My Life Story

Queenstown’s queen of cat care and one of the resort’s most renowned art dealers, Invercargill-born Julia Milley has had strong ties with this area since she was four.

He may have climbed dozens of mountains around the world, done hundreds of climbs at home, and been part of some of this country’s most notorious search and rescue operations, but you won’t find this humble, Kiwi guy boasting about them.

One of New Zealand’s most renowned rugby writers throughout his successful 66-year career, Arrowtown’s Bob Howitt has notched the names of many of New Zealand’s most famous All Blacks into his belt, also writing the biographies of many.

He’s been selling overseas holidays for about 50 years, around in the days when agents had to ring airlines ‘collect’ to book flights and write letters to Europe to book hotel rooms.

His distinctive, handcrafted silver jewellery has celebrated many a special occasion around the world – a creative gifting discovered in 1968 in desperation for money to get home from his OE.

While he admits he comes close, having launched multiple businesses mostly with very little know-how, Guy Hughes insists he’s not “a serial entrepreneur”.

She may be small in stature but even the tallest and bulkiest of Wakatipu High School Year 7 boys knew not to mess with wee Mrs Gazzard.

She raised six kids single-handedly, among them a best-selling children’s author, even co-writing her own best-seller with him. But Maureen Smith is famous in her own right as a solo ‘Supermum’ of the 70s.

He tried farming and the freezing works before the lure of ‘good fun’ landed Ross Lawrence his dream job as a liftie at Whakapapa in 1984.

She’s full of life and laughs – a caring, compassionate heart on legs, legs that travel around this district helping others at a fair rate of knots.

They bred country girls tough on the Crown Terrace in the 1960s. Helen Jeffery’s life of global adventure, courage and resilience is testament to that.

She’s watched the hair on the principal’s legs catch fire, had a parapenter land on the library roof while teaching and been reprimanded for putting beer in the fish batter on an alcohol-free school camp.

She grew up with an idyllic childhood, the envy of many, roaming barefoot through snow covered tussock lands and riding her horse through the swift currents of the Shotover River up into spectacular mountainous terrain.

Brought up on Aussie Rules in a small rural town on the Murray River, Simon Hayes had no clue about rugby when he arrived in New Zealand at 21, fresh from a trainee manager’s role at Myers Food and Catering in 1974.

She may come from Japan, but Queenstown’s Yasuko Joll sure has plenty of ‘Kiwi can do’ attitude. If New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister asks for a toothbrush from hotel reception late at night you improvise.

He’s probably transported more people than a New York City bus driver. The only difference is most of Brian Ramsey’s passengers are not off to work but play.

Now author of multiple fiction novels – one that almost made it to the big screen, Ray Drayton was once best known as Queenstown’s very own restaurant front-of-house, Fawlty Towers funnyman.

His name may be synonymous with opulence and lavish luxury lodges in this country, but Kenyan-born Brit Philip Jenkins certainly did the hard grind to get there.

An early baby boomer, born in 1945, the daughter of a World War I Passchendaele vet and bank manager, Tish Glasson has lived on the edge in the great outdoors.