MANGAHAO HYDRO-ELECTRIC SCHEIE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 138, 6 March 1919, Page 4

MANGAHAO HYDRO-ELECTRIC SCHEIE

WHAT IT MEAMTO WELLINGTON

AND LIGHT iAViNif of-200,000 tons coal ANNUALLY yi . | ; ■ "

J-What does the Mangahao wheme mean .to Wellington P'Theayerage "reader of'a newspaper is to. the appearance of the'.word > "ifttiga;. hao" in print, anil in the hustle of tlie'se, ■ljusy days may not have the time to the significance of the word, or".. ; to even faintly realise what the ■ big-, ieheme attaching to the name -is to 'me;in ; ' ib Wellington—not only to Wellington; /Jity -but the whole surrounding country ! fiistriets. If one lias sufficient j&as a passing knowledge of .thei-.Ma'nga- : |m bvdro-electrio scheme, there lS'.'a real' .rafty"story in it for grown-ups. iy l'o begin with, tako the • industrial of the city, with its hundreds. ,of .'great steam-boiler houses, and in tlioin. tfinits of sweat-dampened, grimy stokers, furling coal into -the glowing furnaces .;shereyer andiwhene'vef-it is essential that • wheels should go round." Mangalfao ';ihreatensi their extermination. There are, Jplready a; good" many - industrial firms their power from the tramways iTOwer.-, lines,:-;but ..in; that 'case- one 'only to glance in the; always-open doors iof the;-,tramways.' and- lighting, .power- ; ®ouses ; to see the'/ceaseless wprkin torrid ;jeat going on to keep up : !the. load—fi. iqifficult thing to do, too, the-coal .iis poor: inequality, as 'has'' 1 frequently 1 ' ifceen the case, .of recent years. . ,-WJien ijilangaliao pliimjs'its.ivaters on'.to the. f at the' power-house .' near.' Sha'n-. siion and the; machinery begins tb imrr -jcontiriiipusly - a'; flood-;6f:"the; -mysterious ' .iiinvisible "force,'"it. will'.'lie. 'fis' though: a Jfaii'y had passed her: wonder wand over #fevery blackened. sSot-lined furnace hoitse, 'ijior these; mlWdisappear. "as by magic," -i[-knd tie coal'that is now essential to our -existence -will,...become-, a less imtal necessity.-jiVThere .' will-•••always Abe. v.'jnarkets in plenty.;'on.the_.sea for,all,the we are in measurable distance-of the day Avhen old King Coal; will have to' abdicate in favour of Prince Hydro-Electricity.; Jlangaliao—blessed word!—is; to make possible that all the .Jieatinjj, flighting,.,, and power requirements- of-'-Wellington" can bejgerved.electrically,' and-'that nfc a rate, clieaper, -at all- events, : . than tho

gets them the coal-heated stove is rot the pleasantest thing during a great part of the year for the wife or servant to stand over. With'.a cheap electrical supply the homes of Wellington.-are go--ilig to be made brighter and cheerier, for, "as .time will one day show,. everything in.'the way'of housework- will-.-be made easier by the application' of ,electricity;. :It will cook-the dinner, -light tlia house, rWj'ivni .the rooms, sweep trhio ■ floors; an'd. wash the clothe&,' v: Arid ill ■the ' country ; eternal. ,- drijdgery . of Vtlis' wood-heap'" will;:; /'disappear,'-;.',, for ''there will be' energy 'to drire- Ei. little saw <jn' every, bush ; holding,' and wood-cutting Will become a pastime instead of

Minister Visits'M.angahao. , . , During the past week-did' the Minister of Public AYtoks (Hon. Sir William Fra- • >i), accompanied; by Mr; Evan- Parry (hy-dro-electrical expert),Mi\ L. Birks (Mr. Parrr'a successor), Mt. Kissell (the ■ engineer'who has been surveying, the ground aridlaying out the plau, of earthworks -required to be done between the intake and the /.'power house; .-'2 V '.miles from Shannon),-visited the head waters of the', -Jlangaliao lliver, away ' back ■■ in the Xararuas. Accompanying the officials was a party of about; forty,'representing ■ the various local bodies concerned in the ■scheme, on behalf, of the people-they represent. , .. :■ ;

Brief Survey of the Scheme. The Minister- stated (as reported by us at the time) that' the "Government has every, intention of,"putting", tliis work through, so that this, district'may have a' fillip giveo to its town arid country industries, in the same way that Canterbury is : benefiting by''ins-Lake Coleridge scheme. It -was.,pointed','out-,tliat.;the complete electrification of thiS'lSland'has been planned by Mir. Parry, the electrical expert, and that the carrying of this ouji depends not only on the Minis.ter, but on public opinion being ready to support him" in :,the : 'eipenditure ! : of sary money. There is every inducement for an intelligent public to do that, for

