Warning Disregarded Concerning Arapuni

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1008, 26 June 1930, Page 12

Warning Disregarded Concerning Arapuni

EARLY EXPERT VIEWS ENGINEER’S ALLEGATIONS rrccs Association DUXEDIX, Today. That despite a report furnished by independent engineers engaged by Armstrong, Whitworth, Ltd., after the firm had decided to abandon the Arapuni contract, that the work could never be completed satisfactorily, the Public Works Department official decided to carry on with the construction of the works, was the allegation made by a Dunedin engineer yesterday. The engineer, who had numerous business dealings with the company, and was closely associated with the ! construction work in its earlier stages, i stated that when the firm undertook | the contract it had done so on the Public Works Department's engineers’ | guarantee that the foundations were | suitable. As the work proceeded, ! however, it became more and more j apparent to Armstrong Whitworth’s engineers that the formation of the country, and the site of the dam, were such that it was impossible to carry on. Armstrong Whitworth's attorney, the chief engineer, Mr. F. W. Furkert, and the chief electrical engineer of the Public Works Department. Mr. F. T. M. Kissell, met on the spot, and after discussing the position from every angle the attorney agreed to continue with the contract to see if conditions would not improve after a mouth’s work. However, it was obvious that the work could not be completed satisfactorily, and the attorney cabled his principals to this effect, and asked permission to abandon the contract. Armstrong Whitworth realised at this stage that, to complete the contract, would involve them in a loss of approximately £1,000,000. Despite this, they were prepared to carry out their undertaking, but the firm’s repu-1 tation was at stake, and they refused to be responsible for a job which might not eventually prove to be satisfactory in every respect. Two independent engineers were engaged, and as their report concurred in practically every respect with that of Armstrong Whitworth’s engineers, the contract was abandoned. “GRAVE DANGER” These reports, according to the Dunedin engineer, stressed the fact that the projected undertaking could never be a success because the bottom of the headrace was so unstable that even with with the water only slightly above the intake pipes the foundations were liable to be washed from under the concrete work and also because when the conserved water began to bank up there was a grave danger of its breaking through and overwhelming not only the power-house but the town of Hamilton. All these facts, it is alleged, were placed before Messrs. Kissel and Furkert. who, however, recommended that the Public Works : Department should continue from where the contractors left off. The position at the present moment, said the Dunedin engineer, was that the Government had possessed itself of a huge power station, transformers, switch-gear, transmission and pipe i lines, none of which could ever be ! used. He himself had seen as much as 300 to 400 tons of loose overburden drop into the dam time and again and in his opinion no expert "would ever take the responsibility of attempting to conserve water in that locality.