Hawke’s Bay and East Coast excavator operators chase national glory

21 Oct 2025

Top excavator operators entertained hundreds of people at The Poverty Bay A & P show in Gisborne, digging deep in a battle to win the Civil Contractors New Zealand Hawke’s Bay East Coast CablePrice Excavator Operator Competition on 17-18 October.

Competition organising committee co-chair Kristina Salmons said a bumper crowd had attended the A & P show for its 150th anniversary, leading to an “incredible” atmosphere at Poverty Bay Showgrounds.

She said the excavator operator competition was a star attraction, pushing 18 entrants to the limit with tests of skill, including eye-catching challenges requiring competitors to use their excavators to slam dunk basketballs, open bottles of beer and write words with a paint brush.

A new challenge laid down this year was a giant game of noughts and crosses played using five-tonne diggers to manoeuvre oversize wooden counters, requiring both quick thinking and fine motor skills.

Competitors were also scored on theory-based testing covering health and safety knowledge, hazard identification, first aid procedures, proper use of personal protective equipment, and equipment startup and shutdown protocols.

Operators Des Barbarich from Earthwork Solutions, Marcus Ingram from Galbraith Earthmovers and Nat Fox from H Blackbee Contractors emerged with the highest totals after all the events were scored. They now face a nervous wait until the CCNZ Hawke’s Bay East Coast Branch annual awards on 7 November to discover who earned top spot and the right to advance to the national finals in Fielding.

Salmons congratulated the top three operators for their success and wished them luck at the awards evening next month.
“It was a huge day and it went really well, even if the wind made some of the events even more challenging for the competitors.

“One of the highlights for me was seeing our youngest competitor, 21-year-old Ella Watson from Ritchie Civil, grow into the competition and enjoy it in her first time competing.”

The year’s event was the first time CCNZ Hawke’s Bay East Coast Branch had held a regional excavator operator competition in Gisborne since the separate Hawke’s Bay and East Coast CCNZ branches merged into one branch in 2019.

The regional winner, to be announced at next month's awards ceremony, will join winners from 11 other regional competitions across New Zealand at the national finals during the Central Districts Field Days in Feilding in March 2026. The regional winner will also walk away with more than $4,000 of prizes including a multi-purpose construction laser, receiver and tripod provided by Aptella.

The sponsors for this year’s CCNZ CablePrice Hawke’s Bay East Coast Regional Excavator Operator Competition were CablePrice, Hirepool, Attach2 Equipment, Civil Trades, Connexis, Firstgas and Humes Pipe Systems.

“So many other local companies and supporters also helped make the competition possible, including Aptella, Galbraith Earthmovers, Angus McMillan Concrete, Currie Construction and Ritchie Civil, as well as people like committee member Rick Gardner who pushed to have it in Poverty Bay,” Salmons said.