Southern tourism pioneer celebrates 100th birthday
Olive, Lady Hutchins (nee Simpson) celebrated the milestone at Queenstown Country Club retirement village, where she lives, with her large family — including some of her 18 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren — and some old friends.
Cards from King Charles and Queen Camilla and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon were proudly on display.
To acknowledge her birthday, RealNZ, begun by the Hutchins family, ran a "kids go free" weekend for all its experiences, and took a group of local children to Walter Peak on Saturday afternoon to plant a grove of native plants in Lady Hutchins' honour.
Born in Invercargill in 1925, the youngest of three children of farming parents from Myross Bush, Lady Hutchins went to the local primary school and then Southland Girls' High School before taking a job in the office at Invercargill's H&J Smiths.
In 1945, when she was 20, she met her future husband, Les, at a dance in Invercargill, shortly after he returned from the war.
The couple married at Invercargill's First Church in 1948 and had four children.
Les ran a furniture business in Invercargill but left that under management in 1954 after buying Les Murrell's estate, which included a Manapouri-based "walking tour", traversing the Wilmot Pass, into Doubtful Sound, and back, and two boats, The Constance and The Pilgrim .
Turning that into the Manapouri-Doubtful Sound Tourist Company, the family initially spent summers in Manapouri but made it their permanent home in 1956.
Mrs Hodges said her mother was "a typical 1950s woman — she just followed Dad", and while she was kept busy raising the family, she would also cater for the boats and man the radio when Les was away.
The couple became central voices in the Save Manapouri campaign, launched in response to the government's announcement it intended to raise lakes Manapouri and Te Anau for hydro-electric development.
The couple's business, renamed Fiordland Travel (now RealNZ), grew when they bought the TSS Earnslaw in 1969 — it was to have been scrapped the year prior — and spent years restoring the 1912 Edwardian twin-screw steamer, ensuring the "Lady of the Lake" was preserved for future generations.
In 1970 Fiordland Travel launched Milford Sound cruises and in 1991 it secured a lease at Queenstown's Walter Peak High Country Farm, opening up a slice of rural New Zealand to visitors.
It was around that time Les handed the reins of the company to son Bryan.
In the early 1990s the couple moved to Kelvin Heights.
Les was named a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002, the year before his death.
Bryan said that was bestowed during a period when "Sir" and "Dame" weren't used.
However, after the titles were reintroduced, in 2009, the late Sir Eion Edgar "pestered" their mother to take the title of Lady.
Mrs Maslin said her mother "loved it — she was very proud of Dad [and] we thought it would be very cool for all the grandkids."
Lady Hutchins, a keen Presbyterian church-goer, set up a charitable trust at least 20 years ago to help underprivileged people.
The trust continues and is now run by some of her family.
Her family said she also adored gardening and was even known to pop over to Walter Peak with friends on occasion to help out the gardener there. She loved bridge, croquet, card games and played a bit of golf, and had been somewhat notorious for her lead foot while driving.
Well-read and a member of the National Party, she was also not afraid to share her views, particularly with politicians and her family.
Mrs Maslin said her mother was "never backwards in coming forward with her children ... if she was disappointed, you knew".
"She had spunk."
Lady Hutchins remained in Kelvin Heights until about six years ago, when she moved into the retirement village.
tracey.roxburgh@odt.co.nz
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