Twinkle Toes Explained

Twinkle Toes is the largest excavator in the Southern Hemisphere. It was used in Christchurch to demolish tall buildings following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes before moving to Wellington following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.

History and description

The excavator is based on a 2008 Liebherr 984 that was heavily modified by Kocurek Excavators Ltd for the Birmingham-based demolition Coleman & Company.^[1] It was bought for around NZ$4m^[2] and imported to New Zealand by Auckland-based demolition firm Nikau Contractors, and arrived in the Port of Lyttelton in September 2011.^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} The tracked excavator weighs 220t and has a maximum reach of . When the telescoping arm is not extended, the reach is . The excavator is not suited for demolishing the bottom two storeys of a building. At full reach, a demolition attachment can be fitted to the hydraulic boom. At reach, the machine can handle a concrete breaker. The excavator got its nickname following a naming competition on Christchurch radio station More FM.

Demolitions

• Early November 2011 – Office building on the corner of Liverpool and Cashel Streets in early November 2011.^[7]
• Late November 2011 – Headquarters of AMI Insurance in Latimer Square.
• Early 2012 – Hotel Grand Chancellor, Christchurch, second tallest building in Christchurch.^[8]
• September 2012 – PricewaterhouseCoopers building in Armagh Street. Largest building in Christchurch by mass.^[9]
• September/October 2012 – Farmers car parking building in Gloucester Street.
• Mid/late October 2012 – Holiday Inn on the corner of Cashel and High Streets in mid October 2012.^[10]
• Late 2012/early 2013 – Westpac Canterbury Centre.
• Date unknown – Ibis House, Hereford Street.^[11]
• Late 2017 – Defence (Freyberg) House, Wellington. ^[12]
• Date unknown – Work on Port Taranaki Power Station.^[13]

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Christchurch

Notes and References

1. News: Exclusive – UK's biggest high reach bound for NZ. 14 September 2012. Demolition News. 11 August 2012.
2. News: Palmer. Kloe. Massive digger called on to help in Christchurch. 14 September 2012. 3 News. 2 November 2011.
3. News: Stylianou. Georgina. Big digger for Christchurch demo. 14 September 2012. The Press. 7 September 2011.
4. Web site: Excavators. Nikau Contractors. 14 September 2012. dead. https://archive.today/20130415104451/http://www.nikau.org/wa.asp?idWebPage=44630&idDetails=212. 15 April 2013.
5. News: Wright . Michael . Twinkle Toes tackles largest project to date . 13 September 2012 . The Press. 16 November 2011.
6. News: Wright . Michael . Firms target high-rise buildings. 13 September 2012 . . 17 November 2011.
7. Web site: File:Liverpool Street 06.jpg . Wikimedia Commons. 13 September 2012. Schwede66. 5 November 2011.
8. Web site: Hotel Grand Chancellor . https://archive.today/20120729034724/http://www.emporis.com/building/hotelgrandchancellor-christchurch-newzealand . dead . 29 July 2012 . Emporis GmbH. 14 September 2012.
9. News: Greenhill. Marc. PWC building comes down. 14 September 2012. The Press. 30 August 2012.
10. News: Gates . Charlie . Twinkle Toes checks in . 14 September 2012. The Press. 13 September 2012.
11. Web site: Commercial . Nikau Contractors . 15 June 2013.
12. News: Demolition in central Wellington night and day – neighbours be damned . 15 December 2017. The Dominion Post. 11 December 2017.
13. Web site: Nikau Group Strategic Deconstruction & Environmental :: Liebherr R984C "Twinkle Toes". www.nikaugroup.com. 2020-03-30.