Pauline Tusher thought her husband was kidding when he announced he’d bought 55 hectares of overgrown land at Blanket Bay, near Glenorchy.
The year was 1972, and then Sydney-based Tom Tusher, who’d been launching clothing icon Levi Strauss & Co in Australia, was in Queenstown with the man he’d hired to set up a New Zealand operation.
The man was asking a local real estate agent about Queenstown, and Tom, tagging along, asked her if there was a piece of land he could tuck away for 25 years.
She took him on "a really heavy-duty vehicle" on the barely formed Glenorchy Rd, the day was perfect, "and when I saw the property and the beauty of the area, I forgot my common sense and bought it".
The vendor, who’d waited about five years to flick it, wouldn’t let Tom negotiate the price down — probably thinking he was a well-heeled American.
Tom says he didn’t have the money — $25,000 — but promised to pay him back in five years.
Pauline was shocked because they were going to head back to Levi’s head office in San Francisco after Sydney.
"I said, ‘Tom, we are never going to go there’."
Tom, a keen fly fisherman, said he’d build a hut on the lake’s edge and they’d come for a month a year to fish, hike, read and relax.
Till he retired as Levi’s president in ’97, he visited his purchase about five times with a picnic lunch.
Visions for the property grew from a hut to a house to a bed and breakfast to the luxury lodge it is today.
Tom says customer research told him people were seeking more adventurous holidays, and Queenstown fitted the bill — though many were sceptical about such a remotely located lodge.
He says the sealing of the Glenorchy Rd made construction logistics feasible.
He adds they were grateful to then-mayor Warren Cooper.
"Apparently there were a couple of councillors that weren’t necessarily supportive so he waited until they went on vacation, put it on the council agenda and he got the approvals."
Tom says he had an American design the lodge, taking inspiration from the log-cabin style in Wyoming and Montana but with the European alpine look he wanted.
He was indebted to the craftsmanship of the late Ewan Edgerton and his team who completed the build in just 18 months, then took 12 more to add chalets and their own lodge.
Local timber specialist Carl Livingston sourced timbers from bridges, wharves and industrial buildings in NZ and Australia, while local schist rock was also deployed.
The Tushers themselves handled much of the interior decoration.
The 1999 flood upset plans for a soft opening, and debris was cleared only a day before the first guests arrived on December 16.
One of their first guests was American comedian/actor Robin Williams, who brought his two kids.
Tom: "They were the ones that led us to having a no-child policy because they got into our spa and put soap all over the floor and used it as a skate rink."
Another early guest was Sir Ian McKellen who was playing Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings movie shoot — he’d have his scripts arrive by fax every Sunday night.
"He came up to us at dinner and drew a sketch of Gandalf.
"We thanked him and he said ‘It’s the least I could do because you shared all your numbers with me’ — the back side [of fax paper] had all our financials on it."
Proving their doubters wrong, Blanket Bay of course has been a huge success, accommodating 40,000-plus guests and contributing hugely to the Glenorchy and wider Queenstown economy.
With 62 staff, after starting with 13, it’s also become Glenorchy’s biggest employer.
About 40 are accommodated in housing the Tushers have built for staff in Glenorchy — in the original Wyuna Station which Tom and Queenstowner John Darby bought for their high-end Wyuna Preserve subdivision.
"Establishing Blanket Bay has been one of the most satisfying projects we have ever embarked on," Tom says.
He notes today’s Overseas Investment Office rules would probably have precluded them building on the lake, while, being American, they’d have been excluded by NZ’s foreign buyer ban.
"We’re permanent residents, and the only reason we haven’t gotten citizenship is taxation."
These days they’re here for about three months each summer.
As for the future, Tom says "we see this as a heritage property — it’ll be passed on to our older son".
The History: Blanket Bay Lodge was of assistance in preparing this feature.
