Our History

Babbage has been an industry leader for more than 80 years

1930

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

Current

1950

First pre-stressed concrete construction

1950s: Babbage designs the first pre-stressed concrete water reservoir in New Zealand. At the end of decade Babbage would go on to direct the construction of the first pre-stressed concreted building in the country – the former Caltex House on Auckland’s waterfront.

1950

First pre-stressed concrete construction

1950

First pre-stressed concrete construction

1950s

First pre-stressed concrete multi-storey construction

1950s: The former Caltex House on Auckland’s waterfront - the first pre-stressed concreted building in the country the construction of which was directed by Babbage. 1957-1960: Walter Nash’s Labour Government embarks on a programme designed to relieve the country’s dependence on imports. Infrastructure improvements include a steel mill, oil refinery and numerous hydro-electric power stations built or planned.

1950s

First pre-stressed concrete multi-storey construction

1950s

First pre-stressed concrete multi-storey construction

1966

Clevedon Wharf Bridge

1966: Babbage assists in the construction of Clevedon Wharf Bridge.

1966

Clevedon Wharf Bridge

1966: Babbage assists in the construction of Clevedon Wharf Bridge.

1966

Clevedon Wharf Bridge

1966: Babbage assists in the construction of Clevedon Wharf Bridge.

1970

Newton Road Bridge

1970: Staff total 32. Babbage designs the Newton Road Bridge over the Northwestern Motorway, the first major structure for the Auckland motor way system awarded to external consultants.

1970

Newton Road Bridge

1970: Staff total 32. Babbage designs the Newton Road Bridge over the Northwestern Motorway, the first major structure for the Auckland motor way system awarded to external consultants.

1970

Newton Road Bridge

1970: Staff total 32. Babbage designs the Newton Road Bridge over the Northwestern Motorway, the first major structure for the Auckland motor way system awarded to external consultants.

1970-1977

Wellington Street Underpass

1970-72: Babbage helps constructs the Wellington Street Underpass.

1973: Britain joins the European Economic Community. New Zealand struggles to cope with this along with huge hikes in oil prices.

1974: Alister Babbage retires. Surveyors join the practice. Babbage’s first female director is appointed.

1975: Babbage is one of New Zealand’s first engineering and architecture practices to install its own in-house computer.
Robert Muldoon is elected and implements ‘Think Big’: a number of capital-intensive petrochemical projects and big spending economic policies. Babbage begins work on one of these, LPG storage units nationwide.

1977: Staff total 45. Babbage goes international with projects in Malaysia, Thailand, Burma and the Pacific Islands.

1970-1977

Wellington Street Underpass

1970-1977

Wellington Street Underpass

1979-1984

Lyttelton to Woolston LPG Pipeline

1979-1984: Construction of the Lyttelton to Woolston LPG Pipeline designed by Babbage. With the pipeline crossing several sections of reclaimed and silt-based land, the engineers developed a novel design to counteract the effects of rapidly rising silt and water, weighting the underground pipeline with an anti-buoyancy system intended to prevent it being forced upwards and breaking, should liquefaction occur. This engineering technique stood the test of time and tectonic events when it survived the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.

1979-1984

Lyttelton to Woolston LPG Pipeline

1979-1984

Lyttelton to Woolston LPG Pipeline

1980s

Think Big

1980s: Babbage is engaged on further ‘Think Big’ projects including the Lyttleton to Woolston LPG pipeline in Canterbury (left) and expansion work at Glenbrook Steel Mill and Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill.

1982-1984: Babbage introduces word processors and a computer assisted drawing system. It is one of the first practices of its kind to do so.

1984: The election of David Lange’s Labour Government leads to widespread privatisation and the deregulation of New Zealand’s protectionist economy.

1985: Staff total 110.

1980s

Think Big

1980s

Think Big

1986

Babbage House

1986: The company’s corporate charter outlines the following objective: “…to build a strong and profitable business by providing professional multi-discipline consulting advice and services of a high standard which satisfy the identified needs of selected clients in NZ, the South Pacific and East Asia.” 1986-7: Babbage House, the company’s first purpose-built home, is under construction in central Auckland.

1986

Babbage House

1986

Babbage House

1987

New Zealand 'Nuclear Free'

1987: The stock market crash hits New Zealand especially hard. Babbage refocuses its service line to stay buoyant in difficult economic times. Large civic projects help keep Babbage in good shape. New Zealand becomes a ‘Nuclear Free Zone’.

