Person recorded: William David (Bill) Neilsen

Date: 11 March 2005

Interviewer and Abstracter: Morag Forrester

Tape counter: Sony TCM 939

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007: States his full name is WILLIAM DAVID NEILSEN and that he was born in 1934 in a maternity home in WESTPORT on the WEST COAST.

016: His home was in NGAKAWAU which he describes as a COAL-MINING town on the coast. Recalls the house was “just 25 yards of the shingle beach” while the COAL BIN (the state-owned STOCKTON MINE) was at the foot of the hills.

032: Recalls that when he finished his SCHOOL day, he worked in the local grocery store as a delivery boy and explains the weekly routine.

044: In addition, he says he worked three nights a week in the local PICTURE THEATRE, the NIBBLE NOOK. He further adds that he did a morning paper delivery for the GREYMOUTH LABOUR DAILY.

057: “The people that gave me 2s6d at CHRISTMAS, on a wet day got their paper on the verandah and the people that gave me nothing got it in a puddle.”

061: Replies that he has ONE SISTER (BEVERLEY) who is thirteen years younger than him.

066: Says his FATHER’S name was FREDERICK shortened to FRED and that he was OVERSEER for the CARPENTERS in the MINE WORKSHOP. He explains that the MINES owned workers’ houses and other buildings.

074: The MINE, he says, was about five miles up the hill from their home and inside it at an underground level were horse stables, first aid rooms and offices. Mentions he joined the same WORKSHOP his FATHER worked in at the age of 15.

081: His FATHER, he adds, also ran a small business – making windows, doors etc.

084: Comments that he was born during the (economic) DEPRESSION and recalls his MOTHER having one pound a week to run the household.

094: Replies that his paternal GRANDMOTHER was MRS CASON who remarried to HARRY NEILSEN when his FATHER was about seven years old and changed both their names to that of her second HUSBAND.

103: States his GRANDFATHER (HARRY) was born and brought up in NEW ZEALAND and that he did active service in WWII with his THREE sons but was sent back home because he was deemed too old.

108: Adds that his GRANDFATHER was a BUILDER with his own firm called H.J. NEILSEN LTD.

113: Of his MOTHER’S family, says her surname was CLOSS of SCOTTISH origin. States her PARENTS emigrated from SCOTLAND to GRANITY to work in the MINES.

121: While his MOTHER, he says, was born in NEW ZEALAND, her three older siblings were born in SCOTLAND. Says his maternal GRANDFATHER (WILLIAM CLOSS) was a WEIGHMAN at the MINE adding that he’d worked all his life into his 70s.

130: Recalls his GRANDFATHER (WILLIAM CLOSS) always wore a collar and tie to work and says he has many recollections of him as he and his GRANDMOTHER (SARAH CLOSS – née STEWART) lived in the same neighbourhood.

134: Remembers they were a “strong PRESBYTERIAN family” and that they were quite strict.

139: While recalling one incident concerning his GRANDFATHER, he says there were several ORANGE LODGES (linked to the PROTESTANT ORANGE ORDER of ULSTER in NORTHERN IRELAND).

141: In the same vein, he says his FATHER was a GRANDMASTER of the MASONIC LODGE.

147: Explains that the sectarian problems that have affected NORTHERN IRELAND for decades were played out to a much lesser extent in NGAKAWAU. “There was a strong division, they brought it with them.”

158: Affirms that his MOTHER did not work outside the home. “No…very few wives/mothers worked...They had to work hard at home.”

163: Further explains this by saying that water had to be boiled in a big copper pot for baths and for clothes washing on a coal range which was also the only cooking facility.

170: Gives an outline of the working day at the MINES with the first buses picking up workers at 6.45am. (There was a roster system). Adds he started slightly later at 7.30 in the WORKSHOP.

172: Also talks about the extremely wet conditions in the MINE so that there were tiers by which the workers were relieved from duty. “MINERS came home if they were ‘special wet’, ‘extra wet’, or ‘wet’…the water in the MINE was unreal.”

175: Recalls the first buses were home by 1pm, with the rest by 3.30pm. Dinner was usually taken about 4.30pm (although later if you were a ‘white collar’ worker). Supper, he adds, was served about 8pm.

