Damon Hagaman owns the Lakeland Queen. Photo / Kelly Makiha
Damon Hagaman owns the Lakeland Queen. Photo / Kelly Makiha
The Lakeland Queen is for sale, seven weeks after returning to business on Lake Rotorua.
Owner Damon Hagaman told the Rotorua Daily Post he will take offers from anyone wanting to either buy the business, or buy the boat and the business.
“Our goal was to save the Queen, notrun it year after year.”
The paddleboat officially reopened for business on November 10 and has been operating cruises for the past seven weeks, including lunch, afternoon and dinner cruises.
Hagaman and his wife, Arna, have spent the past year restoring the boat while it was dry-docked at Sulphur Point.
It hasn’t operated since the Covid 19 pandemic, and its future looked grim until Hagaman, an American-born son of rich-lister Earl Hagaman, bought it from the liquidated previous owner.
The Lakeland Queen when it was on dry land. Photo / Kelly Makiha
His daughter, Kimberley Mules, was the current general manager and operations manager, but Hagaman said none of their family were experienced business operators.
He said his background was in property development and restoring buildings, and running a tourism operation was not his area of expertise.
Lakeland Queen owners Damon (left) and Arna Hagaman with Howie Morrison jnr, who helped paint the boat. Photo / Kelly Makiha
However, he said they had great staff and the business had been operating well with dinner bookings of up to 100 people, including Christmas Day lunch for 90 people.
“The business is operating good now, and we are looking forward to seeing new owners taking the Lakeland Queen cruises business back into greatness.”
He said the Lakeland Queen was catering to up to 1000 people a day during its heyday, and there was potential for a new owner to return it to that level.
When asked how much he wanted for it, Hagaman said his intention wasn’t to make money.
It had cost him $2.5 million to restore the boat and jetty during the past 18 months. According to a liquidator’s report, he bought the boat for $40,001.
He said it would cost about $9m to replace the boat.
“We will look at offers. I just brought it to bring it back to life, and it cost me much more than I expected, but for me it’s been a lot of fun.”
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
