It's not often that Maria Grace is asked to measure materials for a boat jetty. As a quantity surveyor at E H Ball ITM, her table is usually full of house plans.
Maria happily took up the boat jetty challenge when Southland Fish & Game approached E H Ball ITM with engineering drawings for a boat jetty on Lake Monowai – one of Fiordland's most stunningly beautiful lakes.
"I’d never done a jetty before, so it took a bit of effort to get my head around it,” she says. “They had all the consents sorted and just needed someone’s help to break it down into a list of materials and costs.”
Maria’s boss at E H Ball ITM had already made it clear that they would support the endeavour with a deep discount. Upon hearing that the jetty and the boat ramp would provide much needed public access to the lake, several suppliers did the same, discounting materials, helping with freight and even storage over winter as Fish & Game waited for the lake water levels to drop.
The water level of Lake Monowai was raised around a hundred years ago for power generation. The native flora and fauna have regenerated and matured over time, making it a spectacular location for boating, fishing, tramping and hunting. It’s Southland’s fourth most popular lake for recreation.
Unfortunately, the only access was a crumbling boat ramp that had become unsafe and virtually unusable. Southland Fish & Game had been fielding complaints for many years.
“We kept hearing from anglers what a wonderful place the lake is, but the only access was a decrepit boat ramp, which severely limited who could use the lake,” says Fish & Game field officer Ben Febery.
“Unfortunately, no one seemed prepared to do anything about it, so we decided to take the initiative. We did the spadework, developed the design, got the consents, but we didn’t know about the business of construction, and so Maria’s help was incredibly valuable.”
“Maria took the plans and gave us a breakdown of all the materials we needed, and took it upon herself to contact suppliers for the specialist materials ITM didn’t stock,” says Ben. “We did it on the smell of an oily rag, probably about a third of the cost of what it would normally be.” Maria considers the Monowai project one of the most fulfilling jobs she’s ever worked on.
“Because it was a community project, all the tradespeople and suppliers rallied around. They all understood that the facility was for everyone to use, not just a private thing.”
Maria reckons the steep learning curve was worth it as she has recently had to deal with some other quirky projects, including a suspension bridge in another out-of-the-way location.
“I like to learn stuff I didn't know about. It means you can deal with those unusual jobs when they arise.”