Celebrating for 20 years

It’s a milestone year for Brackenridge. For 20 years, it’s been a central part of weddings, celebrations, conferences or holiday get-aways for couples and families.

By Katherine Robinson.

Brackenridge owes much to its visionary founder, Wairarapa-born and bred Cathie Morison – including its name.  “I was looking for inspiration, which came to me at the site on a slight ridge surrounded by bracken. And so it became Brackenridge,” she says.

A Martinborough resident for 39 years, Cathie was one of the first to provide self-catering accommodation for the wine village’s many visitors, setting up first one welcoming, pretty cottage, then another.

 The mother of three young boys, including twins, Cathie soon found herself organising conferences, co-ordinating other cottages, cafés and the old town hall to meet the demand for accommodation, dining and meeting space.  

Spotting a massive gap in the market, Cathie visualised a retreat far enough out of Martinborough to be peaceful, but close enough to be convenient.  She could see the appeal of accommodation modelled on a traditional cottages full of home comforts, set in a landscaped garden around a hub of flexible function rooms. Cathie enlisted old friend Anthony Ratcliffe to help organise the practical, financial side of setting up the business.

“We took some time to find the right site, but after that things went smoothly,” says Anthony who found investors on both sides of the Remutakas willing to back Cathie’s vision.

Brackenridge opened early in 2000 with 10 cottages and a function centre. The eight studios and popular spa, gym and saltwater pool were added later. The design, based on New Zealand’s own rural traditions, now blends into the landscape. There are no shortage of spots for bridal photography under trees or the big skies. An immediate success, Brackenridge has been a go-to for  conferences, weddings, family gatherings or simply guests looking to get away from the city.

“Brackenridge has catered for people from all over the world, from different cultures and different backgrounds. People would come here for conferences, all wound up. Then the next day, you’d see them relaxed, lying on the carpet reading the newspaper. That to me is what Brackenridge is all about,” says Cathie.

Weddings, and ensuring a bride and groom’s special day went smoothly, were a particular joy for her. “Sometimes you can get the feeling of being a swan paddling furiously underwater, but you need to present calmness,” she says.

This would have been tested at one wedding when a rubbish bin caught fire during the ceremony. “When the fire brigade arrived, I had to go out onto the road and ask them to turn their siren off during the ceremony. The celebrant said, “the flames of passion can be likened to the flames over there.”  It was stressful but also hilarious for the guests. Firemen holding hoses were photographed with the bride and groom afterwards.”

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Now a director on the Brackenridge board, Cathie retired as general manager over two years ago, and Brackenridge is in the capable hands of Jill Murphy.

Jill has what must be an invaluable perspective of Brackenridge, as not only does she have a CV packed with hospitality expertise but she experienced Brackenridge as a wedding venue first-hand when when she and husband, married here in 2016.

“I have a large family and they could all stay on site at Brackenridge. It was great – we were very happy with our decision.”

Also a qualified wedding celebrant, Jill’s hospitality career includes being sales and marketing manager for Wellington’s James Cook Hotel, and managing luxurious tropical resorts such as Samoa’s Saletoga Sands and Return to Paradise. These are dream jobs but when Jill returned to the Wairarapa two years ago, “It felt like coming home for us. I actually went to boarding school here and my husband was born and raised in the Wairarapa.”

Just by chance, Jill was at the Brackenridge Spa when she heard they were looking for a new  general manager. She applied for the role on the spot. “Now, I am very happy to be here,” she says.

Her plans for Brackenridge include making the most of the Wairarapa’s excellent local produce. “We have so many good local producers here,” she says.

Catering has recently been taken over by Trestle and Mortar, the catering arm of Café Medici’s esteemed chef Nick Arnold.

Apart from that she sees a chance to maximise the centre’s many assets.  “We would love to do more mid-week weddings and we’re well set up for winter weddings. I’m also thinking of things like wellness weekends including gym and yoga. And I’d like to make a little zen garden outside the pool area. 

“We are trying to do as much as we can for the region and for Brackenridge. Moving here’s been a great decision; we are here for keeps now.”