■ — , W; . --x ■-* -Map-6f thrf North Island-of New -Zealand showing - the proposed '.hydro* " electric power station [5] ( sub-stations O ' the transmission lines The sj email,squares inthe map indicate.the density of population, the smaller the ' f'f §quarcs.Hhe. gi'eaterv the number/of inuabitants per square mile. ./

.. rates at present charged by .sjthe ' Lighting Department ot;-the ".City'fCpuncil. One only has to think-for, a to realise the enormous .potentialities of a cheap anil unfailing supply electncitj^. 'Wellington—A: Glutton for. Paint-... . i- One'ihciuc'ulable'heiiefit'it will be' will, ttts hinted above, be to put an end to the ■"coal furnaces in ever/ factory in the city. vThis will; ••'for ' one' thing, 1 make 'for ; a "'Wellingl:on is.Cpntained ill tin, cup of -land, .out.,of which it i.s. difficult. .-SJor the heavier fumes of co'dr from'-'tho ■ 'stacks of big and small manufactories, to fisay nothing of the thousands of minor 'Xworks, hotels, .boardingliouses, and pri'Vate residences, to find a free'exit. As '&• matter.qf-fact .tliey do- not.Tind-.a, free, '^get-away,' but descend, day in and ! day ,*'out, on to the jumble-of iron roofs, '■the sulphuivfro'mlthe'fumesja always at; •fits corroding worK.'V As/; a 'consequence' "'■paint oirahouse or a i'oof lasts twico as "long in many other parts of New" Zealand as it does in Wellington.. Coal ■{smoke "is. the reason. -.-'With"ample heat ■ i'a'nd power- obtainable"'from ' Mangahao, - there is going to be very little coal emoke "for Wellington .in the future, ana .'through', the -beneficence ,of.- /Mangahao •paint is going to last much longer, and the city is going to look a ddal smarter • than now. Labour is going to be easy! .'in many .ways by the fairy touch of ?Hangahno„ .. .. ....

. Obeisance to Mangahao. hj It is so easy to pull down a switch— ISO difficult to toil ..in. the, smoke and lieat .of a boiler-room'. Our trams will: be pushled along by the Mangahao Stream, • end ,the lights that, jewel the terraced streets ■ of '. 1 the city- -of -an" evening-will' have- a. friendly relation to the stream which r.ow tinkles musically along the'verdant glqns of the hoaix "old ; Tararuas. ; Mangahao will bo the "open sesame''to lriiihyiong-wislied-for benefits. Between the Empire City and the mountain river there is a considerable extent of. rich coastal flats, now* being fairly intensely farmed. What a, boon it will-be . to everyj.jar'mei:, sa;yiniller, tanner, orchar'dist, to-every butter and cheese factory, and" creamery ;to have a big power line traversing the district, ready to supply the needs of all as Ims never been'tho ca'se.'iii,'th*o'past. %'anter-. bury, with its Lake-Goleridgfrachenie, has had a tasto of hydro-electrics, and funis it good. "Wellington,. Horowhenua, Manawatu, Rangitikei, and the Wairawpa have their treat to come. It has boon long deferred, but l at' length, a definite start is tq ,be;iinade;;',;lt is the herald of tho real'electric'''era as far .as this province is concerned. .Change in ■ the Homes. . , Abundant electrical' power is going to make life a 'inuch 6weeter, tiling in the home. At present, as> we all know, there is great difficulty in securing coal supplied of any kind, and even when one

not only is'the need of power urgent, but-the success - of the Lake Coleridge ! scheme suggests that interest and sinking fund on the outlay can.be provided and the current still retailed to the public -at a low rate. -When-it is- realised that Llhe growing. Coleridge'force at present only develops 8000 - horsepower, and yet saves Canterbury .Van 'annual'equivalent of 50,000 tons of c0a1,.. it will he seen hbw great a ben'efif"'tri : "'the Wejlington province will ensue -when 'Mangahao is developed to its full capacity, .of -25,000 horse power. Further," the "Minister stated that he proposed'"to-''commence work with the larger schemes of Waikaremoana and Arapuni, so-that the three will be -linked up as outlined by Mr. Parry, and each, will be able to supplement the other when need arises. The possibility of" theMangahdo aa a smirce of power, .was. recognised soma years ago by Mr, jickell,-the Palmerston expert, but the scheme was too large to attempt. The source of power' lies in the fact that the river rises at a high level .in-the Turn runs, travels, a course of 65 miles, and then returns within.miles of its source. By making a"short cut to tho lower level- a' power fall of 900 feet is obtained aliput'tWo. miles from Shannon, The short cut-is-to-be made by means of one tunnel of a mile, and another of a mile " and a quarter in length, and a continuous flow is ensured by, means of two large danis, to conserve the heavy rainfall which occurs at that level. The 25,000 horse-power which it i.v estimated can. be/developed will be cut up into five units, three of COOO horsepower each, and two of 3000 horse-power. Prom Shannon' this powcr of-100,flOO-volts will flow into the main'liniw going north and south to link up northwards (near Bunnythorpe) with the. larger systems .of Waikaronioana and Waikaio. The main lines would have some thirty distributing