182: Comments that most of the MINERS were heavy drinkers and the local HOTEL (hostelry/pub) played an important part in the lives of people in these communities.

184: States he went to (HIGH) SCHOOL in GRANITY after attending PRIMARY SCHOOL in HECTOR, which is situated across the river from NGAKAWAU.

190: Says he started his education at the age of five and that in HECTOR the entire SCHOOL (about 40 pupils) was taught in one room until about STANDARD ONE level.

198: Remembers his teacher, MISS MCMASTERS, who was there for about 30 years.

204: The move to HIGH SCHOOL occurred when he was about ten or eleven years old and he admits to not being a particularly good scholar. “School to me was just an annoying part of my life….the day I turned fifteen was the day I left.”

210: Mentions that he wanted to go and work in the CARPENTERS’ WORKSHOP in the MINE.

222: However, he continues, only two years later in 1951 there was a six-month nationwide waterfront strike (industrial action by dockworkers) which was supported by the MINERS unions.

226: States PRIME MINISTER HOLLAND’S government defeated the strike and its supporters with the result that about 250 men were sacked from the STOCKTON MINE, he being one of them.

231: Comments that the unions were strongly supported in the MINING communities with 500 members in the STOCKTON MINE alone. Adds that there was also a firm link with the COMMUNIST PARTY.

240: Replies that during the six months of the strike the workers received ten shillings a week and supplies of meat were sent from the BELFAST freezing works in CHRISTCHURCH to help feed the families.

243: In return, he says, the strikers would send back truck loads of wood to CHRISTCHURCH.

250: After getting the sack, he says, his next job was as a shop assistant at MARTIN & CO. HARDWARE STORE in WESTPORT. But about a year later (1953) he returned to his former job at the MINE.

259: Recalls that at the age of fifteen, his first wage at the MINE was two pounds and ten shillings a week, a fifth of which he gave his MOTHER for board.

269: Again he describes the conditions in the MINE. He also depicts the different signals given if an accident occurred which, he adds, was a common event.

277: It was the power house whistle that was used as a signal. “If it blew three times during the day, there was a fatality in the MINE.”

280: Goes on to say that at the end of their shifts, the men would return on the buses while the women would be waiting for them at their front gates. “And when the bus didn’t stop, that was the man (who had died). And the blinds would be drawn.”

290: Explains the wet conditions in the mine were as a result of “water mining” by which a flume was introduced so that the rush of water would push the coal into large bins. Says some of the fluming was up to a mile and a half long.

294: “It wasn’t so bad standing in the water, knee-deep, but it was when it was coming down from the roof you see, eh, it was unpleasant.”

312: Not long after returning to the MINE, he says, where he was working as a supervisor in the WORKSHOP, he had another break due to COMPULSORY MILITARY TRAINING.

317: His CMT was undertaken at BURNHAM MILITARY CAMP for three months from JULY 1953. Says he was appointed LANCE CORPORAL of his group.

326: Mentions that after attending regular weekend sorties, within two years he had risen to the rank of WARRANT OFFICER and then SERGEANT MAJOR for B COMPANY, FIRST NELSON/WEST COAST REGIMENT for a further three years.

330: Comments that he enjoyed the ARMY “because it taught you a lot of management skills and command”.

345: Says he was still working at the STOCKTON MINE at NGAKAWAU but became increasingly bored with the job so he moved back to retailing. This time as a shoe salesman for MACAWAYS STORE in WESTPORT.

356: Explains that the job involved travelling to other places such as KARAMEA and MURCHISON which he enjoyed, particularly as a car came with the job. But, he says, it ate into his time for SPORTS. He played for both the BULLER RUGBY FOOTBALL and SOCCER teams.

361: Mentions he was also a keen TENNIS player and talks about JIM MCCARTHUR who was his DOUBLES partner when they played tournaments.

370: Replies that his family was also interested in SPORTS and recalls there was a TABLE-TENNIS table on the front verandah of their home where his MOTHER would play rounds with visitors.

376: States that he enjoys wearing good (quality) clothes so to earn extra cash (to buy them) he would do part-time jobs (while still working at the MINE) such as BAR work in the local at weekends. “So that was my first introduction to the HOTEL industry.”

