Three geotechnical tests have now taken place on the site of the planned Forrester Gallery extension thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Friends of Forrester Gallery and several successful grant applications including a $6.5million dollar award from the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund earlier this year.

Cone Penetration Testing (CTP), hand auguring and sonic drilling tests were conducted to assess the environment for the planned construction.

CPT data helps detect soil layers to centimetre accuracy and assess the soil properties such as type, relative density, shear strength and stiffness as well as soil liquefaction potential. 

Sonic drilling is an advanced soil penetration technique that uses high-frequency energy to smoothly extract a core sample for lab analysis - supplementing the findings of hand-augered soil samples.

Results from the tests will allow for more cost effective foundations for the extension to the 1884 Category One heritage building.

Waitaki District Council Museums and Gallery Director Chloe Searle said, “It was very exciting for me and the team to see the machinery on site for the geotechnical tests. It makes the project feel very real now after years of planning and fundraising work.” 

The former Bank of New South Wales building was originally home to the manager of the bank and had a rear extension for laundry and other household functions.

It is expected but not guaranteed that evidence of the former extension will be unearthed during the construction of the new gallery extension which is scheduled to begin in 2024 with a planned opening date of March 2026.