In late June 2008, the Queenstown Lakes District Council launched its clean-up initiative in the resort.
Custodians Rachael Anderson, Marcio Maia and Adriano Pedrosa work on the front line in five-day shifts 365 days a year, in all weathers, from 5am to 1.30pm.
The trio are caretakers of downtown Queenstown and a radius of 2km around it.
They turn their hand to everything, from cleaning the streets of party debris and collecting rubbish, to repairs, giving directions and being unofficial crime fighters, in touch with community guides and police.
The unsung heroes have an arsenal of gear to work with, including the mother of all vacuum cleaners, a diesel sweeper, plus leaf suckers and blowers, a steam cleaner and water blaster, along with the tried-and-tested dust pan and brush, rubbish bags and rubber gloves.
Educated and vaccinated, they also have the know-how to defend themselves and defuse a situation if, or when, they are confronted by drunks in the early hours, thanks to training by casino security staff.
Miss Anderson is the longest-serving member of the team after she sought a change from working in Cromwell vineyards. She applied for the then dual custodian and gardening role.
"The first year the town was in a bit of a state and because we were new, it was a bit of a novelty.
"People thought we were all on PD [preventive detention].
"Now they understand what we do and they help us out. They have more respect for us."
The trio were often amazed at the litter they found after big nights out.
Pairs of shoes, underwear, clothes, wallets, passports used for identification in bars and even a television.
They have seen possums scampering across Queenstown Mall in the wee small hours. There were always six ducks in pairs which made their homes on the mall, outside Night 'n Day on Camp St and Fergburger on Shotover St, every summer. The ducks were on the lookout for scraps of food and helped the custodians tidy up the CBD.
Miss Anderson said she had been assaulted, flashed, tipped, serenaded, kissed and asked out on a date while working, but she took it all in her stride. She has witnessed "lovemaking on the waterfront half a dozen times", which continued despite the noise of the street sweeper.
"I'm more embarrassed than they are," she said.
Miss Anderson recalled the drunk flasher thought he was hilarious last winter when, in minus 8degC, "up went his hands and down came his trousers".
However, she had the last laugh - a police officer was standing behind him.
Mr Maia and Mr Pedrosa said they were more likely to be asked by drunk women for money for a taxi.
In a single shift, the custodians will cross paths with people staggering home and people strolling to work.
The latter are part of the unseen late-night and early-morning community of contractors, hospitality workers, taxi drivers and police officers, who all know and greet each other and keep the Queenstown tourism machine running, 24-7.
The custodians also see two sides of a few residents who like to party a little too hard.
"There's one Kiwi local, I used to see him at least once a week pretty drunk, then I'd see him after [his] hours and he'd be very embarrassed and say sorry for asking me to shine his shoes with my sweeper," Mr Maia said.
"He's still in town."
The three custodians agreed the positive comments they get from the public outweighed "the bad stuff".
Miss Anderson said: "A lot of people say they wouldn't do our job, but I find it fun, I enjoy it and I get a lot out of it."
