Grave Creek, Paringa - Haast Highway Construction.ca.1960`s.

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DescriptionGrave Creek, Paringa - Haast Highway Construction.ca.1960`s.

From South Westland NZ Old photos & Ancestry FB Page.
See External Link below..Date of Photoca.1960`s.Map^[1]External LinkSouth westland History FBContributorSteve Mahuika

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Location (city or town)Grave CreekHaast HighwayParingaEventHaast Highway Construction

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Category TagRoads

From Facebook

Date Created5th December 2021CommentsKeith Gerritsen
Jillian Johnson was your Dad Len involved in this ?

Jillian Johnson
Hi Keith, no he wasn’t…he was involved in the asbestos trip south, with Ferguson’s, taking bulldozers into the Red Hills , but the project was stopped before they finished their mission, when asbestos was discovered to be so dangerous….where are you now?

Stew Johnson
Jillian Johnson work mate who worked down there says the skidder to the left is still running he worked on it recently

Bronwyn Hibbs
Jan Hibbs can you please show Dad - he might be interested in this xxxoooGav Schist
Tony Kelly

Kevin Oregan
Great pic great people,great construction for the times. Kevin O'Regan

Kath Merv Moreton
Worked on this project for M E Roberts and co from start to finish as apprentice carpenter at 17 years old, 6day week 10 has day-loved it.!! Mervyn.

Colin Skates
Tony Froome it is the culvert for the creek to go under the highway

Liz Hay
Tony Froome I gather there were lots of culverts. My uncle, Harry Sweney, worked on the road for a stint.

Carrol Barnes - Baker
Paringa was as far as the road went when Dad carted fuel down that would have been about the same time

John Webster
I remember all the left over culvert bits in Haast I wanted to buy them and make a house but my old man said no,not a silly idea now

Tony Froome
John Webster do ya remember those culverts at the top of flock hill with Maori state houses written on them lol

Tom Belton
My eldest brother Peter Belton who is now 77 worked on this culvert in his university holidays 58 years ago (he was 19) and reflects...
December 1964.
With my mate, Barry Craig, we dug 36 yard cubed post holes in packed shingle, which had been compressed by heavy traffic. We started each hole with crow bars. Into these the crane inserted tree trunks over which squared tree trunk rails were laid with rails along their length. a gantry crane , with elephant lifters ran along these. There was no diagonal bracing (OSH did not breathe there.)
On the ground there were large shutter molds in which the cast curved culvert segments, to be joined like giant lego, were made.
Once it became operational, Barry and I were employed to wire up internal scaffolding inside each mold. Then, after the concrete had set we had to steady the load, holding onto strops as the elephants lifted the casts from the molds and transported them along the gantry to a waiting truck.
The whole structure moved a bit. One day, while working my strop, standing just inside the structure, a little voice inside my head said " Hey Pete, this looks a bit dodgy; you can control this just as easily standing outside the frame". So I did.
Seconds later the whole caboodle collapsed. A hard hat (there were none on site) would have made little difference. I would have been flattened like a nail.....
And, yes, We drove Dave Thompson's Model A through the tunnels on several occasions. Thanks for the reminder....

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Grave Creek, Paringa - Haast Highway Construction.ca.1960`s.

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