Former Queenstown mayor Sir John Davies to be inducted into Hall of Fame

Sir John Davies will be inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame this August. Photo / Supplied

Tourism magnate and former mayor of Queenstown, Sir John Davies will be inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame this August.

This is the latest in a long line of accolades; in 1995, he was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order and won the Sir Jack Newman Outstanding Industry Leader Award for tourism.

In 2010, Davies was given a lifetime achievement award by the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce.

Then in 2014, he was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to business and tourism.

Born in Wellington in 1941 but raised in Dunedin, Davies started out as a farm cadet in the early 1960's, becoming a musterer in the Wakatipu area.

When he realised he could not afford to buy his own farm, he began looking for opportunities elsewhere and a casual conversation on the cricket pitch led to the purchase of his first business venture; a 40 per cent stake in Wakatipu Transport.

In 1975, Davies became involved in local body politics spending a decade as local councillor and as mayor from 1983 to 1986. When the Queenstown Lakes District Council was amalgamated, he was elected its first mayor serving until 1989.

During this time he realised Queenstown had great potential for tourism and encouraged the Council to purchase a 40 per cent share in Queenstown Airport, believing this was key to developing the area's tourism industry.

Following his tenure as mayor, Davies purchased several tourism ventures and the Hermitage Hotel.

In 2002, Davies teamed up with ski field staff and other entrepreneurs to purchase three ski-fields; Coronet Peak, the Remarkables in Queenstown and Mt Hutt.

The company has since invested in excess of $150 million in infrastructure and services across the business.

Davies has spent the last 50 years investing in Queenstown and he ranks his most successful mayoral accomplishment as convincing his fellow councilors to buy the block of land that is now Queenstown's Village Green.