Two and half years after a tragic loss, the Collins family finally comes home.

It started with a simple idea - to support a local family in the aftermath of a tragedy. 

Hawke’s Bay was one of the hardest hit regions by the flooding and devastation caused when Cyclone Gabrielle made landfall in February 2023. The Collins, a young family from Eskdale, had their world turned upside down. In trying to escape the rising floodwaters and reach higher ground, their two-year-old daughter Ivy was taken by the current and tragically lost her life. On top of that, in the aftermath of the floods, the family home was uninhabitable, the work they’d put into it was gone, and the Collins’ - Jack, Ella and four-year-old Imogen - faced an uncertain future.

A conversation between Tristan Seccombe, Brendan Solomon (both from Mitre 10 MEGA Napier and Hastings), Troy Scanlon (of Mitre 10 Westport), and Simon Heron (from the National Support Centre) sparked an idea, which developed into a plan when they realised they were in a unique position to make a real difference. The family’s neighbour, Louise Parsons, was in the community gathering support for a rebuild project when Tristan reached out and the plan to build a new house for the Collins’ became a reality.

Tristan and Brendan had no trouble getting good-sort local customers MCL Construction, PGC Constructors, Residential Building Specialists, Advance Homes, Total Home Solutions, and Grant Linnell Building on board early. What started as a community rallying around a grieving family quickly expanded to a nationwide effort. From almost the other end of the motu, Mitre 10 Westport customer South Peak Homes offered to provide plans and expertise for a transportable home build, speeding up the process by enabling the home to be built off-site and brought to Eskdale ready to go.

Mitre 10 has always sought to give back to the communities that have kept us in business for over 50 years, and it’s heartening to see that so many of our Trade customers, suppliers and partners share these values. Under normal circumstances, many of these businesses are direct competitors, but in this case, the project was bigger than any of us. Although nothing will bring their little girl back, this collective act of kindness has returned the Collins family to their community, in a safe, warm and dry new home that offers them a way to move forward while staying connected with their precious memories.

Though the project wasn’t without hurdles and delays, the house was completed in late September 2025 and the Collins family, along with new addition Jack Jr., finally got to go home. The day before the handover, Jack and Ella spoke to Hilary Barry for Seven Sharp, telling her that on coming home, it felt like the sun was finally rising.

The celebration was about more than welcoming the Collins family back to Eskdale, it was also a way for us to thank the many generous people who lent time, labour or materials to make it happen.

The Collins Family House project could not have happened without the generosity and support of our Mitre 10 Trade customers and suppliers. A massive thanks to our key partners for their time, labour, materials and generosity.

Bob, Phil and the team at MCL Construction provided the building programme, the site for the build, provided labour for the subfloor and did the gib stopping.

Kurt, Paul and the team at PGC Constructors who built the foundations as well as the deck and stairs.

Jeremy and the team at Residential Building Specialists, who built the roof structure and put up the RAB™ board.

Tom and the team at Advance Homes who built the cavity system and put up the exterior cladding.

Warren and the team at Total Home Solutions who built the garage and painted the interiors.

Grant Linnell Building, who demolished the old place to clear the way for the new.

Daniel and the team at South Peak Homes, who supplied plans and expertise for the transportable home build.

Brian and the team at Premier Prenail who provided the frames and materials for the subfloor.

 

 

A timelapse video of the house coming together before being transported to the site in Eskdale.

Though this project started as locals helping locals, it quickly expanded to include partnerships from all across the country. We’d like to thank the organisations below for contributing. They’re listed in alphabetical order.

Active Refrigeration, who supplied and installed the air con unit.

Advanced Plumbing, who completed the full plumbing system.

Ampelite, who provided roofing for the gazebo attached to the garage.

Martin and the team at BBI, who supplied interior ply and the BraceTek system.

Berkett Earthmovers, who prepped the site, adding a soak pit and removing old trees.

