Recognition for local heroes
Engineer honoured in retirement
The river engineer who has led emergency flood responses and raised standards of flood protection in Manawatu¯ and Whanganui has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Former Horizons Regional Council operations group manager Allan Cook is one of four Manawatu¯ people named in the New Year Honours List.
Cook had a 52-year career in river and drainage engineering until his retirement in April 2016.
He endured in his river management roles as the shape of catchment boards and regional councils changed around him, and was most active in the last 15 years in flood protection and responses.
He was the lead responder to the devastating 2004 floods in the Manawatu¯ -Whanganui region that closed the Manawatu¯ Gorge for 75 days, swept away the Saddle Rd bridge, cut water supplies to Feilding, and dealt a $300 million blow to the regional economy.
He witnessed first hand that loss and hardship helped galvanise efforts to repair, rebuild and improve defences against future floods.
Millions of dollars were spent on flood recovery and improvements to stopbanks and drainage schemes, none less so than those along the Manawatu¯ River. Some $40 million was invested in the lower Manawatu¯ rural flood protection scheme over 12 years.
Cook’s one disappointment was that all of the projects were not quite finished when the region was struck again by flooding in 2015, although he believed what had been achieved helped in many parts.
He also supervised the $15.5m City Reach project designed to protect Palmerston North from a one-in-500-year flood. The works included rock linings of the main channel, topping up stopbanks in private gardens downstream in Awapuni, and shaping the Anzac Cliffs into a hill, shifting the river channel away from a course that could undermine stopbanks.
Cook talked in his retiring interview about his respect for the Manawatu¯ River, and his pleasure that as well as the hard, engineering work done to contain it, Horizons and the city council were working to soften its edges and make it more accessible for people to enjoy.
A long-time Marton resident, Cook also served local government as an elected member of the Marton Borough Council from 1980 to 1989, and of the Rangitikei District Council from 1989 to 1992.
Cook said he sleeps better at night since resigning his responsibilities for flood management, the sound of rain on the roof no longer putting him on high alert in anticipation of the warnings coming through on the cell phone.
‘‘I still hear it, but it does not concern me so much, but I do spare a thought for colleagues still needing to respond.’’
Cook has kept his hand in at Horizons, valued for the wealth of institutional knowledge he carries in his head.
‘‘I worked with some very good people, and it is good to be able to retain some contact with them.’’
He said he was extremely honoured by his award.
‘‘And I’m also very conscious anything I might have achieved has been hugely contributed to by others, but the staff I have been fortunate to lead and the employers who provided all the resources.’’
‘‘I’m very conscious anything I might have achieved has been hugely contributed to by others.’’ Allan Cook, MNZM