PEOPLE ELEMENT: ``He tangata, he tangata, he tangata,'' (It is people, it is people, it is people,) third generation Portland worker Raki Harding. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
PEOPLE ELEMENT: ``He tangata, he tangata, he tangata,'' (It is people, it is people, it is people,) third generation Portland worker Raki Harding. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
The people giving speeches about Golden Bay Cement's Portland plant going strong after 100 years were not just the bosses and dignitaries talking about a good news business story.
The 100-year milestone ticked over last year, but an event at the site yesterday also celebrated a new 6000-tonne storage silo,ship loading facility upgrades and the 20-year lease of the new 9000-tonne freighter MV Aotearoa Chief; representing a $30 million investment.
While acknowledging the role of New Zealand's biggest cement works in the construction of New Zealand and Pacific nations for the past century, workers spoke about the historic site's role in their lives and community.
Among them was Raki Harding, whose father and grandfather had also worked at "Portland", just one of several families who have provided generations of workers to the local "works".
The plant began in December 1916 but can trace its roots back to 1884 when Nathaniel Wilson founded the Wilson Portland Concrete Co. Three generations of the Wilson family also worked there.
As Parawhau hapu kaumatua Fred Tito had earlier told the 200 guests and workers at the event, Mr Harding said the mountain, the maunga, that was once a dominant feature of the landscape was literally disappearing, and was now spread all over New Zealand.
CONCRETE INVESTMENT: The Golden Bay Cement company celebrating its Portland plant's 100 years. PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM
Portland village, named for the product quarried, manufactured and shipped from there, used to be a town with its own butcher, bakery, two petrol stations and a train station when he was growing up, Mr Harding said.
There were many houses that have since been removed from a main street where "a lonely fire station now sits".
Mr Harding thanked Golden Bay Fletchers for the ongoing commitment and development at the plant that still employed many locals.
Even though the social landscape had also changed with the times, the company was a valued supporter of local schools and other community organisations, he said.
Matt Crockett from Fletcher Building said the company was proud to support New Zealand's only cement manufacturing facility.
''We are proud of this legacy and pleased that the significant upgrades will ensure Portland continues supplying high quality cement to New Zealand for the next 100 years."
Broadcaster Jesse Mulligan was MC for the occasion, and Te Roopu Kapa Haka o Te Whanga a Tamure (from Bream Bay College) performed at the powhiri and blessing.
Guests were then taken on a bus tour of the sprawling Portland complex.
