Ian Mill - From equestrian to espionage

He’s rubbed shoulders internationally with horse racing greats, shouted the head of the CIA and FBI a few late-night quiets in his upmarket Arthur’s Point restaurant, even harboured undercover hobbits with hairy feet while hosting a private Peter Jackson unveiling.

Ian Mill, now 78 and living with wife Karyn in Sumner, looks back fondly on their almost 27 years in Queenstown, more than 10 years building up Gantley’s Restaurant, formerly Packer’s Arms, to international recognition.

Three years into their ownership in 1996 Ian – a passionate lover of good wines, says he “got cheeky” and sent an application to Wine Spectator in New York asking to be considered for their highly-acclaimed, internationally recognised wine list awards.

“We won an Award of Excellence every year until we handed over the restaurant lease to nephew Brent Rands and chef Jared Aldridge, staying on as their landlords until 2016.”

Just prior to moving to Queenstown in 1993 Ian had exited a long and distinguished horse racing career as CEO for Harness Racing NZ and Secretary-General of the World Trotting Association. This took them to all corners of the globe, even the Soviet Union. “I managed to reintroduce Russia to the World Trotting Association at the 1991 World Conference, which Karyn and I organised in Auckland. We were then invited to Moscow and treated like royalty, a dinner held in our honour.”

Meetings were held in a forest with their assigned KGB agent interpreter in tow, who two months later appeared on the front of Time Magazine standing behind President Gorbachev.

Raised in Southland - Pukerau and Gore, Ian was born in Nightcaps Maternity Home.

“That drew an interesting response from Customs when travelling internationally,” he grins.

Hailing from a long family of horsemen, Ian was a 5-year-old foundation member of the Pukerau branch of Eastern Southland Pony Club, growing up competing in Otago Southland show rings, later show jumping and eventing. He started as an instructor at Gore Pony Club at 16, chief instructor for the Otago Southland region by his late teens. In 1967 Ian made the NZ U21 Pony Club Eventing Team competing against five international teams at the Inter-Pacific Rally in Hamilton.

They didn’t get together until years later, but ironically Karyn, who he married in 1989, was one of Ian’s school-age Gore Pony Club students.

Ian worked at a Gore accountant’s office studying part-time for his Bachelor of Commerce, then studied full-time in Christchurch while working from 1972, by then married with young kids.

Staying in Queenstown on a trip to Manapouri to visit family in the early 90s, Ian and Karyn noticed Packer’s Arms for sale.

The potential of the historic building was obvious and in 1993 they owned it, sourcing flooring from the old Christchurch Horticultural Hall, the bar top from Coronation Hospital, and doors from Cashel Street Mall.

“We’d wanted a foray into hospitality and decided we’d do it for five years, but once that was up Karyn said, ‘I’m having too much fun’, so we stayed for 10.”

Gantley’s fast became a hit with the booming conference and incentive market. They landed a contract in 1994 with the Japan Travel Bureau, also doing a lot of work for ID Tours operated locally by former next-door neighbour Bill Tapley.

Weddings were big but movies became bigger, Shotover Resort across the road a wet day filming studio. Celebrities became restaurant regulars, White Fang, then Vertical Limit. “I picked up star Chris O’Donnell every Wednesday night in our Gantley’s complimentary stretch limo with the requested bottle of chilled Taittinger in the ice bucket in the back. They had their baby in Queenstown,” Ian recalls.

Sir Peter Jackson became a great friend while filming Lord of the Rings, so much so that later during filming for King Kong he flew cast and crew, including Jack Black and Tom Hank’s son Colin, from Wellington on his private jet for his birthday dinner at Gantley’s. “He had a control caravan out the back and he’d be banging on our door early in his jandals and shorts calling, “Karyn! Is the coffee machine on yet?!’” Ian chuckles.

Karyn was the only one to see the hairy hobbit feet shuffling across the road, the hobbits themselves wrapped in blankets, for a pre-production meeting at Gantley’s held behind large curtains.

Then there was the highly secretive undercover meeting in March 2002, six months post 9/11, when top security heads from around the world gathered at Gantley’s. “The men in black were in ahead with dogs, checking under the chairs.”

That night they hosted 26 - CIA head George Tenet, FBI boss Robert Mueller and representatives from Mossad, MI5 and the Secret Service. “More men in black came than I’d ever seen,” Ian says. “I ended up hosting George and Robert in our Wine Library that night supping local pinot noir like we were old mates,” Ian grins.

An offer for their newly renovated Aspen Grove home in 2019 was too good to refuse so they moved to Sumner from where they’ve now turned their passions to polo, sponsoring South Island Club tournaments and running NZ Thoroughbred Racing’s welfare programme as volunteers.