The Levin Cosmopolitan Club — known locally as the Cossie Club — is a family-friendly, community focused club on Oxford Street South, affiliated with Clubs NZ (Inc) and welcoming members from other clubs. It promises great fun, fabulous food and a friendly smile or two, and backs that up with a restaurant, bar, games, gaming, TAB, function spaces and a busy schedule of club activities.
The club's origins go back to January 1900, when a group of local gentlemen, refused permission to play a friendly game of darts at a local hotel, formed a committee and set up the Horowhenua County Club, with its first premises built behind the Levin Hotel. The club became the Levin Workingmens Club in 1916, the Cosmopolitan Club in 1929, and took its current name in the 1950s. In the 1970s it moved to the site it occupies today, bordering Oxford, Ward, Seddon and Rina Streets, and now serves more than 1,800 members.
Food and drink centre on the Tararua Restaurant, the club's cosy in-house eatery, where a new chef and kitchen team have introduced delicious new menu selections along with a wide range of gluten-free options. The Members Lounge offers a welcoming bar with a great selection of drinks and delicious bar food, plus pool, darts and live sport on the big screen, while the sunny Garden Area provides spacious outdoor seating surrounded by greenery.
Beyond the bar, the club offers a Games Room for darts and pool, a premium gaming room whose machine proceeds are reinvested into the club and local community initiatives, a TAB betting area with live odds on screen, and the versatile Hudson Room — home to indoor bowls, line dancing, large shows, weddings, community meetings and functions. Weekly adjuncts include pool, indoor bowls, darts, quiz nights, outdoor bowls, fishing and a senior members group, and a members shuttle service helps get people to and from the club several evenings a week.
The Levin Cosmopolitan Club — known to just about everyone in town as the Cossie Club — owes its existence to a game of darts that never happened. In January 1900, after a group of local gentlemen were refused permission to play a friendly match at a local hotel, they formed a committee and established the Horowhenua County Club, with its first premises built behind the Levin Hotel. More than 125 years later, that spirit of making your own fun still defines the club, which now serves more than 1,800 members from its home on Oxford Street South.
The club has carried several names over the decades. It became the Levin Workingmens Club in 1916, the Cosmopolitan Club in 1929, and by the 1950s had settled on the name Levin locals recognise today. In the 1970s it shifted to its current site bordering Oxford, Ward, Seddon and Rina Streets. Today it is affiliated with Clubs NZ (Inc) and welcomes members from other clubs, so travelling players and visitors with reciprocal membership can join in.
Food is a genuine drawcard. The Tararua Restaurant is the club's in-house eatery, a cosy spot to book a table with family and friends. A new chef and new kitchen staff have brought a fresh round of menu selections, and the kitchen offers a wide range of gluten-free options — worth asking about when you order. In the Members Lounge, the bar pours a great selection of drinks alongside delicious bar food, with pool and darts on hand and live sport on the big screen. When the weather is kind, the Garden Area offers sunny, spacious outdoor seating surrounded by lush greenery, with a designated smoking area kept separate. One house rule to note: alcohol can only be purchased with a Chartered Club Membership Card.
The club's adjuncts and activities give the week a rhythm. Pool and indoor bowls both get underway at 7pm on Tuesdays; Senior Members gather Wednesdays from 11am to 3pm, with darts following at 7pm; and Quiz Night takes over Friday evenings from 6pm to 7pm. Outdoor bowls and the fishing group run without a set time, and the LCC Members Support Group meets on the first Saturday of each month. The Hudson Room adds further variety, hosting indoor bowls, line dancing, large shows, weddings, community group meetings and other functions.
For those who like a flutter, the club boasts a premium gaming room of state-of-the-art machines linked to a jackpot system, with proceeds reinvested into enhancing the club and supporting local community initiatives. The TAB area features TV screens showing live odds and race information, plus user-friendly betting machines in a comfortable space built for enjoying live races or major sports events.
Membership costs $58.00 a year, due by 31 July, dropping to $23.00 for Gold Star Members after 25 years of continuous membership. Benefits include live entertainment, prize draws and promotions. A members shuttle service runs Tuesdays from 4pm to 10pm and Fridays and Saturdays from 4pm to 10.30pm, with other times by arrangement — it is $2.00 per person within the township, $4.00 otherwise, and any surplus is donated to the District's Health Shuttle. Opening hours vary through the week, from 12pm to 7pm on Mondays and Sundays through to 11pm closes on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights, so it pays to check before heading in for a late one. Between the restaurant, the bar, the games and the community groups, the Cossie Club remains what it set out to be in 1900: a place for locals to gather.