Working to change tower's role

WORKERS: Members of the Whanganui City College Military Services Academy and volunteers from the Wanganui Airport Control Tower Restoration Group after clearing out the tower ready for restoration. PICTURE / PAUL BROOKS

Work on restoration of the Wanganui Airport Control Tower is soon to resume. Unused for 30 years, the building is destined to look like new again.

The cab - the top storey - has received a thorough job on the inside and the window frames have been renewed. Work remains to be done on the outside walkway and the lower floors need a complete makeover.

To allow the repair work to be done, heavy furniture and archives needed to be moved from upper floors to the basement where it will be stored until restoration is complete.
To do the heavy lifting, the Control Tower Restoration Group called on the muscles and enthusiasm of 11 members of the Whanganui City College Military Services Academy.
Led by "Blue" Davies - they call him "Staff" - the boys and girls had just completed five days in the bush south of Santoft, and this would be their final job before an earned rest. Five different academies of around 100 students attended the camp. The camping, tramping and team building activities all add credits to their school qualifications.

Blue is employed by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and is "attached" to City College.
MOE sponsors the academies and they are run through the Youth Development Services Unit of the New Zealand Army. Two weeks' induction is spent at Waiouru in March, where they live in barracks with members of other academies.

"There are 26 of us throughout the country," he says. "It's a scheme that was aimed at at-risk youth who are disengaged from school and those not performing well in school. They started these Military Services Academies and used them as a vehicle of discipline."
The military style of things extends all the way to uniforms, marching drill, haircuts and teaching students the basics like cleaning, vacuuming and ironing.
"I give them a uniform and teach them how to iron it."
They call it "fatigues" in true military style. It sounds better - and more masculine - than "housework".

The academy also places a lot of value on respect, for themselves and others.
Blue did 27 years in the army. "Most of the directors throughout the country are ex-military. They brought these into play about 15 years ago, starting in the South Island," says Blue.
City College is the only Whanganui school with an academy. Auckland has quite a few.

"It has a massive strike rate," he says, with most of his charges ending up in employment, and quite a few finding they like the lifestyle and joining one of the forces.
"It's a good stepping stone for them."
Most of the students stay with the academy for two years.
"After a year they get 35 credits at NCEA Level 2."
Blue loves the job, and especially likes to see the changes in the young men and women.
"Their parents are really shocked - it's phenomenal."
Part of the job - for which they get no credits - is community service work like the job at the Airport Control Tower.

Blue stood back while his charges followed orders given by Control Tower Restoration Group members. Systematically, with military precision and good humour, room by room was emptied, with everything they contained carried carefully down flights of stairs to the room underground.
With the rooms cleared, restoration can begin. Work will be undertaken by DML Construction.

"We had QS (quantity surveyor) estimates of what the cost would be - $337,000," says Peter Warnock, treasurer of the Control Tower Restoration Group. "The actual bids, when we got them in, averaged $485,000. That was a dark day for the Group.
"For the past six months, there have been negotiations going on between the design team, architect Bruce Dickson, Rick Groebecker - the engineer appointed by the Whanganui District Council to liaise with us, to see if we can find a solution," he says. "The solution is that we can't do the whole job, obviously. Some changes have been made. Bruce Dickson has overseen everything to make sure the restoration is in line with heritage requirements."

DML will be starting work in the tower in about three weeks.
"They say the whole job will be finished before Christmas," says Peter.
Once the affordable work is done, as agreed with the contractors, the group will approach their funders to try and raise enough money to finish the job as originally specified. The restored tower will be used as a museum and education and research centre, says Robert Hoyle, Control Tower Restoration Group chairman.

"The same as people come to Whanganui to ride on the Waimarie, we want them to come here." Robert is also on the Committee of the Friends of the Whanganui River.

The first Whanganui citizens will see of the restoration work is when the scaffolding is erected around the building.