Death of former principal, Anthony (Tony) Brough We have recently learned of the death of former Principal Anthony (Tony) Brough, who died peacefully in Nelson in November, aged 89 years. He was Principal from 1990 – 1995. Tony, along with his wife Barbara, made a huge contribution to College life. They were well-liked and respected by teachers, parents, and students, and Tony’s tenure is a significant part of College history. Tony was the 13th Principal, the first lay Principal and the first principal to manage College House as a mixed hall of residence. He presided over CH as it grew through the addition of Hardie and Beadel houses. Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time. CH Alumni are part of the team to win prestigious engineering award Last week, the NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail and the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure group (NCTIR) won the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) People’s Choice Award. This award celebrates the world’s top civil engineering projects and sets the benchmark for excellence in construction and design. It is decided by a public vote – truly reflecting what the local people who benefit from each project really think! We would like to congratulate CH alumni who have been part of the huge team working on this project – Rolly (David) Rowland (2004), Daniel Headifen (1995), Hannah Willis (nee Lord) (2010/11) and Frances Neeson (2005/06). NZ Transport Agency Regional Director Steve Mutton, chair of the NCTIR Board, said it was a collective effort that resulted in engineering excellence, and every crew member – past and present - should feel proud of themselves. “The team worked hard, under extremely difficult conditions, to rebuild and create a safe highway and rail line to reconnect Kaikōura and critical South Island transport links to the north and south, as well as benefiting the wider surrounding communities also still recovering from the effects of the earthquake Rolly (Beca) continues to work on the project in his role as Central Shared Path Project Lead and told us that work along the Kaikoura coast will continue this year as the rebuild is completed. This includes making the temporary works permanent, as well as continuing to improve the safety and resilience of the route with slope protection measures, tunnels, seawalls and safe stopping areas. Daniel Headifen (KiwiRail) also continues to work on the project in his role as Rail Design Manager. Alumnus is helping save lives and reducing impacts of flooding Being in the midst of the US hurricane ‘season’ which runs from June to November, most Americans will have no idea that a Kiwi engineer/hydrologist has led the team that developed the software to monitor and measure water flows across the continental United States. Having this data at their fingertips means that the authorities can make decisions much earlier that will help save lives and reduce the impact of flooding on property. Alumnus Professor David Maidment (1968-70), and his team at the Center for Water and Environment at the University of Texas at Austin, developed the National Water Model that takes in weather, river and land surface data and predicts when and where major floods will occur. 2018 Texas hurricane season In 2018, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration in the US has forecast a 75% chance that the Texas hurricane season will be of average to above average in intensity. “Our data will be one of the major tools that will help predict what is going to happen, where, the volume and the intensity of the water flows. It means that people can more quickly get out of their houses to higher ground, and make their properties safer,” explains David. David says that the model successfully predicted the water flows from Hurricane Harvey that slammed into Texas in August-September 2017. “We had a better understanding of where the water would fall, where it would flow and where the damage was likely to be – which was horrendous – more than 130,000 homes were flooded during the hurricane”. David served in the Texas State Operations Center throughout Hurricane Harvey helping to provide flood information to support the emergency response. He describes the experience as “the 10 most pressured days of my life”. Launched in 2016, the National Water Model calculates the risk of flooding in 2.7 million creeks and rivers in the continental United States. The data is refreshed every hour of every day of every year. Death of Maurice Mahoney ONZM, Distinguished Fellow NZIA ‘A special man who quietly gave so much to his family and Christchurch’ It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Maurice Mahoney, architect and friend of College House. Maurice was born in London to Doris and Ernest Mahoney and trained in architecture at the Christchurch Architectural Association's Atelier. After working with several Christchurch firms, he teamed up with Sir Miles Warren in 1958 to remodel the Dental Training School. Their firm, Warren and Mahoney, designed many of the country's most significant buildings from the 1960s to 1980s, including College House, the Christchurch Town Hall, which they won the right to design in a competition, and the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington. Most were in their trademark concrete, blocky, geometric designs and were noted for their great scale and complexity. Other Christchurch buildings that bore the Warren and Mahoney stamp were the Crowne Plaza – originally known as the Parkroyal Hotel – the AMI building on Latimer Square, Dorset Towers, the Transport Ministry building on Montreal St, the Harewood Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, and numerous residential buildings. The former Central Library, New Brighton Library and South Library were also all designed by Warren and Mahoney. Mahoney's last major project, the refurbishment of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings and the Parliamentary Library, won numerous architecture and design awards. Though much of his legacy was obliterated in the Christchurch earthquakes, Mahoney collected several awards for his work, including the inaugural Distinguished Fellowship in 2017 in recognition of his career and became an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit for services to architecture in 2010. At the 2017 Canterbury Architecture Awards, Mahoney and the Warren and Mahoney company were a standout, winning an Enduring Architecture Award for their work at 18 Butler St, a Christchurch house clad with mirror glass, as well as a Commercial, Enduring Architecture and Heritage Award for the practice. The firm amassed more than 300 architectural awards, including four New Zealand Institute of Architecture's Gold Medals – its highest honour – awarded to the practice between 1959 and 1973. Sir Miles Warren said he admired the way Maurice put things together with such great clarity and precision, and his expert draughtsmanship and ordered approach to design problems. Mahoney retired from professional practice in 1992, with Warren, the public face of the firm, following in 1994. Mahoney is survived by his wife, Margaret, four children – Sarah, Jane, Nigel and Emma – and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A service will be held in St Barnabas Anglican Church, in Fendalton, at 1.30pm on Tuesday. Pro Ecclesia Dei Farewell and big thanks to David and Helen Maidment Professor David Maidment (1968-70) and Dr Helen Maidment will be missed but not forgotten. After two months in Christchurch, from February to April 2018, while David was back at the University of Canterbury as an Erskine Fellow sharing his water management expertise, David and Helen Maidment have returned to their home in Austin, Texas. During their stay in Christchurch they participated in a number of College House events and students and staff are extremely sorry to see them go. While here, David and Helen announced a gift of $100,000 towards the restoration of the College House Chapel. As students, they were often in Chapel together. Helen recalled attending plainsong concerts on Saturday nights. "It was an experience for the ages,” she said. “Those orange windows cast such a beautiful light. And the ritual…it responds to something very deep in human needs.” The announcement of the gift, by BM at formal dining, was met with sustained applause. The Maidments later spoke to students in the common room about their own student years and the opportunities student life offers for daring, creativity and personal development. They described the Chapel, which today's students have yet to experience, as a quiet place to think, to contemplate. And, they reminded students that a strength of CH is that it cares for students’ spiritual side as well as their mental, physical and academic growth. David says: “We have gained so much from our gifts to College House. I remember flying over the North Island after we visited for the opening ceremony for Maidment House… I looked down on the green hills and thought ‘it feels like home again’. Alumnus appointed adviser to Reserve Bank of New Zealand Dr William Rolleston (1979) has been appointed one of two part-time advisors on monetary policy to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. He will provide advice to the Bank's Governing Committee leading up to setting the Official Cash Rate, starting his role with the Monetary Policy Statement to be issued in May. William says he's very much looking forward to his role in helping set New Zealand's monetary policy. "My role is to bring an outside perspective to the Bank’s decision-making process. I expect to draw on my farming, business, political and international experience as well as my exposure to a wide range of society through my previous medical practice.” Dr Rolleston is production director and co-owner of South Pacific Sera Ltd and Blue Cliffs Station; chair of Life Sciences Network, AgriView NZ and the University of Otago’s Genomics Aotearoa.