More than 40 Southland businesses are helping build the region's new museum, bringing local expertise to one of Invercargill's most significant construction projects.
Invercargill City Council Group Manager Capital Portfolio Jamie Garnett said local trades, material suppliers and product providers are playing key roles in constructing the Museum of Southland, ranging from bricklayers and concreting companies to environmental consultants and timber suppliers.
"Being part of a significant build, like the Museum of Southland, can be a really memorable experience that creates a lot of local pride, and we're really pleased to be able to tap into a huge wealth of local expertise as the build progresses," he said.
"Opportunities to work on legacy projects like our new regional museum give the crews working on them the opportunity to reflect on the role they played – and the work they contributed – every time they pass by."
Garnett said the museum would be enjoyed by multiple generations of Southlanders. "All of the crews are doing a tremendous job, and it's evident every time you're on-site just how much pride they're taking in its development," he said.
HG Morsink, which has operated in Southland for more than 60 years, is one of the local firms involved in the construction. The company is handling plastering and painting throughout the building, including preparation and painting work on the underside of the western experience building's roof, painting back-of-house floors, and applying topcoats to exterior steel.
Owner Gregor Morsink said his team would also apply intumescent coating to the double-hulled canoe, primarily used to protect structural steel from collapsing in a fire.
"The Museum of Southland is an exciting build, and we feel very privileged to be a part of it. We have undertaken a lot of local projects throughout the last 65 years, including the Langlands Hotel, Invercargill Central Mall, community meeting house, and HWR Tower. Projects like those, and like the Museum of Southland, definitely give us a sense of pride: not only to be working there alongside other proud Southlanders, but when we think about how it will feel seeing it finished," he said.
"Every time we drive past the Museum of Southland, or when we take our kids and families there to have a look, we can say we were part of it. That's pretty special."
Morsink said his company currently has three employees on-site full-time, with 10 others available as workload and timeframes require. "I know it takes a lot of hard yards to get a project of that size to where it is. As we're the painters, or in the 'finishing trade', we're generally close to last on-site when everything's closed in. The Museum of Southland is tracking well," he said.
"Being involved on-site, and from all of the communications and meetings with the lead contractor Naylor Love and the other subcontractors, you can tell it's a well-run project, with the best results for the community in mind. I really commend Council, Naylor Love, and all of the subs on-site for coming together to make such an amazing project come to fruition."
Physical construction of the regional museum is on schedule to be completed later this year, with progress continuing within budget.