Speaking at the official opening of the new $45,000, 7.2m by 12m standalone shed on Saturday, he said it was a privilege to be involved with the men and women of the Owaka branch of Catlins Land Search and Rescue at the weekend.
The shed, which provides the LandSAR crew storage, a 3m by 2.4m radio room, an IT room, and debriefing room, stands adjacent to the ''Corporate Box'', which houses the LandSAR team's incident management control room.
The LandSAR crew had a ''magnificent'' facility, the mayor said.
''Every community in our district has focal points for the community to gravitate towards, and definitely in this area Search and Rescue is one of them - you've only got to look at the numbers,'' Mr Cadogan said.
The Catlins LandSAR crews boast 120 members - 58 from Owaka and 62 from Tokanui.
''That shows that this is a group of real importance. It's a communal hub as well as providing such a necessary service,'' he said.
Catlins LandSAR chairman Fraser Morris said the additional building would be valued for a long time and completed the group's facility.
''Short of buying a helicopter, what else would impress people,'' Mr Morris said.
''We've future proofed the viability of Catlins search and rescue.''
He called the building's opening and the search and rescue team's open day a ''landmark day'' and an important part of the search and rescue team's evolution.
Senior Constable Murray Hewitson, of Owaka, works alongside the Owaka LandSAR team regularly as incident management control. New Zealand Police is the lead agency in search and rescue operations.
He said the operation would run more smoothly. He highlighted the importance of a separate radio room and a designated space for debriefing the field teams.
Snr Const Hewitson had nothing but praise for the group that had recently been involved in some high profile searches.
''They are very good at what they do,'' he said.
''They have got some really skilled people.
''It makes it easy for me.''
About 100 people came to the LandSAR team's open day and official opening of the shed in Owaka on Saturday afternoon.
