I didn’t grow up in Christchurch but, by the time I was old enough to be hanging around in pubs, the Dux de Lux was one of the places I’d go to whenever I was in town.

I know a lot of people remember it for being Christchurch’s first vegetarian restaurant and for the beer that was made on site at the micro-brewery.

But, for me, it was the live music. I remember seeing all sorts of bands there. Original bands, of course. And that room where the bands would play was pretty small, when you think about it. And it would be pretty loud. But you can’t deny that so many bands cut their teeth at the Dux de Lux.

In Dunedin, where I grew up, we had the Empire Tavern and the Oriental. They were the pubs where all the original bands would go. There were others - but they were the main ones.

And in Christchurch, it was the Dux de Lux. When you think about it, the Dux started in 1978 - which was perfect timing really, when you consider all the bands that came out of Christchurch around that time and into the 1980s.

All the Flying Nun bands from Christchurch and Dunedin. And still in the late 1990s and into the 2000s, which was when I first settled in Christchurch, the Dux was still going strong and I went to some great gigs there.

I remember seeing Lawrence Arabia there. It was a real strip-backed gig and there were just a couple of them making massive sounds with loop pedals. This was years before the likes of Ed Sheeran got on that bandwagon. I remember seeing The Bats there. Whole lot of bands.

So, why am I telling you all this? I’m telling you all this because I know there are a truckload of people in Christchurch who will have their own memories of great nights out at the Dux de Lux.

People in bands, people who went to the gigs, people who worked their back in the day when it was breaking new ground with the vegetarian menu, people who would finish their nights out in Christchurch at that pool bar they opened upstairs in later years.

The Dux de Lux was all part of that whole Arts Centre scene in Christchurch pre-earthquakes.

And then, in February 2011, the Dux de Lux went silent. And it’s been silent ever since. And if you’ve been past there recently, you’ll know how decrepit it’s looking.

But that’s not stopping some people from seeing a future for the old Dux de Lux at the Arts Centre.

They include a group of people such as Richard Sinke - who started the whole thing back in the day. And property developer Shaun Stockman - who I think has shown an incredible commitment to post-earthquake Christchurch and who has done some amazing restorations of buildings in the central city.

And they’re the guys - among others - who went to the Arts Centre offering to bring the original Dux de Lux back to life, on the proviso that the Arts Centre gave them free rent of the site for 50 years.

The Arts Centre wasn’t interested because it wants to earn money from the site and so, today, the Dux is still derelict and looking like a bit of a bomb site amongst all the other restoration work that has been done.

Enter Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger who has met with the Arts Centre bosses and is saying in the news today that he thinks the Dux is part of the city’s “cultural heritage” and thinks the council should be putting money into its restoration.

He says funding for the restoration of the Dux could be part of the council’s long-term plan, which sets the budget over a 10-year-period.

“We have got to see where we can find some money,” says the mayor. Which is not the first time Phil Mauger has said this sort of thing. I remember before last year’s election that he was all-for public funding going into the Dux.

Which I thought was a bad idea then, and I still think is a bad idea now. Actually, it’s an even worse idea now. Because what Phil Mauger is proposing here, is pouring public money into nothing more than sentimentality.

Sure, I’m the first person to admit, that the old Dux de Lux played a key role in giving young bands the breakthrough they needed. And yes, I agree that it is part of our cultural heritage.

But, on the most part, the idea of bringing the Dux back to life is nothing more than sentimental. Just like I think pouring money into the Cathedral restoration is based more on sentimentality than anything else.

And if Phil Mauger thinks putting council money into a pub is a good idea, is a priority for his council, then can someone in his office please tell him he’s dreaming.