At first, Brian Crabbe did not want to be a builder.
He had set his sights on a career in architecture, but an apprenticeship with Naylor Love was the next best thing.
After 50 years, and nearly 400 jobs around the South, the Naylor Love foreman supervisor is expecting to one day get started on his next big project — retirement.
"When I retire, I’ll be in the campervan and seeing the rest of New Zealand at my leisure, not trying to rush it."
Mr Crabbe’s career started in 1974, back when the company did not even have battery-powered drills, and he said the best part of the job had always been the variety.
"I keep saying to the young guys, ‘I’m still an apprentice because every day I come to work and learn something new’."
On one particular job, he and the crew installed a time capsule in the second floor of Dunedin’s Civic Centre, in 1979.
He hoped to one day revisit the site and update the capsule before wrapping up at the company.
He was also eager to revisit a certain bottle of whisky, from a first run of Wilson’s Distillery, housed inside the capsule.
Working on Wall Street Mall was another highlight, a straightforward operation with a lot of heritage features that needed to be approached with care.
He had been called to jobs at Mercy Hospital a total of four times, and had completed so many jobs at the University of Otago he had lost count.
"I call myself a real handyman.
"I’ll put my hand up for anything if I can do it.
"A jack of all trades, master of none."
Mr Crabbe started working at Naylor Love at the same time as fellow contractor Ewan Oats, who retired from the company two years ago.
Mr Crabbe never thought he would make it to 50 years, and following Mr Oats departure, he decided it was about time he put down the tools himself.
He plans to stay at Naylor Love until about the end of March, before retiring.
tim.scott@odt.co.nz , PIJF cadet reporter
