John MacDonald - Putting Queenstown on the map
An unwavering advocate for Queenstown’s tourism industry during his 36 years here, John MacDonald has left his stamp on the place, going to great lengths to enhance Queenstown’s reputation.
From saving the Crown Prince of Thailand from sinking into the Shotover River, to smuggling half a raft through strict Malaysian Customs, it’s been quite a ride.
Born on a farm near Oamaru, at 13 he was sent to Dunedin’s John McGlashan Boarding School where art was his thing which made him a target back then for being different to the norm. “I was popular when they wanted posters for the school dance.”
As the only son, he was also expected to take over the farm, and multiple droughts meant tough times so he had to leave school early. While studying Diplomas in Agriculture and Management at Lincoln friend Richard Hunt introduced him to car rallying. John was hooked. By 1979 he’d won the National Junior Novice Title in his Mazda RX3. The pair had fun at Queenstown’s Winter Festival holidays staying with Richard’s sister, Jan, and husband Eion Edgar (later Sir and Lady Edgar).
Selling the farm and moving to a Mid Canterbury farm in 1980 was “disastrous timing” with interest rates soaring under David Lange’s ‘Rogernomics’ Government, and more droughts. “We lost the farm through a long and horrible process.”
John worked as a driver-guide at Mount Hutt for Guthrey’s Tours then managing its Queenstown shop, eventually sharing space with Danes Rafting’s Dale and Anne Gardiner. “They went on holiday and asked me to manage it. I wanted to own it. I had no money, but I did know Eion Edgar who I thought would know someone who did,” says John. “He said, ‘I know just the person. It’s me!’” Eion bought 50 percent, selling his half to THL five years later. It was an exciting ride rebranding to Danes Shotover Rafts. “We went upmarket becoming the second largest rafting company locally.”
A love of marketing led to the Queenstown Winter Marketing Group which John chaired when it won a Tourism Award for Innovative Marketing in the early 1990s.
He was chairman of the Queenstown Promotion Board through the rebrand to Destination Queenstown.
There were many fun marketing trips to Australia and Asia. “They made half a raft for us to take to Kuala Lumpar, but we had a heck of a job getting through Customs.” Rotorua’s team saved them with their box of sheepskins, stumping and distracting the Malaysians, acting as decoy.
During the Crown Prince of Thailand’s visit his entourage dressed him in a pop-up tent at the river. “He emerged with his silk shirt and gold cuff-links and pendant still on, wetsuit only covering his bottom half. He wouldn’t take his gold off until the guide mentioned ‘potential flipping’ in the safety talk. He would’ve sunk like a weight with all that on.”
John himself was more than hesitant after doing a deal with AJ Hackett to transport his new bungy clients during winter. “I hate heights, but AJ said the deal was that I had to do a bungy. I said, ‘yes,’ thinking nothing of it, then three months in AJ came into my office carrying a big bottle of champagne and walked me out to a waiting stretch limo and said, ‘John, your time’s up’. I was crapping myself. The staff came and watched, but the elation afterwards!”
Then it was Whytewaters Publishing where his creative side excelled, designing marketing material, Visitor Guides, and winning a Qantas Media Award for Best Cover on an Air NZ magazine in 1995. He set up a real time booking system with a US software company, putting tourism magazines into 22,000 hotel rooms nationwide.
In 2008 John launched Quickstop Auto Centre, reverting back to his rallying days and buying a Mazda RX7 Classic Rally Car, also helping to resurrect the Queenstown Car Club.
A serious brush with cancer followed and John stepped back to part-time independent chair of the Network Leadership Group for Southern Mental Health and Addictions for seven years. Breakthrough finally came in the last 18 months with $7 million to fund new services across the district, including Queenstown’s new Crisis Response Service.
He’s served five years on the district council, chairing the Mayoral Affordable Housing Taskforce, and Finance Audit and Risk Committee, formed, and still chairs, the Wakatipu Community Hub Charitable Trust.
Ironically, after fighting for better local health services, his 2019 Parkinsonism diagnosis forced him to reluctantly sell up and move to Christchurch last August, to be closer to healthcare. Spending time with daughter Hannah is now his priority.
“It was very hard to leave, but I feel like I’ve left a positive mark and done my bit for Queenstown,” says John.
He won’t be forgotten with the Housing Trust set to name John Mac’s Way after him in the Tewa Banks development.
