22/07/2026
It was a privilege to attend the opening of the Salvation Army base in Kaitaia, along with participating in the service this Sunday with Trevor, Hillcon, and the clients project team: Gary, Greg, Pastor Mosese Kava, and his wife Amelia.
This was a project a number of years in the making and not without its challenges, including a very near miss when the stop banks broke, flooding every adjacent property in the area, but not quite reaching the slab level by +/- 100mm. Possibly because of good engineering, but more likely divine intervention, given the scale of damage in that area. The team also had to pivot early to deal with complex geotechnical and vibration issues. Overall, the outcome is a very resilient building to stand the test of time (and major floods!).
A big shout out to the Scope team of Trev and Nataliia, and also all of our partners on the job, including Hillcon, Lands and Survey, MILLARD Construction Cost Consultants, Soil & Rock, Construct Health, Cove Kinloch, and Tonkin+Taylor.
For us, this is a valued relationship that now spans many projects and 10 years with the Salvation Army Client team, which has worked through numerous challenges and realised opportunities to deliver successfully time and again.
Allowing them to do what they do so well, in delivering for the community.
Proud is an understatement!
Ben Tomason – Managing Director
