As tourism giant RealNZ celebrated 70 years last week, no one was prouder — albeit in a modest way — than Queenstown’s Bryan Hutchins.
At 75, he not only straddles its entire history — from when his parents Les and Olive Hutchins founded Manapouri-Doubtful Sound Tourist Company in 1954 — but he’s also put his own stamp on it.
From 1978 to 2002 he ran the company as it expanded hugely, and today his immediate family still owns more than 30%, despite recapitalising during Covid.
The eldest of five, Bryan split his primary schooling between remote Manapouri and Invercargill before attending Southland Boys’.
Initially wanting to become a civil engineer, he had a year at Canterbury Uni before completing university at Otago, graduating with a degree in stats, which he found easy, and almost completing a commerce degree.
When he was 20 his parents’ company, by now Fiordland Travel, entered Queenstown by buying the then-struggling Earnslaw steamship — taking over 65 years ago to this very day.
During uni holidays he recalls getting his jetboat skipper’s ticket.
After uni he had three years’ OE, working for an insurance company in London which he didn’t enjoy.
In 1974, he joined the family firm, initially skippering boats in Manapouri — "Dad was quite sick so I really just got thrown in the deep end".
In ’76 he married Penny, whom he’d met at Otago, at Dunedin’s St Paul’s Cathedral — she’s Ngai Tahu, which has helped his understanding of te ao Maori.
By ’78 Bryan had taken over as GM, then later CEO, of Fiordland Travel.
Under his stewardship he and his senior managers oversaw major expansion.
In 1984, for example, he introduced luxury coaches with roof windows and angled seating for better viewing on the Queenstown-Milford run, and he also introduced overnight and multi-day Fiordland cruises.
In ’87 the company got into aviation. Asked if that was a big move, he answers, "that would be an understatement".
Modestly, Bryan says he was "just in the right place at the right time".
"There was only one year in tourism through that whole period where it went down."
For 10 years the Earnslaw switched its destination from Walter Peak to Mt Nicholas, but after reverting to Walter Peak the company acquired the lakefront land for its operations.
Perhaps to some people’s surprise, Bryan resigned in his early 50s.
"He probably thought he had contributed what he could," Penny says.
Then, from 2002 to 2005 he served on the NZ Conservation Authority, following Les’ well-worn footsteps.
He’d also decided he wanted to sail the world while still fit and able.
He had a ketch built by company boat builder Jim Young called Haere-roa, meaning ‘a long way to go’ — "it took about two years to build because obviously the rest of the boats were more important".
He and Penny finally set sail in 2006 and enjoyed seven years at sea, only returning to NZ at summertime.
In 2007 they took in the America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain, and for many years they left the boat in the Mediterranean.
Bryan continued for many years on what’s now RealNZ’s board, and encouraged family members to take an interest by giving them observer status for a stint — son Nick later sat on the board, and his daughter Abbe’s currently the family rep.
He notes Covid was a shocker for the company — "it lost 95% of its revenue in one month".
"People had thought we were mad buying Cardrona [skifield] but that saved our bacon and gave us time just to think about what we needed to do" — the only option being recapitalising, with the likes of Rod Drury and current chair Martin Dippie chipping in.
Bryan’s meantime diversified his business interests — including a stint on the Fiordland Lobster Company board and currently chairing the partnership that owns Queenstown’s Branches Station.
He and Penny had a local holiday home for about 40 years but only moved to Queenstown to a new home, also at Tucker Beach, four years ago — it was Penny’s idea they leave Te Anau, not his, he says.
His hobby is planting native trees on his property, and when it’s the season, muttonbirding down south.
He admits last week’s 70th celebrations made him feel "really proud".
He’s also proud, after Les died, aged 79, in 2003, Olive’s still alive and just six months from celebrating her 100th.
