“I walked up to the mall and when I came back [to the venue] and walked up to the security guard, he said, ‘Sorry mate, you can’t come in’. I thought it must be full.<\/p>\n
“I called out to my friends that I’d have to wait for someone to come out but then the security guard then said, ‘He can’t come in because he has a facial tattoo.'”<\/p>\n
After unsuccessfully trying to negotiate with the security guard and then a venue manager, Mr Gardiner chose to go home for the night.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Gardiner returned to the hotel and was served a beer on a Monday morning. (ABC News: James Carmody)<\/p>\n
Policy not enforced in daylight hours<\/p>\n
Curious about whether the facial tattoo policy would be enforced during the day, Mr Gardiner returned to the venue at 10:30am on a Monday.<\/p>\n
Not only was he able to enter the venue, but he was also served a beer by bar staff.<\/p>\n
“I said to her, ‘That’s strange, I came here Saturday night and I was refused entry to this hotel and now you’re serving me a beer,'” he said.<\/p>\n
“I asked to leave a note for a duty manager so I wrote down my name and number and I’ve never heard anything back.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Brian Gardiner spent hours designing his facial tattoo to reflect his cultural background. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)<\/p>\n
Significance of facial t\u0101 moko<\/p>\n
T\u0101 moko is a centuries-old tattooing tradition that is a sacred and personal cultural practice for M\u0101ori people.<\/p>\n
The patterns usually represent the bearer’s ancestry, and Mr Gardiner said he spent hours with a tattoo artist discussing the elements he wanted to be represented on his face.<\/p>\n
His facial t\u0101 moko includes animals significant to his ancestry like the hawk and shark, as well as symbolism for his ancestors who served in the military.<\/p>\n
“What’s on my face carries my prestige, love of the people, love of the land and my family and ancestors,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s a protection for power, strength and endurance and I’m the only one in our wh\u0101nau (family) that has the t\u0101 moko, so all my cousins contact me when they want to know something [about family history].<\/p>\n
“You can see it’s not a tattoo that’s just slapped on.”<\/p>\n
Mr Gardiner said he lost his partner eight months ago and his experience at the Wollongong hotel had been an emotional setback.<\/p>\n
“My son says, ‘Dad, you gotta get out, you can’t sit at home,'” he said.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been good and then it comes crashing down on Saturday night.”<\/p>\n
Brisbane nightclub apologises for similar incident<\/p>\n