Kordia is celebrating a major milestone this month, marking 60 years since the official opening (16th October 1965) of the Sugarloaf transmission tower, the 120.9-metre steel landmark that has kept Canterbury and much of New Zealand connected for six decades.
Built by Kordia predecessor the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation as part of New Zealand’s first nationwide television network, the Sugarloaf tower on Christchurch’s Port Hills remains a vital piece of broadcast and communications infrastructure. From its commanding position above the city, it continues to deliver television, FM radio, digital communications and critical connectivity for emergency services and aviation.
Few of Kordia’s towers have witnessed as many nationally significant events as Sugarloaf. For much of that history, one man had a front-row seat.
Andy Glue, who retired in 2024 after 50 years with Kordia, began his career at just 17 years old as an apprentice technician at Sugarloaf. He went on to see the site evolve from a single black-and-white TV channel to a digital connectivity hub.
“There were about 10 staff to cover the rostered shifts, 7 days a week. On a normal dayshift, we would meet at 8.00am at the base in Mowbray Street and travel to Sugarloaf in a Bedford van. We were on site for the full day with nowhere to go for lunch, so we had to bring everything needed for the day,” says Glue.
“The duty technician was responsible for turning on the transmitters manually and doing all the pre-program checks. This included doing a full set of meter readings to identify any faults and monitor any long-term trends which may indicated something is degrading.
“Goodnight Kiwi was our cue to turn off the transmitters and lock up the building before driving back down the hill to our base at Mowbray Street.”
From an engineering perspective, Sugarloaf remains one of New Zealand’s most impressive telecommunications structures. Its lattice steel tower rests on a five-metre-deep concrete pad anchored into volcanic rock, designed to withstand earthquakes and extreme weather.
Kordia’s Rigging Team Lead Stuart Stacey says maintaining the site’s structural integrity and technology over the years has been a constant task.
“A lot of work happens on the tower – maintaining equipment on the tower, assessing faults, installing ice shields, managing rust – I think over my career I’ve probably seen almost every bolt in the tower replaced!”
A major strengthening project in 2005 saw almost every piece of steel and every bolt on the tower replaced, one of the most complex engineering feats ever undertaken by Kordia.
Keeping Christchurch connected through crisis
The Sugarloaf site has played a critical role in keeping Christchurch connected during its toughest times, including the 2011 earthquake.
“I was on call that day and was called out to Sugarloaf to fix a fault. The TVNZ news camera live eye circuit was down, and they were desperate to get live news coverage patched to the Avalon studio,” recalls Glue.
“I cautiously made my way up Dyers Pass Rd with lots of fallen rocks on the road and aftershocks still happening.”
Glue’s efforts, alongside those of the wider Kordia field and rigging teams, ensured vital communication links were maintained during the emergency response period that followed.
The tower has also endured snowstorms and fires, including the 1992 “Great Snow” which cut off access entirely, and the 2017 Port Hills fires which came perilously close to the site.
Kordia CEO Neil Livingston says the Sugarloaf anniversary is not only a celebration of engineering excellence, but of people - the generations of Kordia’s Cantabrian team of technicians and engineers who have kept New Zealand and the city connected.
“Sugarloaf represents everything that defines Kordia - reliability, innovation, and service to the communities we connect,” says Livingston.
“For 60 years, this site has delivered critical connectivity for broadcasters, emergency services and everyday New Zealanders. The dedication of our people, like Andy and the teams who have worked on Sugarloaf across the decades, is what makes this milestone so meaningful.”
Livingston says the company’s legacy of connectivity is continuing to evolve.
“From the early days of black-and-white TV to the high-speed digital networks of today, Kordia has been at the heart of New Zealand’s communications landscape. As we celebrate Sugarloaf’s 60th year, we’re also looking to the future - investing in technology that ensures New Zealand stays connected in new and smarter ways.”
Kordia’s connection to Christchurch continues with its work on One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha, where the company is implementing a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) to deliver world-class mobile connectivity for fans and visitors.
“It’s fitting that 60 years after Sugarloaf was first switched on, Kordia is again delivering vital communications infrastructure right here in Christchurch,” says Livingston. “In many ways, it brings our story full circle - connecting people then and connecting them now.”
About Kordia’s tower anniversaries
2025 marks the 60-year anniversary of the first of Kordia’s iconic television towers, including the tower at Mt Kaukau in Wellington, Auckland’s Waiatarua and Christchurch’s Sugarloaf in the Port Hills. Wharite tower in the Manawatu also commenced build in 1965.
Built as part of a national effort led by the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) to build a nationwide television network, the towers are still in operation today.
While TV broadcasts had been made in NZ by the early 60s, coverage was quite limited and centred around major cities.
The introduction of the big transmission towers enabled networking, which meant that by the early 1970s television coverage was extended to the vast majority of New Zealand. NZBC, which was a forerunner to Kordia, TVNZ and RNZ, was responsible for building and maintaining these towers, and facilitating and producing the content.
Today, Kordia’s 50 lattice towers and sites still play an important role in delivering not only digital terrestrial TV, but other mission-critical services such as FM radio, DMR, emergency service radio communications and more.
For more stories and history of the towers, visit our 60th anniversary hub
Did you work on or have memories, photos or stories to share about the Sugarloaf tower? We'd love to hear from you. Please contact Sally Vernon, Head of Communications at Kordia - sally.vernon@kordia.co.nz.