POWER SCHEME

Taranaki Daily News, 11 August 1922, Page 7

POWER SCHEME

AID TO TARANAKI. NEW PLYMOUTH PROJECT. VAST UNDERTAKING ■ ; J TOUR OF INSPECTION. • " XIJ The fascinating story of the lights that brighten our streets and homes and the power that turns the wheels of infiustry is just the history of man's •kill in utilising the latent forces of iNature to give him something he wants. St is the narrative of the remarkable development all over the world of hydroelectricity, which is the fruit of a combination of skilful engineering, modern anechanical devices and money to harnees the waste waters of rivers and iraw from them power. To the average man the rushing waters which tumble through the broken country of Taranaki on their courses from the mountain •lopes to the sea are simply features in the landscape of beauty and of a Certain measure of utility, but it has been left to the engineer to see in these Streams a daily waste —a squandering of power, which taken in control and fnroperly harnessed so as to forsake its natural ways and work for man through (pipes and tunnels and power houses, can be made to come out at the other end. &s it were, an article of great commercial value, for light and power is simply the result of trapping the volume of ■water which otherwise would run out to lost in the sea. DEVELOPING TARANAKI. Thd development of hydro-electric j>ower has brought a new vision to the world, and in recent years New Zealand has initiated a series of schemes, .Which, when completed, will spread a network of wires over the country • carrying power to the most distant parts, making it a commodity of exceptional value to city, town, village and country farmhouse. In Taranaki a tiew era of development and prosperity can be visualised from the development of hydro-electricity, for the broken fall of the country, as it undulates gently the mountain to the coast. has reft the province cut up by rivers »f considerable dimensions, which make their way to the sea through extensive basins, offering potentialities unknown to-day. With a realisation of the possibilities of the province, the power question has gathered new importance in Taranaki to-day—the townsman already knows its worth and wants to extend the facilities it gives, while the farmer is alive to the importance of cheap power—and the recent formation of a district power board, coupled with the inquiries by almost every county council and dairy company for power, emphasises the necessity of developing with all expedition the best available Source of power.

First thoughts turn to the New Plyteouth Borough Council a project in the basin of the Waiwakaiho. about five Bides from New Plymouth, where a scheme is being carried out to provide Snore power for New Plymouth and ample to supply other towns of Taranaki. Tack of knowledge of the scheme in some parts of Taranaki has inevitably Jed to wrong impressions, and with the Idea of enabling the project to be made familiar to the public bodies, the Chamber of Commerce issued invitations to those bodies to send representatives to join a tour of inspection of the works. Th<* idea met with ready response, so that yesterday, the day fixed for th* inapection, saw gathered New Plymouth • large and representative number of men prominently connected with the administration of loeal politics in the principal centres of the province. . On arrival of the morninir train the visiters were met by member? of the council -rf the Chamber of Commerce and en-

GLIMPSES OF THE ’WORKS. In a fleet of motor cars the journey to the works was then and the weather having changed from rain squalls to bright sunshine, the long tour of inspection was begun under pleasant conditions. For two and a half horns the visitors were taken over the works. They were divided into parties, each, party being in charge of an engineer closely conversant with the work, and they were shown in detail, accompanied by full explanations, all the features of the operations. Then there was lunch —and a very excellent lunch, indeed—followed by speeches, then more of interest to see, until the time for returning to town drew near. The visitors were very much impressed with all they saw, and to those viewing the works for the first time the visit was indeed a revelation of the magnitude of the operations and wonderful possibilities which lie in the rushing waters of the Waiwakaiho as it wends its way through the valleys which lie to the north of the village of Mangorei. The scene is one of high, broken hills enclosing a large area of gullies and flats. It does not quite fit the picture of a natural amphitheatre, but a sweeping vision of the area gives the impression that if a large volume of water suddenly flooded this country the scene of the works would become a huge lake. And this is what is aimed at. To the north of this area rune the Waiwakaiho, divided by a bold ridge,, but where nature has failed to provide man has sought to create. A tunnel bored through the ridge from the river bank would achieve the object; and this is what has been done. The waters of the Waiwakaiho have been diverted at a point where the tunnel pierces the hills, and here the water rushes through the intake to force its way by gravitation into the sunken area on the other side. And therein lies the beginning of the scheme. The water will pour through this tunnel in huge quantities till it fills the vast lake. The engineers will give you a bewildering mass of figures which this lake will represent, but suffice it for the lay mind to grasp that a lake will be formed giving a surface measurement of 95 acres, and providing the means of generating power which can be distributed through the broad fields of Taranaki. The huge total of 9000 horse-power is the aim—though the partial scheme, which is. being concentrated on first, only provides for 3000 horse-power. And it is a scheme involving an expenditure of half a million sterling—a vast undertaking to be promoted by a town with 13,000 inhabitants. VALUE TO THE PROVINCE. This is but an outline of how the scheme first impresses the visitor—it is the picture of this huge lake of water that one visualises, but it is only the beginning of operations. Deep cuttings have been made for the course of the water, pipes big enough for a man to walk through are connecting links in the scheme, and the final portion is a huge tunnel leading to the final outlet. This final tunnel will he nearly four thousand feet in length, and it will carrv the water from the storage reservoir (the lake already referred to) to the forebav overlooking the powerhouse. The technical description provides a mass of interesting information, but it is only after a personal inspection that one realises the immensity of the undertaking. There are many in New Plymouth who do not realise that such a big scheme is taking shape at their doors, and there are hundreds in Taranaki who know no more about it, vet no municipality in New Zealand • probablv in the world—has embarked on such a gigantic project, the true meaning of which is only gathered by a thorough inspection such as- that made yesterday. What the completion of the whole scheme will mean to Taranaki was impressed on the visitors. Nine thousand hor*e-power. and New Plymouth only reouired about 1500 horse-power for its wants Even with the completion of the partial scheme of 3000 horse-power there will still he a surplus of power. It is not yet three years since the work wa« commenced, and there have heen manv delava. but by January or Fehruarv nert "the juice will he turned on," and it will then be that the true value of the scheme to Taranaki will be real-