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Invercargill City Council staff and members of other community organisations gathered to celebrate the milestone with a blessing and sod-turning ceremony at the site.

Waihopai Runaka deputy chairman Joe Wakefield performed a whakawatea to mark the beginning of the work.

‘‘It is settling the land in preparation for clearing the pathway . . . for the contractors who will come down here or will start to build the new storage facility here on this land.’’

Councillor and Project 2025 lead Nigel Skelt was pleased to reach the point as it has been a long journey.

‘‘The clock is ticking — it is day one.’’

‘‘It is an incredibly important day for the wider Southland community, really. It is the beginning of our Project 2025 which will be the completion of the new museum project.’’

While he was happy to achieve some progress, he acknowledged the tight deadline for the project.

‘‘Project 2025 is incredibly ambitious but we believe we have the team and all enthusiasm to make sure we get this museum built for our community.’’

Mayor Nobby Clark gave the honours of turning the sod to show the community that council work and projects were a collective effort not a ‘‘one-man show’’.

The hard work and drive from the new councillors along with council staff allowed them to anticipate the delivery of this important asset for the community, Mr Clark said.

‘‘We need this done — so it’s exciting [to reach that stage].’’