Papakura man defends Auckland title at excavator operator showdown

25 Feb 2026

Papakura’s Cameron Mabey has been crowned Auckland’s supreme excavator operator for the second year running after digging deep to win the Civil Contractors New Zealand CablePrice Auckland Regional Excavator Operator Competition over the weekend.

The two-day contest unfolded at the Franklin A&P Show in Pukekohe, where thousands of spectators flocked to witness 24 of the region’s best excavator operators go bucket-to-bucket as they tackled extreme challenges of precision and fine motor control.

Mabey, who works as a foreman and excavator operator for TDM Construction said defending his Auckland title was a “big weight off the shoulders”.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself after winning last year but I managed to keep calm and stay cool minded,” he said.

“The course has been changed up quite a bit this year, so everyone was on an even playing field.”

Mabey learned of his victory at a special prize giving event held last night, where he was confirmed as Auckland’s representative to compete in the national competition in March.

Crowd-pleasing tasks he had to complete to earn his Auckland win included popping the lid off a beer bottle and building a “tree” out of tyres using his excavator, as well as accurately slam-dunking a basketball into a concrete pipe.

Competitors were also tested on more down-to-earth capabilities, including a health and safety quiz, excavator pre-start checks and identifying underground services as well as a digital truck loading challenge done with the help of a Tenstar Virtual Reality Simulator to showcase the cutting-edge training technology in the industry.

CCNZ CablePrice Auckland Regional Excavator Operator Competition Subcommittee Chair Andy Marsh said the level of skill on show had reached new heights this time around.

“Once again, it’s been a fantastic competition which improves every year with an ever more impressive calibre of competitors.

Congratulations to Cameron Mabey for taking out the winning spot and being crowned the best of the best in Auckland, a very well-deserved result.”

Scott Bailey from Bob Hick Earthmoving secured second place after a strong performance, while Julius Dulnuan, also from Bob Hick Earthmoving, claimed third place on the podium.

Mabey will join winners from 11 other regional competitions across New Zealand for the national final at Central Districts Field Days in Feilding over 19-21 March, in a battle to become New Zealand's ultimate excavator operator.

The final’s competition will be a change from his day job, where he has been doing earthworks for the new domestic terminal at Auckland Airport and a major new subdivision in Pokeno.

He qualified for the nationals last year after his first Auckland excavator operator competition win, and said he hoped that experience would give him an edge this time around. And he may just be in with a chance of taking the national title this year.

“I think I’ve got a chance – I’ve just got to keep calm headed and do what I do.”

The CCNZ CablePrice Auckland Regional Excavator Operator Competition was made possible by the support of national sponsors CablePrice, Attach2, Connexis, Firstgas, Hirepool, Humes, Caltex Lubricants, beforeUDig, Civil Trades, Doug the Digger and Contractor Magazine.

Regional sponsors included Castle Portable Buildings, ENZED, Franklin Smith, Global Survey, Nulca, Mates in Construction, Pipeline & Civil, Stellar Recruitment and Winstone Aggregates.

Winners: CCNZ CablePrice Auckland Regional Excavator Operator Competition

First: Cameron Mabey, TDM Construction
Second: Scott Bailey, Bob Hick Earthmoving
Third: Julius Dulnuan, Bob Hick Earthmoving

Cable Price representative Donal Campbell (left) and CCNZ Auckland Branch Chair Matthew Findlay (right) announced Cameron Mabey (centre) as Auckland’s top excavator operator at a prize-giving ceremony last night.