Photography: Tim Cuff
For more than 180 years, nine generations of Amy Wilson’s family has called Abel Tasman home. Her ancestors were amongst the first settlers to arrive in Nelson in 1841, building a grand homestead on the shores of Awaroa Bay.
Then, almost 50 years ago, her grandfather John Wilson turned the boat he built for family holidays into the first commercial boat operation, taking visitors into the Abel Tasman National Park. Meanwhile, Grandma Lynette used to serve refreshments to passengers while showing them her paintings set up in a tent on the back lawn of their Torrent Bay bach.
As Amy, 32, puts it, “There’s a lot of history. My grandma has written a book, The Awaroa Legacy, about it. Whenever we’d visit as kids, she’d have diaries and photos out, and tell us all about the history.”
Amy grew up marvelling at the magic in the National Park, taking friends in for birthday parties and later marrying husband Kadin Vincent, also 32, on the deck of the original family bach, now Torrent Bay Lodge.
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Proud of her roots
“I was always aware of the special history, and was so proud of going into the park and sharing it with others,” enthuses Amy.
But adventurous at heart, Amy wanted to gain life experience and see the sights further from home. She notched up a decade of work experience in marketing around the country for companies like Mitre 10, Kiwibank and VTNZ, then embarked on a seven-month round-the-world trip with Kadin.
A global dream
“We dreamed of being able to visit 30 countries before we turned 30,” she explains.
Then Amy realised there really is no place like home and moved back to the Tasman region. Now a mother to 15-month-old Oscar, she delights in taking her son to the same places she treasured as a child.
Passing on the legacy
Amy tells, “Seeing Oscar running around the park is incredible, and it’s not lost on me how amazing it is to bring the ninth generation back here.”
Amy has also finally joined the iconic family business, Wilsons Abel Tasman, as marketing manager. It’s a milestone she always dreamed of, but she was determined to earn her place in the company first.
“I never wanted to just get into the family business and people think it was because I had the right last name,” she insists.
From farming to forestry
The first settlers in her family originally built Meadowbank homestead on what they dubbed “the finest site” in Awaroa Bay and set about trying to farm the land. Realising the soil wasn’t suited to it, they swapped to forestry.
These days, Wilsons Abel Tasman offers walking, kayaking and boat trips, and runs the only two beachfront lodges in the park. One is a replica of the original Meadowbank homestead in Awaroa
Bay, and the other is the family bach at Torrent Bay, which has been expanded over the years to a 13-room guest house.
Full circle
“It’s come full circle,” Amy says.
“We’re still making a living from the land, but now it’s through sustainable tourism. The settlers tried to break in the land for pasture, and we’re trying to preserve and restore its natural state as much as we can.”
Learning from a legacy
Amy’s dad Darryl, 64, has led the company for decades after starting out as a tourist guide for the family company in his youth.
“He’s one of those guys who can do anything,” says Amy proudly.
“He’ll be working on something on the boat, then diving to fix a mooring, then public speaking at a conference. “Before I joined, he was also doing the marketing. It’s very cool to work alongside and learn from him, and be able to take some work off his plate.”
Family pride
As for John and Lynette, now in their eighties, they couldn’t be prouder.
“I went to my grandad’s house after the Weekly photoshoot in my Wilsons’ T-shirt and he was so happy,” beams Amy.
“He’s very modest, so he doesn’t talk about how amazing his achievements are. He always says my grandma was the brains of the operation, but we all know how much work he put in too. It’s amazing to continue that.”
Support and community
Amy also appreciates her wider family, her community mental health nurse practitioner husband Kadin and her mother-in-law Kim, who looks after Oscar while they work.
“If I’m doing something that takes me away from Oscar, it has to be pretty special work, and this is.”
One day, Amy dreams of the 10th generation – her future grandchildren – running around on the land that means so much to her.
“I want to see as many generations here as possible,” she reflects.
“Every time I go with Oscar, I think, ‘We have to keep this beautiful place in great condition so the next generation can keep coming back.’”
