A tiny brown cabin in the centre of a paddock in Luggate has played host to many family gatherings. Lucy Ibbotson talks to its owners about what has kept it in the family all these years.
Blink and you'll miss it. But a tiny ramshackle brown cabin in the centre of a paddock in Luggate has sat at the heart of one family's holiday memories for generations and their resolve to keep it just as it is remains stronger than ever.
The 0.6ha property, just past the Luggate bridge when heading south on State Highway 6, belongs to Auckland sisters Lyn Bayes (66) and Jan Ward (63).
They inherited it from their mother Pat Smeaton, who in turn had it handed over by her father, Dunedin accountant James William Smeaton.
Mr Smeaton bought the land - with two joined-together army huts - for about 800 in 1953, from J.R.Todd.
Mr Todd's family owned the neighbouring farm, and it is understood he was was obliged at the time to sell only to ex-servicemen.
Mrs Bayes recalls her grandfather bought the site after some encouragement from friend Mick O'Sullivan, who was keen to use the land as an access-way to his property behind it, rather than having to negotiate the Luggate Creek.
''He was probably thinking 'If Jim buys this I won't have to worry about putting a bridge across the river','' Mrs Bayes said.
Mr Smeaton's and Mr O'Sullivan's access was also shared by the old Luggate Sawmill before it was destroyed by fire in February, 1978, nearly taking the little crib with it.
Fortunately, an Alexandra-based relative of the Smeatons had been in Wanaka on business and spotted the fire as he was passing.
He stopped and hosed the crib down, saving it from the same fiery fate as the sawmill.
''Everything was black all around it, even up to the doorstep,'' Mrs Bayes said.
After acquiring the two-room crib, her grandfather had Dunedin's Scoullar and Chisholm furniture warehouse fit out the interior.
The original vinyl and dresser are still there today.
A lean-to was added to house the bath and laundry.
The originally consisted of a copper, two concrete tubs and a mangle, now substituted by a conventional washing machine and drier.
The small extension and Scoullar and Chisholm makeover aside, it was back to basics during Smeaton family holidays from Dunedin.
Mrs Bayes remembers a safe nailed to a willow tree to keep the meat cool, while their butter was stored in a bucket which sat in the nearby water race.
The same water race also fed a copper pipe running down to the crib to fill the hot water cylinder.
''When you're kids you don't think of all the hardships.''
Some mod cons
While the building's structure has remained virtually unchanged, some of life's modern conveniences have gradually crept in over the decades.
Grass growth used to be kept in check by the neighbouring farmer grazing his sheep there, but now the Bayes and Ward families pay someone to mow it regularly.
Where the original coal range was, a Kent fire now heats the water for the kitchen sink and the bath.
''If we want to use warm water in the washing machine or anything we just have to bucket it in.''
Today, the crib is connected to the Luggate town water supply and has its own underground septic tank.
A new utility shed with flush toilet, shower and basin arrived by truck in 2001, replacing the separate long drop - now used as a storage shed - which did have its perks.
''You could sit on it and have the door open and just look out over the hills and ... it was lovely, nobody could see you.''
Before the long drop, a can emptied daily by Mrs Bayes' father Dick Smeaton served as the crib's original sewage system.
Even a flat screen television sits discreetly in the corner of the living area but ''is really just there for the news''.
The crib has served mostly as a holiday spot since being owned Mr Smeaton and his descendants, although some family members have lived there for short stints, including Mrs Bayes and her husband Graham while they were building a house at Cromwell and their late son Cameron and his wife Tina-Maree Gillies.
Cameron had rebuilt the floor of the lean-to and lined its walls with building paper, while Mrs Bayes' aunt and uncle Trish and Dave Sneddon, of Dunedin, had been ''absolutely wonderful'' in seeing to many of the crib's other upgrades and maintenance over the years.
The Sneddons still use the home every summer.
The crib has just one bedroom, which sleeps three, plus a double pull-out bed in the tiny living space.
But up to 18 people at a time have crammed inside on festive occasions, ''all standing around eating and chatting and singing''.
Two caravans and tents pitched across the sprawling section accommodate the spill-over of guests, while ''those that couldn't rough it'' have stayed at the Wanaka Hotel.
The crib is still used regularly, particularly at Easter and Christmas, and even during the ski season, by hardier members of the family.
''And now that my husband's going to be retired we'll probably use it a lot more,'' Mrs Bayes said.
Family memories
She and her sister are very attached to their little slice of Luggate life.
''Jan and I had an idyllic childhood really, growing up and having that there ... we used to go up for the whole of the school holidays.''
They spent hours every day playing and picnicking by the creek, while the rest of the time was spent watching cricket matches at the domain, paying visits to Luggate's general store which was in ''full swing at that time'', collecting milk in a billy can from the neighbouring farm, adventuring with the other children in the village, or travelling into Wanaka for supplies.
While the pace may have slowed slightly, not much has changed during Luggate family holidays.
''We're just like big, lazy beached whales, really. We get our big loungers out ... and people visit all the time, we go for a walk down to the [Clutha River Devil's] Nook and go fishing and have picnics down beside the creek. We're never bored there.
''We can just sit around and read books and chat away and make cups of tea. It's just lovely. It's a very nice, relaxing holiday ... and isn't it lovely that you can have something like that and just share it with people?''
Asked if she would ever consider demolishing the crib to make way for more modern lodgings, Mrs Bayes responds with an emphatic no.
''Jan and I had thought about adding on better accommodation because as we're getting older we're finding it a bit difficult to go out to the utility in the night ... but we'd never pull it down. Other than that we'll just box on with it the way it is.''
The property is in trust for the sisters' four children.
''They'll do what they want, but they all seem pretty keen to hold on to it.''
Mrs Bayes said the site was zoned commercial and had been eyed up at one point by Luggate Park subdivision developer Jim Boult.
''So Jan and I thought very very seriously about it and he offered us other land and a package and that, and we thought no, we don't want to sell it. We want to keep it. And I think the locals are very pleased that we've kept it.''
