Builder, civil engineer, innovator and family man
At his Requiem Mass in Lower Hutt recently, Peter Lawrence McGuinness, who has died aged 76, was remembered for his big-hearted laugh, his 50 years in the construction industry, a lifetime of support for schools, churches and sports clubs, and his enjoyment and love for his family.
Many of Wellington’s most distinctive buildings, from Government House and the Chews Lane Precinct to the Wharewaka and Clyde Quay Wharf Apartments, have been built or refurbished under the expert engineering eye of “Pete” McGuinness.
Born in 1947, Peter was the second of four sons of Laurie and Kath (Spillane) McGuinness, who came from rural backgrounds in Mid and South Canterbury.
Pete began in the building industry when he was a schoolboy at St Patrick’s College, Wellington. Laurie McGuinness had established a good reputation as a builder and joiner and his boys spent Saturday mornings and school holidays working with their father, on sites or at his joinery shop. Brian McGuinness says: “We thought it was pretty tough when other kids were on holiday but it taught us to work together and that remained with us.”
Peter excelled in maths and science at college and went on to gain a civil engineering degree at the University of Canterbury. While there he met Susan Ryan, a young teacher trainee from the Buller region. Love blossomed and the pair were married at St Canice’s Church in Westport on Boxing Day, 1969.
The sudden death of Laurie McGuinness in 1973, aged 57, was a turning point for the McGuinness brothers. They decided that if they pooled their respective skills –
Jim in carpentry, Peter in engineering and Brian in quantity surveying – maybe they could keep their father’s firm going.
Younger brother Mark also worked with them as a schoolboy and found that his talents lay more in the property and financial fields. He set up the development company Willis Bond, which has worked alongside LT McGuinness to complete many successful projects.
“We all worked with Peter for a lifetime, from early days with our father to recent years,” Brian says. “We were in total sync – we could debate things but got on with life and never let disagreements linger.”
Peter always said the brothers were different personalities but they all enjoyed working together. With just a small staff in the early years they worked long hours. After a stint as house movers – “backbreaking and stressful work”, Brian says – they built houses and did small commercial jobs before a breakthrough project in the early 1980s, the First Church of Christ the Scientist in Willis St.
Peter was a man of formidable energy. His enthusiasm for the arrival of a concrete truck on-site was legendary but what shone through on that job was his delight in getting the church’s complex architectural features exactly right. It was a striking Ian Athfield design, well ahead of its time, and the project’s success established the company as a credible and skilled commercial construction contractor.
Many buildings in the city, such as the NZX, PwC and St Johns Buildings on the waterfront, John Chambers and the Adam Art Gallery at Victoria University, and the One Market Lane and Victoria Lane apartments, bear the stamp of Pete’s drive and engineering expertise, along with buildings further afield such as the Expressions Upper Hutt, Weltec Petone Hub and Our Lady of Kāpiti church and school.
The Clyde Quay Wharf apartments on Wellington Harbour were described by Brian as “the Everest of Pete’s engineering career”. The apartments have a partly submerged car park, which had to be constructed during low tides and some wild weather. The building took out the Supreme Award in the 2015 Commercial Project Awards, with judges describing it as a “design, engineering and construction masterpiece”.
In 2020, the NZ Institute of Building bestowed a fellowship on Peter, making him one of only five New Zealanders who can hold that award at any one time. It recognised his contribution to construction over more than a halfcentury.
One of his favourite sayings was, “some things are non-negotiable”. Health and safety came in that category for him and he developed some highly innovative health and safety programmes. He was also a strong promoter of carpentry training, especially for Māori and Pasifika apprentices, and was a driving force behind the company’s apprenticeship training scheme and its apprentice school in Lower Hutt.
Peter was a stickler for high standards. He wanted every job to be successful and had a knack for bringing out the best in his teams. Loyalty was a quality he valued highly and he was proud of the firm’s
many long-serving staff and the fact some families have worked for it over several generations.
Another of Peter’s sayings well remembered by his family was “never think you’re better than the person sitting next to you”. Forceful but humble, he was equally at home in a building site smoko shed as around a boardroom table with CEOs or architects.
Thanks to the legacy of Peter and his brothers, the next generation is taking LT McGuinness to another level. He was delighted to see the firm grow and expand from its Wellington base to Auckland, Tauranga and Palmerston North.
The McGuinness brothers were brought up with a strong Catholic faith. Their ethos is that everything is about the common good and community, not just an individual or family.
Peter showed this in many ways. He was founder and patron of the Ryhaven Charitable Trust, which builds affordable rentals and helps homeowners on limited incomes repair and upgrade their homes. Through his construction skills he gave tremendous support to Catholic schools and churches, especially in the Hutt Valley.
His practical mechanical skills were also evident with cars and engines. Outside of work he enjoyed restoring two Packards, one his striking white 1926 Packard 126 roadster.
Peter was a staunch supporter of the Hutt Old Boys Marist rugby, where he was a life member and former chairman, and the Hutt Bowling Club.
He was also a prime mover in the Irish parades that flourished in Wellington in the 1990s and was always a strong supporter of Irish music and culture.
Peter’s standing in the community was reflected in the turnout of more than 800 people at his funeral on November 30. Wife Susie and their seven children provided wonderful care for him right till the end.
His family and 10 grandchildren, extended family and wide network of business colleagues and friends, will deeply miss him.