Good, keen men sought for Henley project

CONSTRUCTION CREW WANTED: Neill Inkster, architect who worked on the development of Henley Lake, wants to make contact with the men he supervised who did the early construction work.

Throughout your working life, bosses and employees come and go -- but there's one group of hard workers and "good guys" Neill Inkster can't forget.

Retired architect Mr Inkster is on the hunt for the working crew he supervised during the final development of Henley Lake in the early 1990s.

The Masterton man, who designed Henley Lake's architectural features, was chosen to manage a group of unemployed men, selected to help with the construction work.

Flash forward 25 years, the lake is now a thriving community facility, with its history soon to be captured in a book by Carterton author Viv Walker.

Mr Inkster has been invited to contribute to the project -- but feels his offerings would be incomplete without a few words from his construction crew, none of whom he has seen since they clocked off for the last time back in 1990.

Though he has tried to track them down, Work and Income has no details on file.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any of their names," Mr Inkster said.

"They were great guys -- the ones who made all that work and all our ideas possible."

In 1988, Mr Inkster was approached by the Henley Trust and asked to draw a concept plan for the lake's facilities.

The Trust had previously engaged Wellington design consultants Boffa Jackman & Associates, but their "Fantasyland" concept was met with opposition from the community.

"It looked like a small Disneyland -- not suitable for Masterton," Mr Inkster said.

Once Mr Inkster's new, more sedate plan was approved, the trust secured close to $30,000 for the construction -- "a lot of money in those days".

In 1990 New Zealand was in the midst of a severe economic downturn, and there was mass unemployment in Masterton following the closure of the Cunningham's factory and the Waingawa Meatworks.

With the Government prepared to subsidise the wages for unemployed people working on community-related projects, the trust employed 34 beneficiary men for the building work -- and Mr Inkster was asked to supervise.

"I thought 'I suppose I could'."

The men got to work: building a boatshed, two light towers, log shelters, bridges, and bird look-outs, as well as helping extend the lake area by a third.

Mr Inkster said the workers were always punctual, reliable and enthusiastic.

"They were good, keen men.

"We never had any problems or got into arguments, and they gave every impression they enjoyed what they were doing."

Their work on the lake even lead to permanent employment opportunities for some of the workers

Now their work is complete and his vision realised, Mr Inkster says the lake is a terrific asset and he looks forward to contributing to the book.

But, he'd like a reunion with his team first

"It would be interesting to see where the Henley Lake project has taken them in their working lives.

"They took pride in their work -- they knew they were creating something for the community to use."

If you were one of the men who worked with Neill Inkster at Henley Lake in 1990, you can contact him on 06-377 3553 or via email at inkster.neill@xtra.co.nz.