Joseph McAven History and Achievements
This page contains links to documents written and recorded on the internet about Joseph, and his Engineering achievements.
Credits: Some of these documents have been very kindly supplied by Wayne Collins, Voluntary historian for Hawke’s Bay local Knowledge Bank
Wayne Collins states from his research that:
“Joseph was sought from England for the Hawke’s Bay Napier Harbor Board wharf contracts and his story in New Zealand we have expanded to show that he had extraordinary Engineering skills.”
McAven, J Testimonial – this is dated 1909 from the Napier Harbour Board.
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This following article link will take you to a document containing:
“a brief story of the amazing skill of Joseph McAven in restoring the Marist Brother’s one-day old new kitchen and dormitory block at the Mount St Mary Seminary at Greenmeadows, Hawke’s Bay – that was threatened with demolition after its ground floor was crushed by the 1931 earthquake. Joseph came from Wellington to do the demolition – but his skilled eye saw that the building was not beyond being fully repaired – and he did that within 5 months – which included the time it took to get 18 50-ton jacks out from England.”
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This next file is from Tyler_McDonald-Mullions-and-Smith-Architects – about buildings in Auckland in the 1920’s.
McAven’s first major commission was Lippincott’s Auckland University College Arts Building where he designed the structural reinforcing.
https://www.sahanz.net/wp-content/uploads/S15_02_Tyler_McDonald-Mullions-and-Smith-Architects.pdf