397: For social events, he says dances were held every SATURDAY night at BIRCHFIELD, about ten miles from NGAKAWAU.

404: In describing life without a car, mentions he played SOCCER for MILLERTON, three and a half miles away most of it uphill. Recalls he walked there and back and relates a tale about hiding in the bushes while the other team’s bus went past.

413: Says his was a good team and played the CHATHAM CUP and explains that being asked to play for MILLERTON was equivalent to a young RUGBY player being invited to play for the (CANTERBURY) CRUSADERS.

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001: Opens with discussion on his interest in apparel and that he always liked to maintain a good standard. This, he adds, affected his work in the HOTEL industry where he would impose strict dress codes.

011: Returning to his early career, says he went back to work at the MINE until 1963 when he joined his GRANDFATHER’S firm, H.J.NEILSEN LTD in WESTPORT.

017: Explains it employed about 200 men and mentions that his GRANDFATHER rebuilt the MILFORD HOTEL in 1951. All the supplies, he says, were shipped by fishing boat from GREYMOUTH to MILFORD SOUND.

029: Replies that he hadn’t really heard of MILFORD until he joined the TOURIST HOTEL CORPORATION (THC).

042: Talking about the different attitudes of young people in the 1950s compared with 2000s, he says, there was no thought of doing an OE (colloquialism for taking a year out to travel). The big adventure for his peers was going to CHRISTCHURCH by train.

056: Recalls making the journey in1948/49 when he was invited on a RUGBY trip by the sons of SMALLHOLMS TRUCKING CO who had just bought a new FORD 49: it took them only six hours to get to CHRISTCHURCH.

073: Referring back to H.J. NEILSEN LTD., says that in 1963 the firm had won the contract to build the new THC HOTEL at FRANZ JOSEF and that he was among the builders sent to work there.

082: Mentions he was with three others in the first NEILSEN truck. His fellow travellers were the foreman, DOUG CARRUTHERS and a boss labourer.

086: Remembers they arrived in the evening and as they walked into a temporary pub (in a shed), they were greeted by PETER MCCORMACK (a guide on FRANZ JOSEF GLACIER) and GAR GRAHAM (the GRAHAM BROTHERS owned the original HOTEL).

101: States they asked him whether he was playing RUGBY there and it transpired that in the three years that they worked on the project, a FOOTIE team was formed which eventually did extremely well.

104: On the building project, says it was difficult to find labourers because of the poor weather and the working conditions were tough – they did a ten-hour day, six days a week, had shared accommodation and earned 19 pounds/week.

115: However, he says, it was at FRANZ JOSEF that he got to know the THC people such as the CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ERIC COLBEC, and (slightly later mentions) the GENERAL MANAGER at MOUNT COOK, LAURIE DENNIS.

120: Affirms that the THC was a government agency, formerly the TOURIST BUREAU, whose remit was to build/own/operate HOTELS in areas that were not profitable and therefore inhibited private enterprise.

124: Lists some of these places as at WAITANGI, the CHATEAU at TONGARIRO, WAIRAKI, LAKE HOUSE at WAIKERIMOANA, MT COOK, FRANZ JOSEF, WANAKA, MILFORD SOUND and TE ANAU.

138: Recalls noting that the TE ANAU HOTEL was being rebuilt (after it was destroyed by fire in OCTOBER 1965) and that he got a job as a SUB-FOREMAN. Says the work lasted about eleven months.

149: On his first impressions of TE ANAU in 1966, he thought it was a “wild west town”. Says there were gravelled main streets and a PUB that closed at 6pm. Adds that construction of the MANAPOURI HYDRO POWER SCHEME was underway so there were a few “rough” characters around.

156: While explaining how the early PUB-closing affected them, mentions that what were called flagons (of beer) elsewhere, in TE ANAU were called BLUE PETERS.

158: Says at first his accommodation was a hut at the CAMPING GROUND and on threat of leaving, the foreman (ALEX SCHOONER) informed him that the construction firm (FLETCHER) had rented a house by the boat harbour (the ORBELL’S crib).

163: So, he and four of his mates moved in there, he adds.

166: Talks about how one of his mates (SNOW JOY) was murdered in TE ANAU at that time. To summarise, JOY was shot dead by a former girlfriend who later served three years in gaol for the crime.

