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Otago Daily Times

Renowned jetboat operation turns 60

You wonder what Harold and Arnold Melhop would make of it. In 1960, the Invercargill brothers decided to raise some money for Christian youth camps by running commercial jetboat trips, initially along the Kawarau River, using a demo boat fitted with a Hamilton jet unit, in a world-first operation. Next came Jet30 fibreglass boats — with capacity for five passengers — and then fate intervened when a group of Americans insisted they take them on a trip up the Shotover River, for which they would pay five times the regular price (£1 per person). The rest is history. Shotover Jet Services carried 1480 passengers in 1965, its first year of operation — Herman Palmer was the company's first jetboat driver and brought the business the following year, selling it, in 1970, to Trevor Gamble. In 1986 it was purchased by Queenstown tourism company Armada Holdings, associated with former mayor Jim Boult, which ultimately owned the Shotover Group, including Huka Falls Jet, the Suva Jet and Rainbow Springs. At that time Shotover Jet had three jetboats, a couple of vans and caravans on the riverbank and carried about 35,000 people per annum. In 1987 the company was granted exclusive rights to a section of the Shotover River which runs between two canyons — at times barely wider than the boat — primarily due to safety considerations. It was listed as a public company on the New Zealand Stock Exchange in 1993. In 1999, South Island iwi Ngai Tahu became majority shareholder, securing full ownership by 2004. Ngāi Tahu rangatira Tā Tipene O'Regan said the dream for the iwi had always been to be the "primary proprietors" of its own history. "The acquisition of the Shotover Group enabled us to have command over our own heritage. "At that time, we were very interested in tourism and wanted to be active participants, but faced heavy opposition from elements within the industry." The opportunity to acquire the business — a deal done almost entirely on handshakes — from Mr Boult, "a valued friend of Ngai Tahu", opened the door, he said. "Our focus was really on acquiring a platform in the industry to tell our own story, of our own heritage, in our space. "It's one of the big steps we made as an iwi following our Settlement, and we should continue to cherish it." Over the past 60 years, Shotover Jet has carried more than 4.6million people, including a host of celebrities, and had more recently completed the conversion of one of its petrol-powered boats to 100% electric, and signed a contract with Naut to undertake a feasibility study to build a new electric fleet. As part of Shotover Jet's 60th anniversary celebrations, people turning 60 this month could ride for free, though terms and conditions applied.