An industry legend’s legacy will be memorialised in the civil construction industry’s peak award for emerging talent, with the 'Dr Dave Memorial Trophy' created to recognise the work of Dr David Hutchison, Chief Engineer for Downer for many years.

The new trophy will be presented to an emerging civil construction industry leader as part of the annual Civil Contractors New Zealand Z People Awards, which opened today.

‘Dr Dave’, as he was informally known to the many young people he worked with, was well known for his humility, passion for engineering, and genuine care for people at all levels of the industry. His expertise was second to none and he had a friendly manner that made conversing easy and the knowledge he imparted memorable.

In the words of Angela Parsonage – one of the engineers he mentored – “I always felt that I walked away from a conversation with Dave feeling a little bit smarter, a little more relaxed, and a little bit better about the world.”

Civil Contractors New Zealand Chief Executive Peter Silcock said naming the award after Dr Hutchison was a fitting tribute for “a gentleman engineer” who influenced the lives of many people working in the industry today.

“He went to great lengths to take an interest in people’s personal situations and support their career aspirations. I’m told that even in the time leading up to his passing in April last year, while battling cancer, his conversations always began with questions about the wellbeing of his colleagues, rather than his own.”

The Z Energy Emerging Leader Award is open to people aged 30 years and under who excel in their careers, demonstrate strong leadership skills, and are employed within the civil industry. 

The other award category this year is the Z Personal Improvement Award, which recognises an individual from the civil construction industry who has committed themselves to ongoing training and development for the betterment of themselves and their employer.

Nominations for this year’s awards can be made on the Z People Awards page of the Civil Contractors New Zealand website until 13 June.

The Z People Awards have been run by Civil Contractors New Zealand for more than two decades, recognising the achievements and professional development of individuals within the civil construction industry.

The 2021 awards will be presented at the Z Luncheon, to be held on Friday 30 July at Te Papa Tongarewa as part of The Contractors Conference, which is the national conference for civil construction in New Zealand.

Recent winners of the Z Emerging Leader Award include 2019 winner Keith Matheson of Southroads, 2018 winner Quintin Rolston of Isaac Construction and joint 2017 winners Harley Haywood of Utilities Infrastructure NZ and Sean Walsh of Isaac Construction.

RECENT WINNERS: 2019 | 2018 | 2017

Top image: Dr Dave Hutchison
Above: Emerging Leader Award 2019 winner Keith Matheson (centre), with finalists Elena Hofman, Victoria Lord and Aimee Pene, flanked by CCNZ Past President Brian Warren [L], former Z Energy Partnerships Manager Grace Tocker and CCNZ President Tony Pike (then vice-president) [R]