Waipukurau excavator operator among first women digging for national title

A bottle opener, a spoon, maybe a butter knife. These are the usual tools drinkers turn to when they want to open a beer bottle.

Waipukurau’s Tanya Claxton prefers to use a 13-tonne excavator.

After more than two decades in civil construction, Claxton has mastered the art of handling heavy machinery with precision.

Now, she’s taking that skill to the National Excavator Operator Competition in Feilding on Friday and Saturday.

This year marks a milestone, as the Central Hawke’s Bay professional and two other women become the first female competitors in the event’s history.

“I’ve done this competition before but never made it to Nationals,” Claxton told Hawke’s Bay Today.

“That was always one of my goals, and now I’ve made it. It feels pretty cool to be representing my region and having another two girls there as well.”

Tanya Claxton won the CCNZ CablePrice Hawke’s Bay East Coast Regional Excavator Operator Competition. Photo / Supplied

Currently working as a foreperson for Higgins, Claxton said the achievement started as a way to prove she was good at what she does. She won the Hawke’s Bay East Coast regional title last year.

“A couple of days later, I realised that now I’ve got to go to nationals, and it’s next-level.”

The competition usually challenges operators with precision tasks such as painting, pouring water into a glass, opening a beer bottle and picking up an egg.

“I think playing the games is the fun part … That’s not stuff you can do at work."

Getting through all the tasks in the set time would probably be the biggest challenge, she said.

Claxton’s journey into construction was not exactly planned.

Armed with a fashion degree, she initially took on a stop-go traffic management job one summer to save money to go back to London, UK, where she is originally from.

That led her to roadwork, where colleagues introduced her to the world of diggers, bulldozers and heavy machinery.

Tanya Claxton, from Central Hawke’s Bay, will compete in the National Excavator Operator Competition.

“Machinery was never on my radar … Fast forward 23 years and I’m still here.”

Claxton acknowledged there were challenges working in a male-dominated field.

When she started, she encountered scepticism from older workers who doubted her ability to handle the physically demanding work.

“There were some old guys who would say, ‘this is a man’s place’, and tell me I had to lift this or that if I wanted to prove myself,” she said.

“But I’m quite strong for a girl, so I just went and did it. I earned their respect pretty quickly.”

The lack of proper facilities for women on job sites and women’s personal protective equipment (PPE) were also issues early on.

The industry had evolved over the years, with more women entering roles traditionally reserved for men.

Tanya Claxton doing the basketball dunk at the CCNZ CablePrice Hawke’s Bay East Coast Regional Excavator Operator Competition. Photo / Supplied

Claxton now mentors young people, including girls, who are looking to enter the civil construction field.

Through initiatives such as Inspiring the Future Aotearoa, she speaks to students at the regional college about careers in construction.

“If you want to do it, just do it,” she advised.

“Don’t let the fact that it’s male-dominated stop you. It always will be, but there are more and more of us coming in, and me and the other two women at nationals are proof that we can do just as well as the boys, if not better.”

Claxton was eager to test herself against the best in the business at the competition.

“It would be quite nice to be the first woman to take out the digger comp,” she said.

Win or lose, she would remain committed to her craft, to inspiring the next generation and demonstrating that the industry has room for everyone willing to put in the work.

With over 10 years of experience as a journalist in Brazil, Rafaella Melo – who has worn many hats, from radio and TV presenter to magazine editor – joins the Hawke’s Bay Today team as a multimedia journalist, covering all that matters to the community.