Tony Brown with his own wine produced under the Pinky and Perky label. PHOTO: Wanaka App

DIANA COCKS

Say hello to Tony Brown - no, not that Tony Brown - Wanaka’s Tony Brown. He’s occasionally been mistaken for the well-known rugby-player-turned coach - not that they look alike, it’s just the name.

"He’s about the same age as my son,” Wanaka’s Tony Brown said. "I get introduced and people think they’re going to see "the” Tony Brown and they end up with me.”

Wanaka’s Tony Brown is one of those guys with a recognisable name who has worked long and hard behind the scenes to help the Wanaka community grow.

Now at 65 years of age, and with a health scare behind him, he’s chosen to retire from his position as director of sales and marketing for Willowridge Development Ltd.

Tony has been involved in sales of 15 new subdivisions in Wanaka over the past 17 years and for him it’s all about relationships. He said he’s involved with sales of sections from the concept stage right through to settlement date.

"Because we sell our own product [it’s not sold by real estate companies] we have the knowledge and are able to build a relationship with a buyer from day one.”

And in the case of subdivisions like Timsfield and Luggate, many of those purchasing sections were first home buyers. 

"There are a lot of first home buyers who need their hands held through that process because they’ve never done it before and it’s quite scary for them,” he said.

Tony also derives enormous pride from the transformational process of developing a subdivision. "When I drive through a subdivision I think ‘gosh when we started here there was absolutely nothing’ and now it’s just transformed.”

Tony and his wife Pam moved to Wanaka in 2001 and he worked for Bob Robertson, of Infinity Investment Group, for seven years before joining Allan Dippie at Willowridge Developments for the next nine years.

"I’m very fortunate in that I’ve had one of the best jobs in Wanaka and I’ve worked for probably two of the most interesting, clever and respected guys.”

"Wanaka’s been very lucky with the developers they’ve had. With Bob Robertson and Allan Dippie they both cared passionately for the town; they weren’t just in it for the dollar.”

Asked about his favourite subdivisions, he decides Far Horizon and Three Parks are his two top choices. "Far Horizon was one of the best developments Infinity did. A very, very smart subdivision for its time.”

"But the most exciting is Three Parks. Allan has been working on Three Parks for 13 years now and with the Rec Centre, the new Aquatic Centre, the school, Mitre 10, the supermarket and another large retailer as anchor tenants they will really make it a destination,” Tony said. An early childhood centre and tertiary educational campus have also been identified for Three Parks as well as residential housing. 

Tony said he’s always enjoyed the variety of processes for selling and marketing property, ranging from silent auctions and ballots to online auctions and tenders. He recalls the online auctions for Infinity’s Pegasus Bay development, north of Christchurch, where in an online auction the team sold 400+ sections in one day. "It was very systemised; everyone knew what they were doing, when to do it; how to do it. We had good fun; those were good days.”

In some ways it seems a pity to be stepping down at such an exhilarating time. "It’s an exciting time for the company and it will be great for someone who can enjoy the ride for the next 15-20 years.” 

Tony and Pam Brown. PHOTO: Supplied

His 30 years in sales and marketing of real estate did leave him some time for other pursuits, however. Not long after he and Pam arrived in Wanaka they joined the Rotary Club of Wanaka. Pam was the first to join. "She used to head off to Rotary and my brother and I would go out for a meal but after a while we thought ‘this is crazy’ so we joined her. It’s been a great way to meet people.”

Now with 70+ members, Rotary has played a pivotal role in many community projects, including the establishment of Rotary Park at Glendhu, the design and construction of the Wanaka town signs - "People are taking photos in front of them all the time” - and the erection of the children’s playground on the lake’s foreshore near Stoney Creek.

"I found that playground on trade-me and we purchased it and relocated it to the waterfront near the Stoney Creek car park,” he said. "It’s nice to see it so well used.”

Tony has been president of the Rotary Club of Wanaka, Assistant District Governor for Rotary and the recipient of a Paul Harris Fellow for an outstanding contribution to the community - "quite an honour to receive that”, he said. Achieving community projects through Rotary has "given me a great deal of satisfaction.”

Tony plans to continue with Rotary during his retirement. He said he would like to see Rotary expand into humanitarian projects in the South Pacific. "Things are tough over there,” he said. "Maybe we could get a group of us and head over there.”

As retirement beckons he’s also hoping to spend more time playing golf, picking up the tennis racket again, and going exploring with Pam in his new Jayco Silverline caravan.

He’s also looking forward to producing more wine from his vineyard on Aubrey Road. Four couples started with baby steps in the wine industry eight or nine years ago and now bottle their own. They do almost everything from pruning to harvest and last year created a ‘Pinky Rose’ and a ‘Perky Pinot’. "We’ve grown a bit of everything and we’re experimenting in a white pinot this year,” Tony said. "I get about 12 boxes of wine a year.”

Then, of course, there’s his barrel of whisky gently aging at the Cardrona Distillery, with plenty of time yet to be enjoyed in retirement.