This year, we honour an extraordinary milestone, Tony Penniall has marked an impressive 48 years of service to the local community through parks, streetscape and public maintenance. His career spans across borough councils, amalgamations and multiple transitions in management, from the early days of the East Coast Bays Borough Council to the present day team at Programmed Facility Management.
Tony’s journey began at the ECB Depot in Mairangi Bay, now known as the Civil Defence building. Starting in the Roading Department, Tony was hands on repairing roads and footpaths, often following up on works done by the Water Department. From there, he took on a range of tasks including but not limited to, cleaning public toilets, collecting commercial rubbish (with some very memorable stories from that time) and later, mowing parks and reserves across the North Shore.
Through council amalgamations and the creation of entities like NSM Contracting and Techscape, Tony adapted and evolved, never losing sight of his commitment to keeping public spaces clean, safe and welcoming. He’s worked across teams, contracts and cities, including work on eco-friendly weed control using hot water instead of chemicals long before sustainability became a buzzword.
In recent years, Tony has been an integral part of the Litter team under Programmed, helping maintain our community’s streets and open spaces with consistency, care and humour.
His colleagues know him as someone who plans his day smartly (always starting at the furthest job and working his way back), who’s seen it all and who always shows up, no matter the weather, the workload, or the name on the uniform.
Tony says many of the colleagues he started with have now passed on, but his legacy and their shared contributions continue to be felt across the parks, paths and communities of Auckland’s North Shore.
Thank you, Tony, for your 48 years of service, loyalty and impact. You’ve set a standard that’s as rare as it is admirable.