Davis and Jacko at BNL Construction, who tiled the splashbacks and wet areas in the kitchen, laundry and bathroom.

Brittons, who transported the completed house to the site.

Doug, Karl, Tony and Ben from Complete Flooring Hawkes Bay, who supplied and installed the carpet and vinyl flooring.

Jeremy from Croft’s Poles & Timber, who bought his legendary smoker

Paul and the team at CSR Bradford, who provided Bradford Gold insulation for the garage.

Julian and the team at Davcon Construction, who provided labour on the garage build.

Devine Plumbing, who removed the debris of the old septic tank, sanitised the site, and put in a wastewater system.

Dan and the team at Dominator, who provided the door for garage.

Dylan from DS Construction, who installed the balustrade and deck fencing.

Fat Parrot Architecture, for the support with additional architectural needs and consent applications.

Fentec, who supplied the stair balustrade and deck fencing.

GSL Painting, who painted the garage.

Hawkes Bay Crane & Platform Hire, who provided the lift for moving the house onto site.

Dan and Pete from HB Benchtops, who provided benchtops for the kitchen and laundry.

Riggsy and the team at Hirepool for providing the mobile ablution solution.

Shaun & Steve from HDS LTD, who supplied all the interior doors.

Shane, Richard and the team from ITI NZ, who provided Weathertex cladding materials and support.

Kiwi Lumber Holdings, who provided frames and materials for the subfloor.

Laminex Group

Mac Direct, who provided sleepers for the garden edge.

Marshall Innovations, who supplied the building wrap and tapes.

McAlpines, who provided materials for the frames and subfloor.

Nick and the team at Mill Electrical, who wired up the garage and completed full house electrical and connection to mains.

Monaco, who provided a Robinhood oven, cooktop and rangehood.

Peter Hay Kitchens, who provided design and materials for the kitchen.

Protrade, who took care of scaffolding requirements for the house and garage builds.

Red Stag Timber, who provided frames and materials for the subfloor.

Rinnai, who supplied the INFINITY hot water heater.

Ben, Jeff and the team at Roofing Industries, who provided the iron and flashings for garage roof.

South Pacific Landscapes, who will redevelop Ella’s garden now that the house is on site.

Stradegy, who supported the project by completing resource consent applications.

Johnnie and the team at Sutherland Timber, who provided materials for Gazebo covering the outdoor living space off the garage.

Toby's Roof and Gutter, who installed the roofing iron and spouting on the house and garage.

Fiona, Paul and the team at Twin City Aluminium, who supplied and installed all aluminium window and door joinery.

Ambrosia Nurseries, AMS Distributors, Aurum Projects, Award Concepts, Baywide, Big Save Furniture, Bosch, CDB Group, CDM Consumer Products, Clearlite, Clelands Timber, Container Nurseries, CRC, DeWalt, Di Antonio, Ecko, Englefield, Expol, Feinwerk Pavers, Growing Spectrum, Hafele, Harkness & Young, Hawkes Bay Clean Up Team, HiKOKI, HTLG Hunter Laminates, IPL, Karcher, Kingspan Thermakraft, Kohler, Laminex, LawnMaster, LDE Limited, Lion Breweries, Lumber Processors, Makita, Manrose, Marley New Zealand, Max Birt Sawmills LTD, Mayo Hardware, Mercator Ikuu, Metra Systems, Mitchpine, MiTek, NZ Wood Products, On Point Distribution, Otter, Pine Products, Prowood, Pukepine Sawmills, Quantum Tiles, Rainbow Park Nurseries, Robinsons Nursery, Stanley Black & Decker, Selleys, SIMX, Sika, Soudal, Southern Pine Products, Southpine, Strol, Stuart Timber Limited, Sylvan, Taranaki Sawmills, Technical Spatial, TimberLink NZ, Trio Corporate, Tumu Timbers, Wattyl, Werner Ladders, Winstone Wallboards (GIB), Woodland Lifestyle, Zealandia

The welcome home celebration