Opus Works · A history by Jim Muir
The people and projects that built New Zealand.
A story we use every day
Politics, social development, immigration and engineering — and the people behind the infrastructure we all use today.
Historic imagery from Jim Muir’s original website.
The story of public works
A shared history.
A lasting legacy.
Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders were employed by these organisations to work on most of the Government-owned infrastructure we all use today. This is a story of politics, social development, immigration, engineering, and a few of the people who made it all happen.
Many images (some rarely seen) track the projects and the story of the history of New Zealand infrastructure development.
The organisations covered in the book
The publication
Opus Works
A Short History of the New Zealand Government’s Infrastructure Development
$65 NZD plus postage and handling.
Behind the book
James (Jim) C. Muir
What began in 2007 as a twenty-page introduction for graduates and cadets became thirteen years of work. The publication was finalised in September 2020, on the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Public Works and Immigration Department.
Read Jim’s story