Leslie Hutchins (8 December 1924 – 19 December 2003) was a New Zealand tourism operator and conservationist. Together with his wife, he bought a tourism company in 1954 that is today RealNZ; it still remains mostly in family ownership. Hutchins was one of the founding members of the

Save Manapouri campaign The Save Manapouri campaign was an environmental campaign waged between 1969 and 1972 in New Zealand to prevent the raising of the levels of lakes Manapouri and Te Anau as part of the construction of the Manapouri Power Project. Origins The ...

and became one of the initial six Guardians of Lake Manapouri.

Biography

Hutchins was born on 8 December 1924 in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

, and was educated at Southland Technical College. In 1948, he married Olive Doreen Simpson, and the couple went on to have five children. Together with his wife Olive, he purchased some assets and founded the Manapouri-Doubtful Sound Tourist Company in May 1954. In 1966, the Hutchins purchased Fiordland Travel, a tourism company based in

Te Anau Te Anau is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Maori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Te Anau is 155 kilometres north of Invercargill ...

. In 2002, the company was rebranded to

Real Journeys RealNZ is a New Zealand tourism company based in Queenstown. The company offers a range of travel, cruises and excursions in Queenstown, Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, Te Anau, Fiordland and Stewart Island / Rakiura. It also operates two skifie ...

. The tourism company (now branded as RealNZ), is one of the main operators in the South Island tourism market and operates cruises in

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

and

Doubtful Sound Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Zea ...

s, the vintage steamship TSS ''Earnslaw'' on

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake ( finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori n ...

, the Te Anau-au glowworm caves, Stewart Island ferry services, the

Cardrona Alpine Resort Cardrona Alpine Resort is an alpine resort in New Zealand's South Island. The ski field ranges from 1,260m to 1,860m. The distribution of slopes is 25% beginner, 25% intermediate, 30% advanced and 20% expert. There are 2 detachable quad chairli ...

, and the

International Antarctic Centre The International Antarctic Centre is a research centre and public science discovery centre in the suburb of Harewood, Christchurch, New Zealand, near Christchurch International Airport. Description The Centre is home to the New Zealand, US ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. Hutchins was one of the early members of the

, an environmental campaign waged between 1969 and 1972 to prevent the raising of the levels of lakes

Manapouri Manapouri is a small town in Southland / Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island, in New Zealand. The township is the westernmost municipality in New Zealand. Located at the edge of the Fiordland National Park, on the eastern ...

and

as part of the construction of the

Manapouri Power Station Manapōuri Power Station is an underground hydroelectric power station on the western arm of Lake Manapouri in Fiordland National Park, in the South Island of New Zealand. At 854 MW installed capacity (although limited to 800 MW due t ...

. The issue was significant in the 1972 general election, helped the Labour Party win and form the

Third Labour Government of New Zealand The Third Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1972 to 1975. During its time in office, it carried out a wide range of reforms in areas such as overseas trade, farming, public works, energy generation, local go ...

, and

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at a ...

established the Guardians of Lake Manapouri. Hutchins was one of the six original Guardians and held that role for many years. In 1970, Hutchins visited

Lake Monowai Lake Monowai (officially Monowai Lake; mi, Manokīwai) is a large lake () in the southern part of Fiordland National Park, in New Zealand's South Island, 120 kilometres northwest of Invercargill. At an altitude of 180 metres in a long curved va ...

, which had been raised in 1925, and was "appalled at the total destruction of the shoreline of this once beautiful Fiordland lake." Hutchins was one of the promoters of the

Southern Scenic Route The Southern Scenic Route is a tourist highway in New Zealand linking Queenstown, Fiordland, Te Anau and the iconic Milford Road to Dunedin via, Riverton, Invercargill and The Catlins. An Australian travel magazine labelled it "one of the ...

, which was officially opened on 6 November 1988. Hutchins died at his home in Queenstown on 19 December 2003.

Honours and awards

In the 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours, Hutchins was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to tourism. In 1990, he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the

2002 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in su ...

, he was appointed a

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

(DCNZM), for services to conservation and tourism. Hutchins was posthumously inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2011. When titular honours were reintroduced in 2009, his wife chose to take the courtesy title offered to spouses of knights and has since been known as Olive, Lady Hutchins.

Autobiography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchins, Les 1924 births 2003 deaths New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand justices of the peace People from Invercargill 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand environmentalists New Zealand autobiographers People educated at Aurora College (Invercargill)