186: States that when the TE ANAU job was finished, he went back to CHRISTCHURCH where he carried on doing building work.

198: Explains that he noticed a newspaper report about the planned THC HOTEL at MT COOK, called GLENCO LODGE and the construction company was DUNEDIN-based LOVE CONSTRUCTION LTD.

206: Says he was offered the FOREMAN’S job. Recalls driving to MT COOK and arriving ahead of his accommodation which he watched being trucked onto the site.

216: Mentions there was also a project manager, KEN BARTLETT. States the job was scheduled to last nine months which, with a crew of 60, they managed despite sometimes appalling weather.

224: Replies that it was planned as a 60-room HOTEL made completely from timber.

234: Talks about encountering some industrial action concerning the workers “morning tea” (mid-morning break). But explains how it was quickly settled, mainly due to his earlier contacts with MINERS union representatives. 244: Mentions his WIFE, BEVERLEY, was a staff member at the HERMITAGE HOTEL, MT COOK, at the same time as he was there.

261: Says her maiden name was CAMPBELL and that her family lived in the BONDI area of SYDNEY.

264: Recalls seeing BEVERLEY for the first time one evening while he was having a drink in the cocktail BAR at the HERMITAGE. “I thought I’d like to meet her.” Says by way of introduction he sent her some flowers.

270: Goes on to say that they MARRIED in FEBRUARY 1968 in WESTPORT. By then, he adds, his job at MT COOK was completed and he had moved to DUNEDIN where he carried on working for LOVE CONSTRUCTION.

275: Replies their wedding was a CHURCH SERVICE and the honeymoon was spent in PICTON and WELLINGTON. “We didn’t go too far. I had a car and 700 pounds.”

281: States that BEVERLEY is a MILLINER and that she was aged 23 when they first met.

286: Back in DUNEDIN, he says, the construction industry started to go through a lull so on BEVERLEY’S suggestion, he contacted ERIC COLBEC to enquire about possible vacancies at the THC.

294: Recalls meeting COLBEC at EICKARTS (HOTEL) in QUEENSTOWN in OCTOBER 1968 and the upshot of this was that he was offered the job of NORTH ISLAND FOREMAN of all THC HOTEL tradesmen.

302: Adds that the job meant setting up a WORKSHOP in WAIRAKI and re-developing work methods and programmes among the trades staff. Also says he was offered $75/week compared with the $50/week he was already earning.

307: Remembers they were also given accommodation, although at first, he laughs, this was just a one-bedroom hut.

312: Mentions the THC owned a HOTEL at WAIKERIMOANA in the URUWERA NATIONAL PARK and he was asked to co-ordinate an important evening function for government officials who were meeting MAORI chiefs in the area.

321: Key to this was that the HOTEL had been closed for two years and he was being asked to arrange a full dinner service and cocktail party in the virtually abandoned premises.

326: Recalls taking on the challenge and organising a team of seven staff, including BEVERLEY. Duly, government officials and their MAORI counterparts arrived and the evening got underway.

334: Invited to attend the dinner, he remembers it was a “great experience”.

339: Mentions that he became quite involved in TOURISM-related matters while they lived in WAIRAKI including the development of the TOURIST PARK.

343: States that the government bought back EICKARTS HOTEL in QUEENSTOWN and offered him the job of MANAGER at an annual salary of $6500. So he, BEVERLEY and their two-year-old DAUGHTER, JOHANNA, moved back south in 1973.

358: In QUEENSTOWN, he says, they got involved in the local community. RUGBY coaching of the WAKATIPU team was one activity he took up.

362: Another shift ensued in 1976 when he was offered the position of MANAGER at the THC HOTEL in WANAKA.

372: Recalls organising fourteen weddings at WANAKA, mostly for the families of runholders on the area’s large sheep stations. Remembers they were “huge affairs”.

376: While there, he says, he was appointed to the MT ASPIRING NATIONAL PARKS BOARD. However, he adds that his views were in stark contrast to the other BOARD members.

380: Considers he is a “commercial conservationist” explaining that as long as they were well controlled then it could be feasible to have commercial enterprises operating within PARK boundaries.

390: Replies that although BEVERLEY did not work outside of the home, she played a key role whenever important guests stayed at the HOTELS.

