The Sun 42 WYNDHAM STREET, AUCKLAND FRIDAY, JUNE 1930 WHAT NEXT AT ARAPUNI ?

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1003, 20 June 1930, Page 10

The Sun 42 WYNDHAM STREET, AUCKLAND FRIDAY, JUNE 1930 WHAT NEXT AT ARAPUNI ?

RASH men alone would liazard an answer to so vital a question. No one yet knows what is likely to be done or attempted at Arapuni, where the Dominion's costliest enterprise in the development of hydro-electrieitv is in a lamentable state of crippled idleness. Perhaps the most authoritative engineers associated with the works have reconstructive ideas on the subject of expensive remedies for a bad condition, but unfortunately they do not now command the full confidence of all the people who inevitably are concerned about Arapuni's future and fate. This dubiety” may be an undeserved reflection upon the ability of the responsible engineers, for it is possible that they know what they are doing and all that should be done and also are perfectly competent to carry out their knowledge to a fine achievement. This possibility, together with the weakening of public confidence, is by far the best reason in support of a widespread and growing demand for a thorough investigation of natural faults and fractures and acute difficulties at Arapuni by an impartial commission of independent engineers with intimate knowledge of hydro-electric works of a similar nature and extent in other countries. If such an independent expert inquiry confirmed the findings of the State s advisory engineers and supported their recommendations to the Government, the country would regain its lost confidence and agree readily to heavy additional expenditure on the restoration of Arapuni to profitable activity. A contrary decision would be no less valuable and probably a great deal less expensive. Every circumstance at the moment strengthens the keen advocacy by representative men of a searching investigation by the ablest overseas hydro-electricity engineers available. There need be no vexation about hurt pride over the question. Arapuni is out of action. Even exploratory work has been stopped. The latest report indicates that the tunnellers who were penetrating into the ground which is suspected of being unstable have ceased operations. It is possible, of course, that this temporary stoppage of research work merely has been the outcome of undue apprehension on the part of workers who usually, by virtue of their occupation and experience, are rarely overawed by risks, hut there is no getting past the staring fact that silence reigns at Arapuni. Conditions there today recall Wordsworth’s imagery: “Like a party in a parlour, all silent and all damned.” Apart from the extremely serious question as to whether the Government should allow its engineers to devise plans for and go on with a gigantic scheme of remedial pa+chwork with no other guarantee of enduring stability than another exercise of confident departmental opinion, there has to be considered the equally grave matter of abnormal expenditure by the EleetricPower Boards on the provision of additional 'plant to generate electricity. Already these patient authorities have suffered much inconvenience and incurred great expense to the disadvantage of their customers through delay and breakdowns at Arapuni. The boards cannot be expected to keep on dealing with the State on contractual terms which mean for the National Administration a kind of gamble with electric power on the betting principle of “heads I win, tails you lose.” As things are today it is physically impossible for the existing steam and oil-fuel plants to cope with the certain increased demand for electrical energy during the period of Arapuni’s hapless inactivity. If the various power boards be compelled to spend big sums of public money on installing new generating stations, either on the present sites, or an extensive plant on the Waikato coalfields, would they be expected to elose them down when Arapuni “came back” and again pin their faith on a fickle jade 1 It is much too early yet to talk of any abandonment of Arapuni as a white elephant shackled on a shaky country, but because that grievous prospect is haunting many minds the Government should not hesitate to secure the firmest foundation of oversea expert engineering knowledge and advice for its future policy in respect of Arapuni. The cost of an independent inquiry would be trivial in comparison with another practice of experimental expenditure. What next at Arapuni? An investigation by experts with flawless reeords of achievement.