CCNZ Hawke's Bay East Coast Contractors in Arms - Cyclone Gabrielle Response

In the absence of organised help, the locals took control. Bay View suddenly became the Emergency/Welfare Centre for Esk Valley, Whirinaki and Tangoio north. The local pub became the Welfare and Medical Centre; the King George Hall became the Emergency Response Centre and once the water receded enough and the initial rescue efforts completed – out the community went…

Still without power or cell phones, with teams of 4 in a 4x4 vehicle, loaded to the roof with water, fuel, food, essential items, generators and shovels, we went door to door to homes making sure locals were ok. In many cases wading through deep mud and silt searching homes and making lists of requirements needed by the homeowners.

The next day lines and lines of people were turning up at the welfare and emergency centre needing and wanting more help.

We were one of the lucky ones for sure. We installed solar power with a “smart battery” at the end of last year. What a lifesaver that was for us and our neighbours as it meant when the sun shone, we could generate enough power to charge our battery as well as run extension cords to power 4 of our neighbours fridges. It also meant our home became the hub for our neighbours where every family would join us each afternoon for a community BBQ meal using everyone’s thawed out food and donations from the local BP and foursquare. All the kids could play outside while people could charge their devices and watch the latest news on TV. At one stage we were feeding over 30 people. This went on for almost 2 weeks while the community went without power.

Seeing our members out there assisting locals, clearing culverts, opening access to roads and homes and volunteering to help a community that was devastated was something to be proud of. Many walking away from their own families and issues to help people less fortunate than they were. Many local operators volunteered for up to four weeks, and some still volunteering a day on the weekend to help people out. Members coming into the region just to help out and volunteer, this is what makes this industry so proud to be a part of.

I started to help co-ordinating local contractors to assist with property access and emergency works. With notes on pieces of paper, on the back of cardboard started being handed to me, at times all I had was an address and “needs an excavator”. I stated making more contact with our members asking if they could help and out they went, day after day after day.

When we finally got full power back on the 28th Feb it was such a relief but also heart-breaking to know many others were still without power and in some cases without homes.

As I write this, my son is still not back at his school, I still see my community devastated. I still hear the stories, see the tears of people that lost everything and I know we have such a long way to go. I am also lifted every day by our members; the calls of support, the messages and the amazing mahi everyday out there, working hard to bring back some normality to our region.

The amazing people I have met, the heroes, the nameless who day after day turned up and mucked in to help people they never knew, and the community spirit and support still blows my mind. The volunteers, and donations of food, fuel, clothing, blankets, meals and personal items for people that lost everything. Unless you personally know people that have been affected you will never know how much that meant to so many people.

Thank you CCNZ whanau, from me and from my community we thank you all.”

Fulton Hogan

Fulton Hogan has had the support of over one hundred subcontractors for their clean up response and reinstatement of Hastings District Council rural roads. These range from small one-two person operations to much larger teams. All fronting up right from the start despite the comms issues and the lack of power. All bringing energy and effort each day.

This rallying of resources is such a good thing. For some a chance to try work they have never done before, exposure to health and safety on a large scale, interactions between teams and people all for the benefit of the region. This spirit of cooperation shows that behind the big machines are even bigger hearts.

Early on, our team wondered how we could create a sense of community beyond toolbox talks and pre starts. Days of adrenalin, silt and no power can really wear people down. We wanted to uplift the team and show them how proud we were of their efforts. That’s how we landed upon a positive newsletter that would have messages from key team members, celebrate progress and highlight the people and the teams out there doing the mahi. We were also conscious that working huge hours many of the wider messages about assistance from Council for those with stickered homes, silt and ruined furniture etc might be missed. So, we included Council updates too. It’s hard working at ground level not to be worn down by the mindless abuse and the seemingly endless piles of silt. Including details of the progress made – in a short summary along with lots of photos really helped demonstrate the difference our teams were making. Eight issues in and thousands of views, ‘News for the crews’ has been a real success.

Quality Roading and Services (QRS), Wairoa

Story of lakie legends comes to light after Cyclone Gabrielle

Two Quality Roading and Services (QRS) lakie staff have been hailed as heroes during Cyclone Gabrielle after riding a horse and a quadbike to fetch much-needed machinery.

Jon ‘Horse’ Hohepa from near Lake Waikaremoana couldn’t believe what he saw during his three hour horse trek to fetch the loader. “It was a complete mess.” Tumanako Waiwai described his journey on a motorbike “like a war scene”. The efforts of both men have been praised by locals and their QRS colleagues.