392: Affirms that JOHANNA – born in 1970 – is their only CHILD and that she attended PRIMARY SCHOOL at QUEENSTOWN, WANAKA and TE ANAU and then FIORDLAND COLLEGE in TE ANAU.

398: While at WANAKA, the THC offered him a transfer to the THC HOTEL in TE ANAU, which he said had been encountering some management problems.

402: Says he agreed on condition that he could bring his second-in-command, GAVIN FLETCHER, who was to be appointed OPERATONS MANAGER at the HOTEL.

407: So, he says, it was in SEPTEMBER 1979 that the family moved again – to TE ANAU.

412: Comments that the town was little different from his first stay in 1966 despite being in the midst of the large helicopter-operated deer culling programme in the FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK. Remembers the SHOOTERS had a lot of money and described some of them as “very arrogant”.

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003: Explains that the family lived in a THC-owned house attached to one wing of the HOTEL.

011: States the job entailed being GENERAL MANAGER of the HOTEL and also GM of the MILFORD GUIDED WALKS (at that time owned and operated by the THC).

019: Mentions reservations for the WALK were processed from the TOURIST BUREAU office in DUNEDIN. He also recalls that the MANAGER of GLADE HOUSE, PHIL TURNBULL, informed him he planned to leave at the end of the season, although ended up staying for another seven years.

027: Recalls that in 1979 the GUIDED WALK cost $300 and was on offer just three days a week. Staff facilities, he says, were in a “shocking” state with cramped living conditions.

036: The following year, he says, the THC added the running of the MILFORD HOTEL to his managerial responsibilities. At that time, he says, it was offering full facilities including an á la carte menu and the RED BOATS (launch service on the SOUND).

041: So it was a steep learning curve and, he says, over the following twenty years, he impressed upon his employers and the authorities the importance of promoting the MILFORD TRACK.

052: Now, he continues, more than 7500 people walk the track courtesy of the GUIDED WALK - paying $2000 each. (There are also thousands of independent walkers on this most famous of NEW ZEALAND’S GREAT WALKS.)

057: Replies that the MILFORD HOTEL is now the fourth lodge on the TRACK, explaining that it never made any money because during the seven months off-season it lay empty.

065: Having already stated that the government took on these non-profit making HOTELS, he explains that private enterprise took over the MILFORD HOTEL (first the SPHC – a CHICAGO-based firm owned by the PRINZTER family).

083: Says that at first the SPHC closed the HOTEL during the winter but when it was taken over by TOURISM MILFORD in 1991 it was added on to the MILFORD TRACK package.

093: Refers back to 1979 when the package deal for the GUIDED WALK ended at MILFORD and customers had to make their own way back to TE ANAU. Gives a floral description of having to share an NZ RAILWAYS bus with some of the independent walkers.

099: The following year, he says, he introduced an addition to the package so that it was a return trip from TE ANAU. Says he also introduced radio communications instead of the old “number eight wire” telephone system. “It was mickey mouse I can tell you.”

116: Laughs at the first big (walkie-talkie) radios the GUIDES had to carry around and says that nowadays it’s quite different with INTERNET-linked computers in the staff quarters.

130: On the subject of providing a top-class HOTEL service both at TE ANAU and MILFORD, he says that at first he hired staff from AUSTRALIA, particularly STEWARDS because NEW ZEALAND men viewed such work as unmanly.

139: Mentions GLEN MILLER as one of the recruits he hired, first at WANAKA and later on the MTGW. Another recruit was the late PETER EARL.

154: As for staff training in remote areas he says the key was to hire an efficient HUMAN RESOURCES manager.

161: Mentions SHARON HARRIS as an HR manager he employed to help him implement a FIORDLAND COLLEGE student HOTEL training scheme for STEWARDS, WAITING STAFF, and other personnel.

167: Says that for the twelve years she was employed, the HOTEL trained up to ten students at any one time and that in 1979 they earned $7/hr.

180: Recalls one of his students was the daughter (TASHA VERRALL) of the FIORDLAND COLLEGE principal and that she is now a qualified doctor in DUNEDIN.

190: In 1987, he says, he was appointed the SOUTH ISLAND GENERAL MANAGER for the THC, still based at TE ANAU. Adds that he promoted SHARON HARRIS to SOUTH ISLAND HR manager.

