble Pie in what used to be Berkels' bin cupboard around the corner.
He ran that for six years, often making pies for special occasions, till moving to Alexandra in 2017 — he initially worked there for Susan's Eat Humble Pie shop, also endearing himself to the locals.
A celebration of Mike's life will be hosted by Queenstown's Thursday Club — which Mike originally hosted at Berkels — at Brazz from 4.30pm next Thursday.