The only crane of its type in the southern hemisphere has arrived in Christchurch to become part of the New Zealand construction scene

The $1 million machine is the largest knuckle boom crane produced by Palfinger with a 50-metre reach and able to work in confined spaces.

The owner of Hire Frankton, Ross McFaul purchased the crane. He has been in the hire industry for more than a decade and said the market had changed, with trucks needing extra axles to carry heavier cranes and bigger loads.

He said the crane was highly versatile and easy to set up for its size and reach.

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"We can set up on the side of the road or in narrow spaces between buildings with no disruption to traffic, or elaborate traffic management plans.

"I could park this crane on the goal line of a rugby field and it could pick up a 500 kilgramme weight on the half way line with the boom parallel to the ground. That how much reach it has," McFaul said.

The crane's extension boom and fly-jib have a reverse linkage system that can reach through low door openings and work inside a building.

The boom can even pass right through a building to operate on the other side.

The machine is officially called a PK200002L SH, but McFaul calls it "Jock", and is operated with a remote control system.

All the safety features can be monitored from the remote control, he said.

The crane was built in Austria at Palfinger where it was fitted and tested.

McFaul and Duncan Phillips, general manager Goughs Palfinger, underwent training and handover in Austria.

Once it landed in New Zealand it was checked out at Gough Palfinger in Christchurch. The Gough Group owns the Palfinger dealership for New Zealand and Australia.

McFaul said getting Jock onto the roads because of concerns about its size, and he thanked staff at the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Initially the crane will be based in Christchurch for rebuild construction, maintenance and repairs, installation of new plant, and possibly wind farm blade repair work.

Some of the first work has been carried out at the University of Canterbury.

The crane was scheduled to be displayed at the TMC Trailers Trucking Industry Show 2018 in Christchurch.