199: Their responsibilities spread from the RED BOATS at MILFORD to HOTELS in WANAKA, QUEENSTOWN, FRANZ JOSEF and MT COOK.

202: It was in 1991, he says, that the government sold the THC and it was taken over by the SPHC. Says TONY YOUNG (who had replaced ERIC COLBEC as THC CHIEF EXECUTIVE) shifted to the SPHC base in SYDNEY.

212: Remembers that YOUNG offered him a job in SYDNEY at a salary three times greater than he was earning in TE ANAU, but he turned it down.

217: Eventually, he continues, with more company changes, he was appointed the AREA MANAGER, FIORDLAND and MT. COOK (HERMITAGE HOTEL).

223: Prior to that, he recalls, in 1984 the THC sent him on a ten-week HOSPITALITY industry course at CORNELL UNIVERSITY in NEW YORK STATE and describes his first impression of NEW YORK CITY.

252: Among the modules he took was PUBLIC SPEAKING because of the increasing number of addresses and speeches he was asked to give.

276: At the end of the course, he says, BEVERLEY and JOHANNA joined him in LOS ANGELES for a vacation during which they went to DISNEYLAND.

285: Replies that there has been a significant change in the type of visitor to TE ANAU. For example, he explains, BACKPACKERS were non-existent in 1979: when they did start arriving they hitch-hiked but nowadays they have their own cars.

294: Cites, as an example, the equivalent in yield for rooms saying that while he was at the HOTEL it peaked at about $130 whereas now at the BACKPACKERS HOSTEL the yield averages about $150 (six beds to a room).

300: Another change he’s witnessed is the quality of accommodation at MOTORCAMPS. CAMPERVANS, he continues, are also far more prevalent and have added yet a further dimension to the TOURISM industry.

318: In addition, he says, are the “top-dollar” visitors who stay at places such as BLANKET BAY LODGE near QUEENSTOWN where the tariff is $1200/night and they are fully booked months in advance.

332: Replies that in 1979 the room rate at the THC, TE ANAU, was about $90 and in 1982 the MILFORD TRACK GUIDED WALK was $560 per person.

340: Mentions that when the NZ dollar was devalued (by the RESERVE BANK in the 1980s) the government raised the rate of all THC HOTELS by 25%.

342: States there was little competition in TE ANAU then, adding that the THC drew the “top-class” visitors some of whom would pay $230/night for a villa suite (full board).

348: Referring back to the early 1960s, says that at the THC HOTEL in WANAKA, he paid only 5 pounds/night ($10-$15) for full board, a tariff that was considered “big money” in the days when he was earning 19pounds/week.

356: Responding to question about the growing popularity of the MILFORD TRACK, says it is still possible to book on the GUIDED WALK. Calculates that he has completed the 54km TRACK about 40 times.

366: Comments that because it is a one-way three-day trek (unlike other GREAT WALKS), there is little chance of meeting too many other walkers and therefore the (reported) concept of overcrowding is incorrect.

371: Mentions being responsible for introducing private rooms for the MTGW package and there are now twelve at each hut with customers willing to pay the $600 more for privacy.

374: Goes on to describe the interior of these en-suite rooms, some of which have king-sized beds, large windows and heating.

377: Menus have been added, he says, offering greater choice to customers who can also enjoy a glass of wine with dinner in the evenings.

388: Mentions the present owner of the MILFORD TRACK GUIDED WALKS, JOHN DAVIES (a QUEENSTOWN-based entrepreneur), has upgraded the huts and augmented the company’s transport fleet with two new buses and a helicopter.

393: Describes DAVIES as “an interesting character” who “believes in pouring everything back in” and gives some examples.

403: Lists some of DAVIES’ business interests – CHAIRMAN of TOURISM MILFORD, owner of the MILFORD TRACK GUIDED WALKS and the HERMITAGE HOTEL at MT COOK.

407: Having mentioned JEFF THOMPSON present owner/operator of the TE ANAU HOTEL (AND VILLAS), says it was bought from TOURISM MILFORD in 1999.

413: Comments that in that year he retired from the HOTEL and was immediately appointed by DAVIES as MANAGER of the MTGW until last year when he decided to give up work and enjoy a leisurely retirement.

