Aussie takes up Turoa reigns

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 7, Issue 339, 12 June 1990, Page 4

Aussie takes up Turoa reigns

Turoa might be a few thousand miles away from his family farm but Angus Grimwade still considers it his "home skifield."

"I've skied here more than anywhere else," said Angus Grimwade, the 24 year-old leader of Turoa's new management committee. He skied at Turoa in 1978 when it first became a commercial ski field and has visited Turoa in six ski seasons since then. He takes on the job of financial controller

for Turoa after managing the University of Melbourne Sports Union for 1988-89. At the same time he was working on a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the university. He is also a qualified civil engineer and has worked in the structural engineering field and in mining in Western Australia.

The sports union he ran has 25,000 members and his job included running the Australian University Ski Championships, with 400-500 national and international competitors and $300,000 in sponsorship deals to handle. The Grimwade's family farm, Mansfield, is 200 kilometres northeast of Melbourne, near Mt Buller. When he's home he is involved in running the farm, an activity he says he really enjoys. "I prefer the outdoors to working inside driving a desk," which is an extra reason for enjoying his new job. "I consider myself a hands-on person. I'm not going to be a figurehead for the company I want to be part of the team that runs Turoa." Kis interests include many sports, such as Australian football, squash, tennis, golf, hiking, in fact he says he'll give most sports a go. And he says he spends time appreciating Australian art. Angus Grimwade says living in New Zealand after Australia, because of his leaning towards the outdoors, will be no problem. "New Zealand and Australia are very similar in many ways. It would be a lot easier for me to settle in New Zealand than West Germany for instance." Asked about his attitude to conservation considering the close relationship between Turoa and the Department of Conservation, Mr Grimwade was reluctant to say he was a conservationist because he said there are so .many diverse definitions. "I spend two weeks of holidays a year out in the Australian bush hiking and I want to see that conserved. I think national parks are for people to enjoy though, not to be

locked up." "I definitely wouldn't throw myself under a bulldozer to save a tree." As for Turoa and

DoC, he says there will always be some conflict of interest with Turoa wanting to develop for the benefit of skiers but that negotiating a com-

promise is part of the job. "If we are treated the same as Whakapapa then I don't see a problem. We want to de-

velop Turoa as the best skifield in New Zealand and we will have to work with the parks board to achieve that aim."