Ann Trevathan
Topics: Wānaka Hotel, hotel fire, Wānaka community
Ann remembers her time working at the second Wānaka Hotel. In 1954 at age 16, she came here with her sister Rhona, in response to an advertisement for housekeepers. They cleaned the hotel, rooms, guests’ shoes and on occasions had to light the fearsome oil stove in the kitchen. In this conversation, Ann remembers the people who stayed, the people she worked with and the dances she went to during her free time.
In 1957 she married her husband Gid (Gerald) Trevathan and moved into accommodation in the Plunket Rooms right beside the hotel. Early in the morning on Friday 13th June 1958, when Ann was feeding her first baby, the fire siren went off and they realised the hotel was on fire. Her husband immediately went to join the fire-fighters and Ann donned her dressing gown to see what was happening…
Interviewed by Helen Howarth
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