A large contingent of mourners from the city's building fraternity is expected at the funeral of leading Dubbo builder Peter Morrison today.
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Mr Morrison died last Friday from the effects of a melanoma diagnosed earlier this year.
Renowned in the local building industry Mr Morrison was credited with introducing a significant number of innovative practices long before many of his competitors.
In partnership with local businessman Brian Harvey, Mr Morrison was the first builder to offer house and land packages.
Morrison and Harvey were the first to offer building society finance for their package deals and the first to offer fixed-priced project homes.
They were also the first builders in town to use prefabricated roof trusses and stress- graded house frames under the regulations of the Light Timber Frame Code.
Their no-waste construction methods earned them the nickname Cardboard Constructions from some of their more conventional competitors.
They were the first to regularly use concrete slab floors for houses and initiated rural land subdivisions.
During their peak Morrison and Harvey constructed homes from start to finish in 28 days and built a Dubbo motel in six weeks.
Mr Morrison was known for his dislike of paperwork, being a firm believer in the motto, "the less paper the better".
A man whose word was his bond he preferred where possible to settle a deal with the shake of the hand.
Originally from Cowra, he moved to Dubbo when his parents settled here in the late 1940s.
His father Mart (Morrison) was a project manager for Dubbo construction firm Wallace and McGee.
Mr (Peter) Morrison did his time with Wallace and McGee before branching out to take on his own work in the 1970s and '80s.
During his time in the construction industry he worked on many building projects which have now become icons and landmarks in Dubbo.
Projects he had a hand in include the Dubbo Civic Centre, the RSL Club, the Amaroo Hotel, the Dubbo Visitors Centre, Orana Gardens, the Rose Garden Thai Restaurant, the Shoyoen Japanese Gardens and the Morrison Family Eye Centre.
In 1964, Mr Morrison married his long time finacee Bonnie Kimber - their union produced three children Sallyanne, Rodney and Meagan.
Throughout his working life Mr Morrison endeared himself to work colleagues and the community until his retirement from Dubbo City Council in October last year.
In February this year Mr Morrison was diagnosed with cancer, just a few weeks before he and Mrs Morrison were to celebrate their 41st wedding anniversary.
Mr Morrison's cancer had developed from a melanoma of the skin.
His daughter Sallyanne suggested as a legacy to her father that people get regular checkups for skin cancer.
"I can hardly believe that just six months after being diagnosed that Dad is no longer with us," she said.
Mr Morrison's funeral service will be held at the Western Districts Memorial Park Chapel on Boothenba Road today at 2pm.
