Latest news with #SaveManapouri
Scoop
21-07-2025
- General
- Scoop
Idea To Turn Public's Iconic Molesworth Station Into Pines Crazy
The suggestion that Molesworth Station could be turned into a giant pine monoculture is crazy says Alan Simmons of the NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party. 'It's even more crazy coming from the Department of Conservation who have failed to control wilding pines on public lands it is entrusted by parliamentary law to manage,' said Alan Simmons. 'The option from DoC to hand it over to forestry interests to plant as one huge pine forest is appalling to many and sends a shudder through all those who love and appreciate our NZ back country environment.' Molesworth is such an iconic environment owned by the New Zealand public and valued for its vast wilderness landscape and currently run as a huge beef high country station. Well known outdoorsman Alan Simmons said DoC is completely out of touch with reality and to the contrary there is a strong case not to plant any more pine trees because of their detrimental effect on the environment. 'Pines are invasive, suck up huge quantities of water and deplete stream and river flows to the point of drying them up, poison the soil by turning it acidic, if and when harvested the slash waste is a huge problem for land owners downstream while clear felling results in heavy siltation of rivers and coastal waters such as the Marlborough Sounds.' He said economic benefits were marginal as most logs are exported raw overseas and imported back as processed timber. Pine forests provide no real work for New Zealanders apart from harvesting and resulted in depopulation of rural communities and closure of community infrastructure such as schools. Environmentally monocultures of pines resulted in considerable loss of biodiversity. Alan Simmons said perhaps DOC saw the concept of a giant pine forest in backcountry Marlborough as climate change mitigation. However the amount of grassland and native vegetation on Molesworth Station already contributes to any climate change goals. Besides the criteria of the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) is flawed such as not considering vegetation under five metres height. "The thought of planting 446,705 acres or 700 square miles into pine forest turns my stomach" said Alan Simmons.'Molesworth needs to remain a vast wildness for future generations to enjoy. Our past experience with forests once owned by New Zealanders is that they end up overseas owned and we end up locked out. An example is Kaiangaroa Forest in the Central North Island or the many former State forests of the Hawkes Bay now overseas owned. " He predicted any attempt to turn Molesworth Station into a mega-pine forest will set off a public outcry equal to the Save Manapouri campaign of the 1970's.
Otago Daily Times
08-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Southern tourism pioneer celebrates 100th birthday
The first lady of Queenstown tourism celebrated her 100th birthday, surrounded by family and friends, in the resort on Saturday. 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.