Horse Hohepa lives at Lake Kaitawa with his partner and two children. The area was devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle in February with access between Lake Waikaremoana and Wairoa along State Highway 38 cut off both ways. Slips, washouts, and flooding made roads unrecognisable.

Horse is a labourer for Wairoa civil construction company Quality Roading and Services. He and his Tuai-based cousin, Tumanako Waiwai (also with QRS), knew there was a loader in Ohuka Rd. They could start opening up roads for their community if only they could reach it.

Travelling to the loader by vehicle wasn’t an option. So, while Tumanako opted for a motobike, Horse chose his mare. “There was no way around to Ohuka Rd except by horseback so I chose Daisy.”

Horse has had an affinity for horses and the outback his whole life. “I grew up with horses and in the bush, and I’ve worked on farms,” he says. “My uncle gave me this horse.”

On the morning of Tuesday 14 February he saddled Daisy and tied a chainsaw on. He said a karakia before he left. “To the Atua, for safety. It wasn’t raining that hard at the time but it was a mess everywhere.”

The pair’s journey was laborious but Daisy, who is pregnant, was sure-footed. They passed over slips and around drop outs. When they came across fallen trees, Horse chainsawed their way through. “She was all good,” says Horse. “She comes from the bush that one.”

The difficult trek took them up along the skyline at the back of Piripaua before coming down by McDonald Rd and into Ohuka Rd where the loader was parked. It took three hours.

Horse described it as “a sweet ride”. He reckons Daisy knew it was important to get to their destination. “She just went for it and didn’t play up or anything. It was like she knew.”

Tumanko made it to the loader on his motorbike around the same time. A QRS site supervisor and skilled machinery operator he says the roads were disastrous and destroyed. “There were barely roads in certain sections,” he says.

While Horse rode Daisy home, Tumanako jumped into the loader and began the enormous task of opening vital road links for whānau and community. “It took me nearly four hours to get back to Tuai.” It normally takes 15 minutes. He says when locals saw the machine “it put a lot of hope back in the people,”. The next day he and other QRS lakie staff started to punch their way into Wairoa.

QRS operations manager Anthony O’Sullivan says Horse and Tumanako’s attitude are a credit to QRS and exemplify the type of emergency response that can be achieved with locals helping locals. “The region is lucky to have staff like this – staff (and horses!) that want to do the best they can for their own communities.”

Gair Contracting

“Reflecting back to when Cyclone Gabrielle hit, it was hard to know where to start and what to do. Where we would normally work on large scale projects or large forestry jobs, working on the road corridor was a real change for us, so we really appreciated to be welcomed into the fold and felt like we were part of the team. I’m really proud of our team in the East Coast, some of which were displaced, and the industry as a whole. Watching the news didn’t really show the devastation that our teams saw and worked in on a daily basis. It’s easy to understand that people outside of the Hawke’s Bay region didn’t comprehend the level of devastation.” Stan Goodman

HB Civil and Infrastructure

Whilst the devastating effects of Cyclone Gabrielle still surround us, we are so grateful that despite the loss of homes and belongings, our team and their families are safe. Sadly, many of our employees were amongst those left displaced by the floods, but we’ve been extremely blessed to support them by taking four of our sister company, TW Homes’ new build homes off the market to house them and their whanau.

Though we’ve suffered much loss, we’ve also had some incredible people join us in our mission to restore our beautiful region, like Pearl, the first woman in New Zealand to achieve a Civil Trade Certificate in Earthworks, who came out of retirement to join us as a machine operator. Pearl has been working with our team on the southern side of Puketapu where the full force of the river took out the stop bank, Vicarage Bridge, and much else with it.

Whilst battling the emotions and stress of the cyclone, our team have bravely and faithfully served their region in many clean-up projects across the bay, including clearing the Redcliff Power Station, restoring local road and state highways, repairing the Tutaekuri Rail Bridge, and working in the heavily affected areas of Eskdale and Puketapu. Despite the hardships faced, we're so proud of our team for the resilience they've demonstrated during this time, and the work they are doing for our community.

Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou

ka ora ai te iwi

With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.

CHB Motofest

On Sunday the 9th of April after a postponement thanks to rain Brett Forlong one of AB Equipment’s sales reps and his partner Jess held the first CHB Motofest to raise fund for cyclone relief. The event was organised in 3 weeks and the turnout was outstanding!! Brett has organised similar events around the country and has many contacts with fellow car enthusiasts who all came out to support his efforts. After a count up, the event raised $5,236. All money raised will be going into the Esk Valley Community Trust who will be organising machinery to be sent where its needed at no cost to the residents. Thanks Brett and Jess for all your hard work.

Quiz Night

Great to see members out at Clive Pub on Thursday night for a bit of healthy competition.