Les Hutchins
Born Leslie Hutchins
(1924-12-08 ) 8 December 1924Died 19 December 2003(2003-12-19) (aged 79) Occupation Tourism operator Years active 1954–2003 Known for Real Journeys Guardians of Lake Manapouri Spouse
Olive Doreen Simpson
(
m. 1948)
Children 5
Leslie Hutchins DCNZM OBE JP (8 December 1924 – 19 December 2003) was a New Zealand tourism operator and conservationist. Together with his wife, he bought a tourism company in 1954 that is today RealNZ ; it still remains mostly in family ownership. Hutchins was one of the founding members of the Save Manapouri campaign and became one of the initial six Guardians of Lake Manapouri .
Biography
Hutchins was born on 8 December 1924 in Invercargill , and was educated at Southland Technical College .[ 1] [ 2] In 1948, he married Olive Doreen Simpson, and the couple went on to have five children.[ 2]
Together with his wife Olive, he purchased some assets and founded the Manapouri-Doubtful Sound Tourist Company in May 1954. In 1966, the Hutchins purchased Fiordland Travel, a tourism company based in Te Anau . In 2002, the company was rebranded to Real Journeys . The tourism company (now branded as RealNZ ), is one of the main operators in the South Island tourism market and operates cruises in Milford and Doubtful Sounds , the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw on Lake Wakatipu , the Te Anau-au glowworm caves , Stewart Island ferry services, the Cardrona Alpine Resort , and the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch .[ 3] [ 4]
Hutchins was one of the early members of the Save Manapouri campaign , an environmental campaign waged between 1969 and 1972 to prevent the raising of the levels of lakes Manapouri and Te Anau as part of the construction of the Manapouri Power Station . The issue was significant in the 1972 general election , helped the Labour Party win and form the Third Labour Government of New Zealand , and Norman Kirk established the Guardians of Lake Manapouri . Hutchins was one of the six original Guardians and held that role for many years.[ 5] [ 6] In 1970, Hutchins visited Lake Monowai , which had been raised in 1925, and was "appalled at the total destruction of the shoreline of this once beautiful Fiordland lake."[ 7]
Hutchins was one of the promoters of the Southern Scenic Route , which was officially opened on 6 November 1988.[ 8]
Hutchins died at his home in Queenstown on 19 December 2003.[ 5]
Honours and awards
In the 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours , Hutchins was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to tourism.[ 9] In 1990, he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal .[ 2] In the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours , he was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM), for services to conservation and tourism.[ 10] Hutchins was posthumously inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2011.[ 11] [ 5]
When titular honours were reintroduced in 2009, his wife chose to take the courtesy title offered to spouses of knights and has since been known as Olive, Lady Hutchins.[ 12]
Autobiography
Hutchins, Les (1998). Making Waves . Fiordland: Craig Printing Company. ISBN 9780473054762 .
References
^ Taylor, Alister , ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa . Auckland. p. 469.{{cite book }}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link )
^ a b c Taylor, Alister ; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand . Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 196. ISBN 0-908578-34-2 .
^ Ibbotson, Lucy (16 November 2013). "Cardrona back in NZ ownership" . Otago Daily Times . Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020 .
^ Hartley, Simon (31 December 2018). "Tourism aligned with conservation" . Otago Daily Times . Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020 .
^ a b c Krause, Nick (30 July 2011). "Out of the wilderness came of visionary" . The Timaru Herald . Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2020 .
^ Williams, Guy (28 September 2019). "Powerful exploits of engineering" . Otago Daily Times . Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020 .
^ Suchanski, Alina (22 August 2016). "Uplifted by a lake" . Otago Daily Times . Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2020 .
^ Dodgshun, Joe (12 February 2011). "Scenic drive completes the circle" . Otago Daily Times . Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2020 .
^ "No. 51367" . The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 11 June 1988. p. 34.
^ "Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee honours list 2002" . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2002. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2020 .
^ "Hutchins, Leslie" . New Zealand Business Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020 .
^ Rudd, Allison (1 August 2009). "All but two from Otago opt for titles" . Otago Daily Times . Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2020 .