Waikato Times: Pipe dream - Quantity surveyor bags prime position for Waikato Regional Theatre

Originally published in Waikato Times, Saturday 18 October 2025.

By Mike Mather.

The distinctive strains of It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock N Roll) brought people to a standstill in downtown Hamilton on Friday.

This was no ordinary rendition of the oft-played AC/DC anthem. Performed on the bagpipes by Fosters Construction quantity surveyor Alec Calderwood, it was a pertinently-chosen tune to help mark a milestone in the construction of the Waikato Regional Theatre.

Not long before, the final piece of the construction of the exterior of the $80 million facility had been locked into place: A tall, thin lightning rod that sits atop the theatre fly-tower.

Fosters' Alec Calderwood takes a breather after playing the bagpipes to mark the installation of the lightning rod - the final element of the Waikato Regional Theatre’s exterior. PHOTO: Christel Yardley / WAIKATO TIMES.

The lightning rod protects the structure in the event of a lightning strike by intercepting the discharge and providing a safe path for the electric current to be conducted into the ground.

And Calderwood’s performance atop the fly tower proved to be something of a lightning rod for office workers, diners in nearby cafés, and passers-by who stopped in their tracks, fished out their phones and started filming.

The playing of the pipes is a tradition on many major construction projects to mark the completion of such milestones. It was far from Calderwood’s first performance in that capacity, but it is likely his last.

“I’m retiring at the end of this project. I came on board 26 months ago, when it was still coming out of the ground.

Calderwood was firmly secured with a harness while he played near the edge of the building. PHOTO: Christel Yardley / WAIKATO TIMES.

“This was my fourth [bagpipes performance] for this site. I was also involved with the new Niwa building on the Waikato University campus ... I played there twice, and also once in Christchurch, to mark the completion of the [earthquake] insurance repairs at Christ’s College.”

Calderwood is the on-site lead quantity surveyor for the theatre project.

“I oversee the money coming in, the money going out, and making sure it gets to the subcontractors and everyone else it needs to go to.”

As well as the AC/DC tune, Calderwood played some classic bagpipe music from his native Scotland - The Skye Boat Song, Hug Oreann, The Rowan Tree and Corienessan's Salute - followed by a ground-level encore of Amazing Grace and Flower of Scotland.

Born in Motherwell and raised in Glasgow, Calderwood said he had only begun learning the art of bagpipe playing in 1997, when he came to New Zealand and was living in Te Aroha.

Dwarfed by the facility he helped create, Alec Calderwood was nonetheless a prominent presence atop the Waikato Regional Theatre on Friday afternoon. The lightning rod can be seen behind him. PHOTO: Christel Yardley / WAIKATO TIMES.

He was now a drum major in the Hamilton Caledonian Pipe Band. He had performed at numerous Anzac Day ceremonies and in Christmas parades, and had also addressed the haggis at the Paeroa Highland Games.

“And I also play the pipes for fun.”

His time on the project had been “intellectually challenging, but also a pleasure ... Every time you walk into the building it’s fabulous, because you get to see the progress that has been made. The timber finishes in the auditorium are just beautiful.

“I think the public will be suitably impressed ... I hope that when the public walk in once the theatre opens in January that they take the time to look around.

“Drink in the scenery before you drink up the beverages.”