He arrived in Auckland and got himself a job as a travelling salesman for Onehunga Carpets and Rugs.
"He would fill the truck with rugs and drive it up and down the North Island selling them. He sold to supermarkets, to everyone who wanted rugs," said a Kaitaia businessman who met Harris soon after he arrived in New Zealand.
"Then, he would go back to Auckland and start again. He was very good to deal with, business-wise."
It was on his travels that he took a liking to Kaitaia. When in town he would stay at the Main Street Lodge.
"He became friends with the owners. He told me he really liked the area. I remember saying, 'Are you mad?'" the man said.
Harris purchased the lodge in about 2011 but had been looking around for something to buy as early as 2009. On his Facebook page he posted a photo of a similar lodge in Turangi, saying it was "another option for me".
About the same time he posted a photograph of himself in an All Black jersey, crowning himself a "born-again Kiwi". He was happy here, the businessman said, and determined to do well when he opened the lodge.
It was shabby when he took it over and he threw himself into renovating it. Everything was upgraded, tidied up and polished. He gave the tired rooms a makeover, built a new office and revamped the grounds.
It is understood he had a partner who had children of her own when he was in Auckland, but she did not make the move north with him.
"When he shifted up here I asked if she was coming and he said 'no, she doesn't like Kaitaia', and that was that," the businessman recalled.
No one saw Harris' arrest on Monday coming. The fact he had been investigated late last year for alleged offending was not common knowledge. He was not charged.
Eyes widen around Kaitaia when you ask about Harris.
Before Monday, he was known, but "not someone that noticeable". Since then, he has become infamous.
"It was a big shock, to say the least ... He was always a pleasant, affable guy. I just can't believe it," the businessman said.
To say other locals are shocked does not do their reaction justice. They are stunned - but there is also a sad resignation that another of their small community has landed on the police radar for allegations of unsavoury behaviour.
They have been through this before. Three times in as many years a high-profile and respected community member has been charged with sexual abuse. A pastor, a Child, Youth and Family foster parent, a deputy principal. And now the owner of a hostel for young travellers.
"Kaitaia does not need this. We've had enough," said one frustrated woman.
"I'm bloody shocked, and angry."
No one the Weekend Herald spoke to wanted their name published in relation to Harris.
"It's a bloody shock," said a food retailer.
"It's not a good look for clean, green New Zealand, is it? Kaitaia has had enough of this; it's just one thing after another."
Harris was a regular customer at local businesses, but no one could say they knew him personally.
He ate regularly at the Beachcomber restaurant across the road from the lodge, often sending his guests over to experience the local seafood.
Staff at Kaitaia Liquor King also knew him more for his guests.
"He lets his customers use his points card so he gets the points," said a worker.
Others around Kaitaia used similar words to describe Harris - chatty, friendly, pleasant - and similar words to describe their reaction to his arrest - shock, terrible, unbelievable.
"When my hubby told me I said, 'That can't be right, you've got it wrong.' And then I found out he was right. [Harris] is a really nice guy, he seems so normal," said a retailer.
A local tour operator knew Harris through their respective businesses. He would organise bookings with her company for this guests.
She said the other sex cases in Kaitaia had made her suspicious and wary, but she was reluctant to believe the allegations against Harris.
"He was a pleasure to deal with. He was very precise in his business activities, a perfectionist," she said.
She said Harris took it upon himself to try to enhance tourism in Kaitaia. He reached out to similar backpacker lodges in the Far North in the hope of setting up a network so visitors would "flow on".
"He was very conscientious, very concerned about the community. He wasn't just here to provide accommodation and put people on tours and grab the money. He was interested in people, he looked out for people."
When asked for her reaction to his arrest, she shook her head.
"I was just speaking to him the other day ... I could wring his bloody neck if this is true ... I cannot believe it."
In 2013, Harris purchased CCTV cameras for the lodge. He got them from a local electronics store and told the owner there had been break-ins and tourists had belongings taken.
He wanted to increase security, to protect them from crime.
It is not known where the cameras were placed or what they filmed. Police confirmed that while Harris has been charged with making visual recordings, it was more accurate to describe the alleged evidence as images and not video.
The electronics store owner sold Harris a set of cameras, but did not install them.
"They were just standard black dome cameras ... not spy cameras or anything," he said.
"He said he was going to do it himself and get his tourists to help. It was cheaper, he said. He always came in here and I can't think of anything that would lead me to believe he was anything but your average business owner."
The Weekend Herald tried to speak to a woman who probably knew Harris the best in Kaitaia. She helped him with his accounts and in May, he purchased a new computer for her to work on.
However, she was too shaken by his arrest.
Her friend said: "She has been through a lot since she found out [about the charges]. It's so upsetting for her."
Yesterday, police were back at the lodge, apparently to speak further to staff and re-examine the scene of the alleged sex crimes.
The lodge is made up of different styles of accommodation. There is a dorm, motels and Harris had his own residence with a number of rooms. He would rent those to tourists who were in Kaitaia on longer-term stays. Some worked at local orchards in the fruit-picking season, others worked for him at the lodge.
Police believe all of the alleged abuse took place in Harris' own residence. Detective Senior Sergeant Rhys Johnston told the Weekend Herald that the rooms there were the focus of the investigation. His officers were back there yesterday for another look.
Aside from the handful of police, few people came or went from the lodge.
Tourists staying long term have been told not to speak to the media.
One said, "I am not allowed to say anything," but confirmed that the lodge was still open and running "as normal".
However, a woman from Europe said she was not concerned about the situation.
"I've read about it ... Yes, I am happy to stay there."
She said there were "some" others staying at the lodge but was reluctant to say any more.
A motelier across the road said he was helping to run the lodge but would not comment further.
After his initial arrest other potential victims contacted police, who expect the raft of charges against 56-year-old Harris to grow.
The Weekend Herald understands many of the victims were unaware until Harris' arrest that anything had happened to them. Some claim to have suspected "something" had happened but were not sure and did not report anything.
Mr Johnston could not elaborate on how the alleged drugging happened or how police were identifying potential victims.
However, he described the alleged offending and the case as "unique" and said the investigation into Harris would be lengthy.
