Sally Battson
Topics: Makarora, tourism, Makarora Primary School, community, local bookshop business
Sally and her family lived, worked, and socialised in Makarora in the 1980s and 1990s. She describes her vibrant life there, working in her many varied roles and having to be ready for anything! Stating that “Makarora is on the way to everywhere”, tourism and hospitality became Sally and her late husband Chris’s main focus. Bus-loads of tourists needed accommodating and feeding (no more corned beef for Sally!) and jetboats were increasingly used to transport trampers into the Mount Aspiring National Park, particularly for the ‘Siberia Experience’.
In addition, Sally was involved in the re-opening of the Makarora Primary School, establishing a new community centre and improving road links to Wānaka. Since moving to Wānaka, Sally has co-established and been running a boutique bookshop, The Next Chapter.
Interviewed by Sara Crawford
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