​Southland businesses play critical role in delivering new museum

Dozens of Southland businesses are playing a key role in delivering the build of Te Unua Museum of Southland.

Invercargill City Council Group Manager Capital Portfolio Jamie Garnett said more than 40 local trades, material and product suppliers had been involved in the physical build of Southland’s new regional museum, from bricklayers to concreting companies, environmental consultants to stainless steel and timber providers.

“Being part of a significant build, like Te Unua 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.

“Te Unua will be a facility that multiple generations of Southlanders get to enjoy, experience, and make memories in. 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,” Garnett said.

One of the firms involved in the construction of Te Unua Museum of Southland was HG Morsink, which had operated in Southland for more than six decades.

Owner Gregor Morsink said the team had undertaken gib-stopping and painting throughout the building: including preparation and painting works to the underside of the western experience building’s roof, painting the back-of-house floors, and topcoats to exterior steel. The HG Morsink team would also be involved in the intumescent coating applied to the double-hulled waka, which was primarily used to protect the structure from collapsing in the event of a fire.

“Te Unua 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, Murihiku Marae, and HWR Tower. Projects like those, and like Te Unua, 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 Te Unua, 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.”