The cable car drama of Rangatira
By Neville Idour
Twelve kilometres north of Hunterville the equivalent of golfing hell was endured by the Rangatira Golf Club for three long years.
Late last year when we played this gem I was able to chat with club president Hugh Lilburn who was only too happy to relate the intriguing tale.
“In 2013, out of the blue a man from off the street came in and plonked a red sticker on our cable car and disappeared so we had to close it down.
“The reasons given were firstly that it only had one rope, even though it was a strong logging rope as thick as your arm. Secondly, it stopped too quickly. The new stipulation was it needed two wires of finger width.
“Ironically we had never had a problem with the lift and it has been there for decades.”
So the drama unfolded.
“We were quoted $70,000 for the changes. It would eventually cost $140,000. How were we going to raise that sort of money?
“Hunterville has a population of just 600, however, the whole community got involved and talked to each other about donating.
“Car dealers, the cycle club and the vet club and well-established families all supported us.”
Unbelievably $200,000 was raised but the end of the ordeal was a long way off.
Lilburn continued: “We ordered parts from the USA which never came in three months. It then took them six months to work out they had gone missing. So it took another four months to get replacements. So when it was finally repaired three years later everything was the same except it now had two spindly wires and starts slowly.”
Sadly everything isn’t the same.
“The finger wires wore out in three years and had to be replaced. Now it breaks down regularly and we constantly have to reset it.”
To think the original thick rope had never been a problem. I have to say when my wife and I were riding back to the top level the wires looked … well … thin.
How did the club survive during the three long years the cable car was inactive?
“We rely heavily on green fees, which are significant at around $1000 weekly, so as word spread about the closure of the cable car people stopped coming,” Lilburn recounted.
“We instituted a car service for players to transport them back up during those years.”
Lilburn is proud of a story he said appeared in a USA magazine about the world’s 100 bucket list courses to play before you die. Rangatira rated 40th.
Farmlands Co-Operative saw the article and it wanted to bring its charity tournament to Rangatira.
The club is thriving again with around 140 members, half of them women, a credit to the appeal of the club. It has one full-time greenkeeper and lots of volunteers who do the rough mowing, all of which keeps the course in excellent condition. Rangatira is more than a country gem, it is an iconic bucket list golf experience to enjoy before you die.
