McMillan & Lockwood Company History

McMillan & Lockwood’s story is one of continuity through change: from J. McMillan’s Dunedin building work in the 1880s, to McMillan Bros.’ major North Island contracts and landmark Ohakea hangars, to the post-war formation of J.L. McMillan and Company with R.S. Lockwood, and finally to the McMillan & Lockwood name adopted in 1967. More than a century later, the company remains positioned as a New Zealand commercial construction contractor with a deep project history, regional presence and continuing family-linked leadership under John Lockwood.

McMillan & Lockwood traces its construction lineage to the late nineteenth century, when J. / Jim McMillan began building houses in Dunedin in the 1880s; In 1903, Mr J. McMillan moved the business focus to the North Island to build the Wellington Terminal Tramcar Barn, establishing the firm’s North Island base before it became known first as J. McMillan and then as McMillan Bros., involving his sons Jim and Lloyd. Through the early twentieth century, McMillan Bros. built a reputation across the North Island, with work recorded on projects including L.D. Nathan’s Building in Auckland, Taumarunui Hospital, Horowhenua and Waipara Colleges, the C.M. Ross department store in Palmerston North, and freezing works work as far north as Reotahi / Whangārei.

The company’s pre-war engineering reputation was cemented through its role at RNZAF Base Ohakea. McMillan Bros Limited built Hangar No.2 and Hangar No.3 at Ohakea, structures now recognised by Heritage New Zealand as Category 1 historic places and described as two of New Zealand’s great engineering achievements of the twentieth century.

A new phase began after Lloyd McMillan retired in 1942 and building interests were amalgamated to undertake reconstruction of the Longburn Freezing Works and other projects. In 1950, after completion of those contracts, J.L. McMillan and Company Limited was formed, with J.L. McMillan and R.S. Lockwood as directors, formally bringing the McMillan and Lockwood families together in the business. The company’s own history identifies this period with projects such as the Sanitarium Health Food Factory and the Himitangi Radio Station, while Robert Lockwood’s later leadership became central to the company’s identity. Jim McMillan retired in 1960, Robert Lockwood continued as director, and the company name was changed to McMillan & Lockwood Limited in 1967.

By the late 1970s, McMillan & Lockwood had grown from a family construction firm into a national contractor, with branches recorded in Wanganui, Auckland, Gisborne, Hamilton, Wellington and Palmerston North, plus a Papua New Guinea joint venture with Brian Perry Ltd called Lockwood Perry (PNG) Pty Ltd. At that time, the company employed well over 400 staff nationwide, demonstrating the scale it had achieved during the post-war construction expansion. Its long commercial track record continued through later decades.

Today, McMillan & Lockwood is run by Roberts son, John still as a privately held New Zealand construction group headquartered in Palmerston North, with offices in Palmerston North, Otaki, Auckland & Mount Maunganui.

Below is a timeline of just some of our projects across our history.