Several recent donations have contributed to the growth of what is shaping up to be the largest collection of earthmoving machinery in New Zealand.
The Twizel Heritage Machinery Group has been collecting, repainting and displaying various types of machinery used during the town’s hydro-electric power construction days as part of the Upper Waitaki Hydro Heritage Trail.
The group has received a grant of $50,000 from the Hugo Charitable Trust to go towards the display in Wairepo Rd.
Heritage Group convener Rick Ramsay said the group became aware of the trust when he and fellow member Ivan Stratford came across the Hugo Tunnel on the Queenstown cycle trail.
‘‘The trust was established by Maryanne Green, the daughter of contractor, developer and entrepreneur Hugh Green.
‘‘Hugh (known as Hugo) and Barney McCahill were partners in Green and McCahill who worked on the Upper Waitaki Development here and on other major projects.’’
After making contact, Ms Green, her husband and trust chairman Mark Owens and trust chief executive Aoibheann Monaghan visited the heritage precinct in Twizel and were shown the machine display as well as the restored ‘‘Reg 130’’ house.
Mr Ramsay said after explaining the aims of the group, an application was made including the cost of sandblasting and painting a Green and McCahill badged D9G bulldozer.
‘‘Maryanne said the trust wanted the heritage group to have funds not only to help complete existing tasks but also be able to seize opportunities to secure more machinery if the opportunity arises.’’
He said the heritage group had also been told that Matamata-based contractors J Swap had agreed to donate an ex-Ministry of Works and Development (MWD) 992B Caterpillar loader after they had bought two of them at a disposal auction.
‘‘Lewis Swap told me [earlier this week] that he and his son Andrew had agreed to donate it to the Heritage Machinery display.
‘‘It has an engine with a big knock in it, so we’re not sure if it will run again or not. It is in various parts . . . but they will put it all back together again for us.
‘‘There were four 992Bs. The others, he believes, went to what is now Solid Energy and were at Stockton and Rotowaro mines but had since been scrapped.
‘‘The last big job our 992B worked on was a joint venture with an Australian company on the rebuild and strengthening of the Matahina dam [in Bay of Plenty], involving 2 million tonnes of rock and a million tonnes of filter material.’’
Mr Ramsay said in the next couple of months they would also be expecting the arrival of a Wabco 35C they had bought.
It resides in Raglan at the moment and getting it down to Twizel is a major logistic.
‘‘C & R Developments [formerly Baker Construction on the Upper Waitaki Power Development], who are near concluding a large contract at Lyttelton, has agreed to get it down to us.’’
Mr Ramsay said paintwork had also been completed on the Baker Construction 769 dump truck and it was now on site as part of the display.
He added that work would soon begin on the Green and McCahill DG9 which had been rescued by Tim Smith from a farm in Amberley.
‘‘It is to be sandblasted and painted in Christchurch before being transported to Twizel, where it will be placed behind the Doug Hood-branded S24 scraper.’’
He said he was very grateful for the enormous amount of support the heritage group had received from the Hugo Trust, and a range of businesses throughout New Zealand.
‘‘Tim Ross [C & R Developments] said ‘we all like what you guys are doing down in Twizel’, and that sums up the approach so many are taking to our work and with the above purchases and donations.
‘‘We surely will have the largest collection of earthmoving machinery in New Zealand.’’
- The collection at present comprises a Caterpillar D8 bulldozer, International 495 motor scraper, Euclid B3 dump truck, a penstock section, Euclid B6 tractor unit, Caterpillar 769 dump truck, Caterpillar 988 loader, Caterpillar D9G bulldozer, Caterpillar 769 water cart, Wabco 35C dump truck, P and H dragline/crane, S24 Terex scraper, Champion grader, Hamilton crane, Commer tip truck, J5 Bedford flat deck, welder-generator tandem trailer, Marian 1-11M dragline bucket, a pressure vessel (‘‘Sputnik’’), and an MWD concrete bucket.