stations in tlio.Wellington district whore the power will l>o reduccd to 1000 volts and sold to largo consumers and local bodies % 'household,' farm, and "Other use When it was realised that the'complete system \vould pave much more than an equivalent.of 200,000 tons of coal a year, and that it was estimated llie power can lie sold at a low" rate,' and provide interest and a sinking fund which would wipe out the capital expenditure within a generation, it was obvious that the earliest; offect / to- the - scheme -is -of-very great'national importance. If suitable labour was available, the work could be completed within three years. Those local.. bpdies,.tlvat..were.tS !, dy...at,.tliafc. time, with a system of" wiring to receive tlio current would, judging by'the Lake Coleridge results, be given a lift along of great value. Function "of - Hydro-Electric Power in the State. In the course, of his 1918 report, "Mr. Evan Payry,- the Government expert' in hvdro-electric power transmission, Said:— "The development, distribution, and marketing of Electric power on a "comprehensive scale has since the war. come to bs generally recognised as oneo.f the, most'essential , agencies in national reconstruction. Previous to the outbreak of warJts-importance in national life,was butTflinilv sensed'except, by a comparatively:''few pefsons, possessed of ail unusual amount imagination • ah'd-fdre-' sight, .'and :it is evidence ■ from: leading

to be. The first plate gives a sketch of the North Island, and how it is proposed it should be served by the scheme planned by Mr. Hyan. Parry. The three main sources of .'water-power supply are indicated—at Waikare (40,000 h.p.), Mangahao (21,000 h.p.), iilid,A'rapuni (9G,000 h.p!). The supply available at'Waiknro ■is. not presented in these-figures The ■tO.OIKI h.p. mentioned is only tlio amount of energy which will probaiily be needed' for some time to come, and"the station to be erected there would bo built with a' vimv:.:torthir.-.po3si:Mliijoß of future .expansion. Mr. Parry estimates that 21,000 h.p. will bo sufficient for the needs of the Manawatu, and the \Vai,l'arapa... .11' ; that'does. noi; prove to Lo the case more' current will liave' to lie "boosted" along from the other main 1 supply lines, which aro to bo connected . up at a- spot, near .Bunnythorpe. Auck- 1 land, 'with 90,000 h.p. available at A fa- ! puni (Waikato), will not need to .worry about the available power for .quite n • long, time after the , station is erected .there and' the "juice" is on tap. .' Another plato is a sketch of the interior : plan of the proposed power-house to be !' erected" 2J miles from Shannon, in to? j < wards the foothills. -"Die water will have A .drop of 900 .feet: (in pipes) from the surge chamber (collecting basin) at the western end (the Shannon end) of the big tunnel. ,Tlie two main pipes then conduct the rushing water into five separate pipes, whiilf will convey, the' direct to the turbines : operating five '.distinct motors— three : of Gooo'h:p.'each: and two of 3000

