Hudson Turnbull - A Man of the Mountains…
Like so many before him Hudson Turnbull came to Queenstown for the ski lifestyle and never left. That was 60 years ago.
In that time he’s risen from Coronet Peak ski patroller to district councillor with no sign of slowing on community affairs yet, even aged 77.
In fact, RealNZ even called him back from semi-retirement to drive Milford and Doubtful Sound and skifield buses, amid the current Queenstown staffing shortages and he’s loving it. Tourism, driving, and connecting with people is Hudson’s happy place.
Born in Auckland, the son of a World War II Air Force pilot, Hudson was named after the Lockheed Hudson light bombers that his dad had been flying overseas. “There was an old aircraft fuselage under a hedge south of Oamaru when I was a kid and when we’d drive past Dad would say, “I used to fly that. It had the same serial number,” says Hudson. The family moved to various Canterbury stations and Southland farms while his dad trained under the post-war rehabilitation farming scheme, eventually taking over a Southland farm in Hedgehope. “My earliest childhood memories are on farms, riding my bike that I bought from the money earned plucking wool from dead sheep.”
After four years boarding at Timaru Boys High Hudson went to Lincoln College to do a Diploma in Agriculture.
Back in Invercargill Hudson volunteered at the YMCA as a gymnastics instructor, coaching neurodiverse kids, and literally clowning around. “I was a clown at agricultural shows, playing tricks on the crowd, sneaking up and tipping the hats of stuffy old cockies while the crowd laughed and cheered.” “We were pretty tame back then but we went to see The Beatles live in 1964 in the Dunedin Town Hall. That was amazing.”
Joining the Southland Tramping and Ski Clubs, Hudson spent weekends and holidays staying in the Southland Ski Club hut on Coronet Peak. “We’d call in at Parawa Pub, on Sunday nights then all drive home after a big meal and plenty to drink. I don’t know how we got away with it.”
Before long renowned Coronet Peak manager Sugar Robinson had asked Hudson to join the then voluntary ski patrol on weekends, moving to full-time after his dad fell ill and had to sell the farm. “I became part of the first professional paid ski patrol in New Zealand with Paul Midgeley, whose family ran White Star Hotel, and Dennis and Peter Egerton.”
He lived on the mountain for four winters from 1969 until 1972 working in every role except instructing, even writing a weekly skiing column for The Southland Times.
In 1969 Hudson was invited by ski racer mate Chris Womersley to come to Europe. Together they were the NZ Ski Team – Hudson manager and Chris sole member. “We had a crack at the first World Cup Circuit in 1969-70, finishing up at the world champs in Val Gardena, Italy – no coach.” US ski racer ‘Poncho’ McCoy, whose father was the founder of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, became their coach, teaching them all they needed to know. “We then got free skiing and accommodation in return for washing dishes at Mammoth while Chris trained.”
It was self-funded and tough, pitching it against the world’s best with their glossy sponsorship deals, but by the second year Hudson had scored free gear and accommodation for them from the big European ski manufacturers. They travelled the world, with Hudson returning to Coronet Peak each New Zealand winter.
After the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, Hudson returned to Queenstown moving into new roles with the Mount Cook Company. “We had one HS748 and two DC3’s landing from Christchurch via Mount Cook. People would drive up to the foot of the aircraft stairs to meet friends and just wander up to the plane.”
Hudson then ran a ski shop in Shotover Street, selling fruit and veggies in summer, before moving to Sunshine Village Ski Resort in Banff to work. Major back surgery forced him to return home where family circumstances changed. Various roles at Mount Cook Company followed until a devastated Hudson was made redundant in 1988. “I was building a home, a solo dad with a young son.”
Ansett New Zealand came to the rescue offering a wonderful job which lasted for the next nine years, before he and his partner bought an airport information and shuttle business.
Hudson’s column in The Mirror newspaper – No Bull Turnbull preceded two terms on the district council (1993 – 1998). He’s proud of many big achievements there that he’s either instigated or worked hard on. These include the Events Centre, Hawthorne Drive and the Man Street Bypass, finally underway. “It’s taken 20 or 30 years.”
He’s a past chairman of the Wakatipu High PTA and served on its board of trustees, the Queenstown Primary School PTA and Frankton Community Association. He was a Customs Officer at the airport in 2008-9 and he’s also been a long-time secretary at Lake Lodge of Ophir.
However, the biggest life highlight is son David, now 45, his two lovely daughters in their early 20s, and three precious grandsons.
