Randal Bartholomew from Tiger Turf at the Halliwell Hockey Turf in Levin.
Randal Bartholomew from Tiger Turf at the Halliwell Hockey Turf in Levin.
The man charged with laying a new artificial playing surface at the Halliwell Hockey Turf in Levin has a special affinity with the venue.
Randal Bartholomew, who works for Auckland-based company Tiger Turf, was born and raised in Levin and as a 19-year-old played in the very first game at the venue that coincided with a grand opening of the facility.
Now aged 42, he has never forgotten that special weekend when the community came together to build the pavilion, and nor would any of the hundreds of people involved.
The Bill Crighton Pavilion was built in 48 hours - in the winter of 1999.
The Bill Crighton Pavilion was built in 48 hours - in the winter of 1999 - as local tradesmen and firms donated labour and materials, working together in what was a massive showing of community spirit. It's part of local folklore.
Bartholomew couldn't have imagined that 23 years later he would be back in his home town tasked with the job of laying new turf.
Randal Bartholomew from Tiger Turf at the Halliwell Hockey Turf in Levin.
All artificial turf had a shelf life and the green needed replacing. The new turf was expected to last between 12 and 15 years.
The old turf had been lifted this week - no easy task - and it would take about three weeks to install the new turf. The job required a large amount of labour, to firstly cut up and remove the old turf, then to work in unison to lay the heavy new turf.
Tiger Turf had partnered with HDC's Mayor Taskforce for Jobs to employ locals on the project, and Bartholomew praised the 14 people working on the project for their enthusiasm and work ethic.
"Their attitude has been outstanding. They haven't shied away from the work," he said.
The Horowhenua Sports Turf Trust (HSTT), formed in 1995, raised the money to construct the original artificial turf. It was just the fifth turf of its kind in New Zealand at the time.
Flashback to 1999...former deputy Mayor Dave Colling and the late Bill Crighton.
Other work going on at the turf this month was the replacement of ground stubs holding the lighting pole and towers in place after an engineer's report found the existing stubs were rusting and needed replacing.
Electra staff had taken down the lighting towers so holes holding the ground stubs could be excavated with a sucker truck.
Eight new 4.6m deep ground stubs have now been concreted and back-filled. The work had taken three weeks to complete, with the light poles and towers being lifted and set in the new ground stubs this week.
Horowhenua Sports Turf Trust's Mary Davis said with these two projects completed soon the turf would be in top condition for next season. She thanked contractors for their efficiency.
The turf replacement cost $372,000, while the lighting work had been a specialised project costing around $250,000.
Funding for the lighting and turf project has been provided by the HDC, who set aside $25,000 annually, with $50,000 from Aotearoa Trust, $50,000 from One Foundation, $38,000 from the Eastern & Central Community Trust and $25,000 from The Pelorus Trust.
Davis said the Trust wanted to acknowledge that support.