1987

New Zealand 'Nuclear Free'

1987

New Zealand 'Nuclear Free'

1990

Henderson 'Commonwealth' Swimming Pool

1990: Babbage’s pioneering Henderson pool is used to great acclaim in the 1990 Commonwealth Games. The firm begins work on its first dairy project, in Hawera, Taranaki and Babbage have worked on dairy projects continuously ever since.

1990

Henderson 'Commonwealth' Swimming Pool

1990

Henderson 'Commonwealth' Swimming Pool

1991

World first in storm water treatment

1991: Britain’s Science Museum completes Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine Number 2 to his original design, one month before the 200th anniversary of his birth. Babbage creates New Zealand’s first ever Storm Water Treatment plant at the Pacific Steel manufacturing site.

1991

World first in storm water treatment

1991

World first in storm water treatment

1996

International Project Management

1996: Babbage starts several years of work in Australia. The first project Darnum Park is a Milk Drier plant on a greenfield site in Victoria, Australia. Babbage provide their expert Project Management and Consulting skills.

1996

International Project Management

1996

International Project Management

1998

Dairy Foothold

1998: Babbage installs staff onsite in a project office at the Anchor Milk Processing Site in Te Rapa, Hamilton to begin work on the Drier No.5 project. Staff remain onsite working on continued expansion works until the Hamilton office opens in 2008.

1998

Dairy Foothold

1998

Dairy Foothold

1999

World class retirement facitlies

1999: Babbage begin work on one of the largest retirement village complexes in New Zealand. Knightsbridge Village is created as a hotel like facility including 220 units for residents, a restaurant and bar, indoor heated pool, spa, gymnasium, medical centre, international-standard bowling green, petanque court, croquet lawn, gardens and even a hairdressing salon to name just a few, setting the a new benchmark for aged care facilities.

1999

World class retirement facitlies

1999

World class retirement facitlies

2009

Maritime Museum Sir Peter Blake Memorial

2009: Victor Lam assists Architect Pete Bossley by providing the Structural Engineering for the extension of Auckland’s Maritime Museum which houses America’s Cup winning New Zealand boat ‘Black Magic’ NZL32 as a memorial to Sir Peter Blake.

2009

Maritime Museum Sir Peter Blake Memorial

2009

Maritime Museum Sir Peter Blake Memorial

2010-11

Earthquake tragedy

2010-11: Unprecedented earthquakes ravage historic Christchurch causing the death of 181 individuals and the destruction of much of the city's buildings and infrastructure. A team of Babbage engineers helps determine the structural stability of key city buildings.

2010-11

Earthquake tragedy

2010-11

Earthquake tragedy

2012

OTS purchased

2012: Babbage purchase O’Loughlin Taylor Spence Engineering Consultancy of Christchurch expanding the service offering in the South Island. Work continues providing structural and geotechnical assessment of quake damaged properties and for the rebuild in Christchurch.

2012

OTS purchased

2012

OTS purchased

2015 - June

Babbage acquire Bioresearches Group Limited

Babbage join with Bioresearches Group a specialist ecology and environmental consultancy practice with wealth of knowledge and experience which will add greater depth to, and complement Babbage’s existing land-development team and our growing environmental-engineering team.

2015 - June

Babbage acquire Bioresearches Group Limited

2015 - June

Babbage acquire Bioresearches Group Limited

2016 - April

McKay Knarston join Babbage

Babbage purchases land surveying practice McKay Knarston. McKay Knarston is a well-established, widely respected firm of land surveyors, based in Takapuna. The McKay Knarston team have worked primarily in the land development sector specialising in residential subdivisions, but have capabilities in all aspects of land surveying. The addition of the McKay Knarston team greatly adds to the capability of the Babbage Land Development team and allows McKay Knarston to offer expanded services to their clients.

2016 - April

McKay Knarston join Babbage

2016 - April

McKay Knarston join Babbage

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What we do

Markets

Services

Projects

Who are we

Our Company

Our History

Sustainability

Awards

Our Team

Company

Careers

News

Contact

What we do

Markets

Services

Projects

Who are we

Our Company

Our History

Sustainability

Awards

Our Team

Company

Careers

News

Contact