'Hansard of a,few years ago tliateven tlie far-seeing- one J electric-' power more as a means of industrial development in tho narrower sense in which the term is 'commonly used than as the nedve-system of the community, and as touching every, phase of national life. - it -recognised'it l that :time' that .national organisation for productm.v/arid the promotion of national effiftjfeiiCYl. was a function.of. a. Government. The war has made it imperative:-that •ths'. nations shall be- reorganised on a national scale, and that in future .the marshalling of-the forces of- production must; bk a definite arid conscious function of Hie. Government of a country. •'"The change in the attitude of, public imen-i towards electric-power,-development'• is well illustrated by the recent action of thp Government in Great Britain. Beforo: the war the- generation ; .and. distribution:: o'f power Was left to. private 1 en'ternfise-;' it is sow proposed to set up a bbdv of Commissioners to co-ordinato tho. activities of the various power-sup'-, ply authorities and to bring" them into lino for .the advancement of the national interests, and by. so doing it-is'Tecogriised that the organisation of power-produc- i 'tion- and distribution, will; result in, a.: national saving of not less than.,£100,000,7 • 000 .'pet: annum; or, putting it in'another way.-.wjuch is .very striking, the. coal siiVedybuld be su'fficierit'to generate continuously not less than fifteen million ■horse-power.-''Thelargest hydro-electric system own-, ed bv the State is probably that of tho ifSwedish Government, which has three 'large.■-■hydro-electric, stations aggregating iVover; 200.000.. pip:;, supplying-, power to -a■large" system.' for "electric' snieltinpfV r'a'il-'; wav elecbificati'ori, and 'geherari'ndustrialSupply.' ■' "Another of tho most notable instances of the-.; development of - hydro-electric power by the State is to be found.'in tie province of Ontario, where the system is managed by .a':.bodyconsisting, of three Commissioners. Tnei' commenced operations, in, 1908, and. thte load hag now at- ; tairied a magnitude of 1/50,000 li.p.' := "-'The : total length ,of primary transmission circuits. is.about 1500 miles,- and-,0.£-eeoondr.-iarv transmission circuits*. abov.t ■ IGOI) ,: Unites. 'Altogether some 143 municipali- < ties are supplied. The supply reaches to ia, distance of 2-15 miles'from the inain ;«rareeU\* ', I . , '

! "Another notable instance is to he •found in Tasmania: 'Originally a concession was granted" to a company'mi' •thorising them to undertake the generation, \ and.- distribution of. .power; in. Tasmania : but tho" company failed; and afterj-some negotiations tho State' took over the works and -completed them.. They started with 10.000 h.i>. of plant, which jwas, aupnented 'by 5000 Kp. soon after. |nnd-a further 16,000 h.p. of generating .pjaiic,is oil order. Arrangements are being uiiade for. developing / other sources,-' as the ; presont sciurco is ■ quit# .unequal to'{he-;,demand. The magnitude of the contrficts-entered into is a feature of "this: undertaking. One contract atom amounts to , h.p. for- electro-metal-, lurgical;'.purposes, and it i» significant that' when the' State took over the plant from " the coiiipflny such big demtuida v.eriif .'hot'l:anticipated. Nor. was there anv indication- that the business of electric smelting wiiuld attain such proportions.. The total contracts already entered'into amount to 42,000 h'.p.',' ahd further contracts" amounting to' '50,000 "h.p". are being negotiated.

[ "New. Zealand, now at the outsot of its career as a nation,'has: a iiuiquo. opportunity of securing -.tho. utmost pos•siblo'efficiency for all time by/developing Water powers oil such a scale and by Jirovidihg for such' a' wide-reaching tem of distribution that eiectric power shall become available to every householder throughout the Dominion, i' and iivnilablo at any .point where circumstances reqiiire -the application, of power. - ""'The functions of that Department of State which deals with the generation and distribution of- power is-one-involv-ing great responsibility and jvide range ,of knowledge, :as it touches' every .phase of national life in- its industrial aspect. It has to gonerate and transmit electric power; it has to make contracts with local authorities and other State Departments and individuals; it has' to negotiate terms with industrial organisations 'outside New Zealand which may be desirous of taking advantage of tho ■ Supply of hydro-electric power-; it lias to finance local-authorities to enable:them to reticulate their, districts; :it has-to r ,finance power-users to'J enable", them ..to. ennverfe-.'from steanv. or other ; ;power to electric power; it has to assist industry by carrying out experiments in industrial processes on a commercial scale, for the lack of which .a great deal of talk concerning industry and-science is lacking-in cohesion. It may further be required'to undertake, the manufacture-of a special class of product in' the national-interest'."

Explanatory. The accompanying plates, serve to show at a glance the chief features of interest to the public of the Wellington, Wairarapa, and Manawatu districts, and arc of such a character-that may justify clipping out and saving as an earnest of tho thing

h.p.—making in all the 2i,000 h.p. derivable, from the Mangahao flow. • • :-The•'tftird'C.tf toE>«is:'that showing,, in section, how the Mangahao River is to-be. conducted, through the intervening hills, in practically a dead line, to the yower station. As stated above the Mangahao River is most, circuitous in its course. .To'get to if point only, seven miles from where the river is to be tapped itivinds 05 miles. To conduct it more directly towards .civilisation two large dams are to- be constructed.' From the' lower dam the water is to be directed through a tunnel a mile in length (through a mountain'TOdft. in "height) into a gully, also to be' damined, and'then by another tunnel lj miles in' length (through a mountain 000 feet'in height),-and, by way of two mountaiit gullies, to the surge cham-ber,''-from-whence it. drops 900 feet down to .the power-house below.