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003: On community activities says he was a member of the FIORDLAND PROMOTIONS ASSOCIATION for which he undertook a three-year stint as CHAIRMAN and was made a LIFE MEMBER in 1995.

007: Says he devoted a lot of time trying to promote FIORDLAND in the off-season but to no avail, since JULY and AUGUST in TE ANAU can be “pretty miserable” (weather).

016: Mentions getting involved with the MILFORD SOUND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, acting as ADVISER to the CHAIRMAN. (It is a group of local and government bodies and agencies formed to consider the future development of TOURISM, FISHING and environmental issues in the area.)

034: Affirms he is CHAIRMAN of the FIORDLAND MUSEUM TRUST which he explains, was formed following a donation from LES (and OLIVE) HUTCHINS of $100,000 (in 1989) for a MUSEUM to be built in TE ANAU.

053: Since then, he says, a further donation of $250,000 has been donated by REAL JOURNEYS (formerly FIORDLAND TRAVEL LTD., owned and operated by the HUTCHINS family).

072: Replies that his aim is for the FMT to retain autonomy from any group or organisation with which it might form a partnership in future.

080: Refers to the possibility of “satellite” areas of historic interest being created by the TRUST around FIORDLAND, including an overhaul of the SS TAWERA (the vessel that plied LAKE TE ANAU for 98 years before it was decommissioned).

088: Affirms he was elected to the TE ANAU COMMUNITY BOARD (which deals with local issues) in 1986.

096: Recalls twice being appointed DEPUTY CHAIRMAN and eventually CHAIRMAN of the BOARD. During that time, he says, TE ANAU underwent some major developments such as a re-structure of the town centre, and improved sewerage and water facilities.

104: Mentions he planned to stand again in the last round of BOARD elections (2004), but ill-health forced him to withdraw his nomination.

144: Describes the importance of elected members understanding their role as representatives of the people’s interests. “It’s an enjoyable thing…it was a good part of my life.”

169: Referring to forty years ago when he first visited TE ANAU, says the approach into the town was made along the lakefront as LUXMORE DRIVE had not been formed.

175: Then too, he says, many of the houses were ex-MANAPOURI HYDRO SCHEME homes.

189: Remembers when the MILFORD ROAD was unsealed and says it was rather more challenging to drive into MILFORD SOUND and back than it is now when the road has two lanes with a white line down the centre.

198: Also recalls television had just arrived in TE ANAU in the 1960s and that he and his workmates hired a black-and white set despite the rental company showing some reluctance because they were construction workers.

215: Relates a tale about how a letter he’d received from his SISTER in 1966 was found during renovation work at the THC HOTEL. “I must have stuck it in my back pocket as a CARPENTER, of course, and it fell out (and lay there) under the floorboards for the next ten years (laughs).”

231: Discusses the contents of an embossed autograph book which he has kept since 1977, knowing that due to his work, he would meet several well-known people.

244: Goes through some of the signatures he gathered including SIR BRIAN LOCHORE, a former ALL BLACK CAPTAIN, the ENGLISH comedian, DEREK NIMMO, PRINCE CHARLES and his brother, PRINCE EDWARD. Others were JO BIELJE PETERSON, the former state leader of QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA, pop singers ART GARFUNKEL and SIR CLIFF RICHARD, THORN BIRDS author COLLEEN MCCULLOCH and the late NEW ZEALAND author, BARRY CRUMP.

360: Replies that the family has lived at SYLVIA BAKER PLACE for ten years (JOHANNA now lives in MELBOURNE with her husband).

366: Of his recent ill health, he says he underwent surgery to remove a tumour which required an intensive six weeks of follow-up treatment in DUNEDIN. Says it taught him about patience.

396: Referring to his past 30 years living in TE ANAU, he says when he first took up the THC job at the HOTEL he thought it would only be for a few years and he would move on.

408: Recalls that whenever he felt overwhelmed by work he would take off up the MILFORD TRACK and the MANAGER at GLADE HOUSE, PHIL TURNBULL, would bring him a glass of whisky mixed with water from the CLINTON RIVER at the end of a long day. “What more could you want?”

Interview ends

Tape 2 Side B stops