Charles Seymour "Chas" Luney (28 June 1905 – 18 November 2006), was a New Zealand builder and company director. He is notable for the many important buildings that his company constructed in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, of which his favourite was

Christchurch Town Hall The Christchurch Town Hall, since 2007 formally known as the Christchurch Town Hall of the Performing Arts, opened in 1972, is Christchurch, New Zealand's premier performing arts centre. It is located in the Christchurch Central City, central ...

. His professional career spanned 80 years.

Early life

Luney was born in Lyttelton. His father was a carpenter who had immigrated from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The family struggled financially and Luney attended several primary schools, including one in Canada for one year. He attended

Christchurch Boys' High School Christchurch Boys' High School, often referred to as CBHS, is a single sex state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on a site between the suburbs of Riccarton, New Zealand, Riccarton and Fendalton, to the west of ce ...

for two years and was then apprenticed as a joiner. Two events in his early life shaped Luney. He was unjustly partly held responsible for the death of his younger brother, and it made him determined to care for his family. Missing

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

camp because his father could not afford the ten

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

made him value money and realise that it only came from effort. He saved carefully and persistently all his life and he hated unnecessary wastage.

Family

Luney met his wife to be in 1923 at the Christchurch Show. He employed her as office secretary and office manager and one of his intentions with that was to keep other men away from her. They married in 1930 and had four daughters.

Professional career

Luney founded his own firm, C S Luney Ltd, in 1926 with £300 he saved up himself. The company has never had an overdraft facility, which possibly prevented it from going bankrupt during the

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in the 1930s. In the early years the company's projects were mainly garages for the growing number of car owners in Christchurch. In 1930 the firm completed its first major project, the Radiant Hall (now known as the

Repertory Theatre A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

, a Category II heritage building), which had been financed by Thomas Edmonds, the manufacturer of Edmonds Baking Powder. In 1935 the company built two villas at Templeton Hospital. The firm continued to grow and went on to build a number of prominent Christchurch buildings, many designed by

Warren and Mahoney Warren and Mahoney is an international architectural and interior design practice - one of the few third generation architectural practices in the history of New Zealand architecture. It is a highly awarded architectural practice, with office ...

. Luney was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

for public services in the

1983 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1983 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, and a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to the building industry and the community, in the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

. Luney was still supervising construction work in his 90s. Miles Warren said of him that he was a "pressure-wave of energy" and he called him "one of the great characters of Christchurch". His favourite project was the

, which was built between 1969 and 1972. For the construction of the Westpac Centre in Addington, he used "every piece of scaffolding available in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

", according to his biographer John Coley. One of the few surviving buildings from the earthquakes was the James Hight Library at the University that his firm built between 1970 and 1974.

Death and commemoration

Luney died on 18 November 2006, aged 101. His wife, who had died before him in 2001, had said of him that he was "too busy to grow old". He was survived by their four daughters, twelve grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. During his lifetime, Luney was chosen to be included in the

Twelve Local Heroes The ''Twelve Local Heroes'' is a series of bronze bust (sculpture), busts in Christchurch, New Zealand. Sculpted by Mark Whyte, the objective was to commemorate twelve local Christchurch people who were prominent in their respective fields in t ...

sculpture on Worcester Boulevard in front of the

Christchurch Arts Centre The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora is a hub for arts, culture, education, creativity and entrepreneurship in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located in the Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival former University of Canterbury, Canterbur ...

. "Charles Luney - Master Builder" directed by Samuel A. Miller. The Film, completed in Christchurch, New Zealand, includes interviews with C.S. Luney in 2003. The earthquakes delayed production, but the film has been released. The film was selected for the UK's Sheffield Doc/Fest Videotheque. " Maurice and I", the 2024 film by Christchurch directors Rick Harvie and Jane Mahoney of Belmont Films, honoured the work of Charles Luney as the preferred builder of Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney of

; and his work on the

Notable buildings

Luney's firm has constructed the following notable buildings in Christchurch: *

Christchurch City Libraries Christchurch City Libraries is a network of 21 libraries and a mobile book bus. operated by the Christchurch City Council and Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake the previous Christchurch Central Library building was demolished, and ...

Christchurch Hospital Christchurch Hospital is the largest tertiary hospital in the South Island of New Zealand. The public hospital is in the centre of Christchurch city, on the edge of Hagley Park, and serves the wider Canterbury region. The Canterbury District ...

refurbishment * Princess Margaret Hospital * CBS Canterbury Arena

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luney, Charles 1905 births 2006 deaths People from Lyttelton, New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Companions of the Queen's Service Order People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School New Zealand men centenarians