Backpackers brought joy, laughter

Yvonne Steggall

Yvonne Steggall and her late husband Warwick encountered all walks of life back in 1994 when they took over Gisborne Backpackers. Yvonne chats with Loren Sirl. 

Yvonne Steggall has written a book about her experiences managing Gisborne Backpackers and it is aptly named From all Walks of Life.

A kaleidoscope of colourful characters landed at Gisborne Backpackers (formerly the Heni Materoa Children’s Home). The Steggalls renamed the backpackers Sycamore Lodge and Yvonne would love to see the book published.

Set on 2.6 hectares of land on Gladstone Road, Gisborne Backpackers had an interesting history.

Prior to the sale of some of the land, and building the Heni Materoa Children’s home, the large block was dairy farms and horse stables.

“We wanted to buy a motel but there were none available at the time,” said Yvonne.

When they first saw the property they thought it was “terrible”.

“I hated it. I just thought ‘I can’t live there, I just can’t’,” said Yvonne.

But Warwick could see the potential, with the size of the land and original homestead.

When the Steggalls took over Gisborne Backpackers there were mainly polytech students boarding there.

“The polytechnic students were a good stop gap over the winter when there were not so many backpackers about. In the summer we provided travellers with accommodation while the polytechnic students went home.”

At first it was very daunting to have so many strangers about, Yvonne recalls. “We soon got used to it.”

The couple got to work renovating the old building. With 18 bedrooms in total, including bunk rooms, and a dormitory-style of four beds in some rooms, there was a lot to do.  There was also an adjoining flat (previously matron’s residence) and an east wing where Yvonne and her husband lived.

Students would often be found rummaging about in their kitchen.

The couple soon developed a love for their newly acquired hospitality roles, and the vast range of guests who would sit at their table.

Yvonne said they had some memorable guests.

“One day a van pulled up in front of the office and the driver said, ‘We have a genuine hitchhiker for you’ — indeed, he was. With that they unloaded a wheelchair and a Japanese boy . . . a very determined traveller, insisting that he hitchhiked without too many favours despite his disability.

“He thought he would like to go around the East Coast. We took him to Makaraka where he sat on the side of the road. Sadly, I took a photo of him. He looked so alone on the side of the road. It was a very hot February day. Unfortunately, there were not many cars going out of town, mainly coming in as it was race day. He sat there stoically. After an hour Warwick went out to check and he was still there. After a few more hours someone else went to check on him, but he had gone,” she said.

Reiko Nakayama was another guest that made a lasting impression on Yvonne.  A graduate from Tokyo Music University, Reiko a pianist who was able to play by memory, Chopin, Schubert and Brahms.

“To raise money for the cancer society, a piano was brought into a local supermarket and local pianists were invited to play for about half an hour. I asked Reiko if she would be interested in playing in a few days’ time. She agreed enthusiastically. Each day I asked if she would like to practise and she would say, ‘Oh no it’s alright’. On the designated day and time, I drove her to town in the car and asked what she was going to play. She replied, ‘Oh I’m not sure. I haven’t decided’. While I was panicking for her, she sat down and played perfectly.”

Years later Reiko’s son knocked on their door, with limited English language skills, he said, “Reiko, Reiko.” They soon realised he was the son of their long-term guest from years earlier. This was followed with “Selfie?”.  He took a picture to show his mum he had indeed stopped by to visit, as requested.

There was also the ‘popcorn addict’ who only ate popcorn. Each day he would cook a large pot of it.  “He was literally bouncing off the walls,” said Yvonne.

“Our first New Year was mind-blowing.  The hostel was completely booked and the cars never seemed to stop. There was a queue of cars from the road to the front door. Some people already had booked rooms, others wanted to camp. Warwick was permanently outside with people while I was in the office.”

In an extract from the book Yvonne said: “We did have a lot of Japanese staying from time to time. Shoichiro (we called him So) came to Warwick with a pile of paper and asked what he should do with them. He said, ‘Everywhere I go I get some more on my car’. On examination they were parking tickets from all round New Zealand.”

Often taking on the role of substitute parents, Warwick and Yvonne’s care for their temporary guests went above and beyond.

Yvonne writes in her book, “One Zimbabwean lady on arrival in the office burst into tears saying she had to pay Customs $200  (money she didn’t have) or go to jail. I paid for her until her husband’s next wage. It seems that her mother said that as she was moving to a new country it would be wise to take a small amount of their soil, put it in a jar then add the same amount of soil in the new country, mix it with water and drink it.Yuk. This would supposedly blend the two countries and she would have a good life.”

Another example of their good Kiwi hospitality: “Asae wanted Warwick to look at a car (private sale) she was keen to purchase. He viewed it and gave his approval. However, when she paid the money and brought the car back home it had a new warrant of fitness but the tyres had been swapped, the current ones had little tread, with wire protruding from the tyre walls. Furious, Warwick took her and the car back and demanded the seller replace the tyres or he would be reported to the police. This was done.”

With tears in her eyes, Yvonne recalls a sad episode when a young person was assaulted — naïve to the dangers of walking at night in a strange city.  An injured person knocked on their door. Warwick quickly took their guest to Gisborne Hospital for treatment.

But as good role models they also didn’t put up with any nonsense. A young Korean student had a habit of spitting.

“I think he only lasted one term. I gave him a bucket of hot water with disinfectant and an outdoor broom to clean the concrete where he had been spitting. He did not like me,” she laughed.

Yvonne is grateful now for the valuable time she spent managing the lodge, a role she realised was much more favourable than running a motel. She enjoyed the more relaxed environment of guests around the kitchen table, fun and laughter.

For her country husband, who had a farming background, “Warwick learned a lot about ‘the other lot’,” she said.

She recalls the arrival of a middle-aged leather-clad couple on a motorbike one day. The woman wore a short midriff top and entered the office to pay — “unbelievable”.

“She has a pierced belly button and enough hardware on her ears and nose to sink a ship,”  Warwick said.

Warwick’s eye for the potential of the property paid off.  The couple went on to buy adjoining blocks of land, with the idea of building retirement homes.

“We could see we could do better, so we built houses on the land here — eight on the back lawn to start with,” said Yvonne.

Today 38 houses adorn the property. Each house is occupant owned.

In 2007 the backpackers lodge was sold and moved (in seven sections) to a site nearby.

A keen gardener and now retiree, Yvonne has established a colourful garden on the Gladstone Road site, now called Sycamore Park Lifestyle Village, where she lives in the main house. Her son Tony Kirk manages the property.

From Peruvian dancers, to Russian ex-soldiers, Yvonne has spun a tale portraying a realistic recollection of each individual in her short story.