Culture

U-Drive Boats In December, 1957, a new venture started on Queenstown Bay. Dick Rout and his wife, Clarice, arrived from Hamilton to start a company called U-Drive Boats. Having seen a similar operation working well on Lake Okataina, near Rotorua, they decided that Queenstown would be the ideal place for…

The Meteor story began in 1950 when a young Frank Haworth, fresh from flying Catalinas in the Pacific, arrived in Queenstown. William Rees, the founder of Queenstown, was Frank’s great grandfather, so he arrived with historical links and an adventurous pedigree. Frank bought the small service launch and began his…

Tourism on the Bay and Beyond Excursion launches on Lake Whakatipu have always played an important role in tourism on the lake. They provided commercial back-up to the Earnslaw when it became the sole steamer, but also provided extremely popular day trips for generations of visitors. The best known were…

On the Water Queenstown Bay has always been the focus of tourism activities on the lake. With its numerous wharves, it has seen the comings and goings of boats of all shapes and sizes, from steamers to excursion boats. Rowing boats were available for hire on Queenstown Bay as early…

In a continuation of our 2020 ‘Cribbies’ theme this month we’re branching out into a long hot summer favourite, ‘Picnics and Barbeques’ with Lakes District Museum. Picnics & Barbeques Mealtimes for the Cribbies were significantly more relaxed and less formal than they were at home. Picnics and barbeques were the…