THE NEW WATERWORKS.
fOD"CW- OKS A " ISIT
;»arned >ji.enitary sarcasticaEy \£ced the Auckland City Council's V*£ti2 n to i hr VTaiukcrei waterworks .<> a "picnic." but "f mr ? rH, - ,, and reverend sfcaeirs rompov the body corporcity it war-a great deal more; f-ejndeed safe to say that not a memof il , * expedition bin returned ii - s - .nor Early yesi2£t morning—at a [ntW alter eight g*. to be particular -two hrak*jL»;= o f city i omiL-iHor* and others gjj, bad untimely l«*i» their beds and ' fc.isty breakfn-?.-. -tarted from Zaanicipl Chamber for :he Waitakffl*. One. n «hioh >ac Mayor, Mggs. Wilson aDd C'arlaw i engineers;, v/pemd (Colonial Analyst., wore memproceeded by way or Western A i? v -' minute' were >peni 'hp arrangements already 'Aether.-- Thp c-oun..-il has a big Corn-■4-rnx , ' ieam P u:i: P working therr — :. irorketl faithfully and well with«t missing ■> -tn.k.' rVn -fieral ;/ear-. r 'i j w ? V;-r ,-ork than maiij of; ma.-hinr, ,f ;h. v,,rt. The Paring-taiiun. V thf w;iy. i- a dream | '; ,-leaaline->- ■ b - wwidea rloor b;?ing j s j immaculate a> :h.' ilerb ■ f it British j warship- From :!;■• spring*, along an QfCjabie road, 'he party proceeded to ! Art-n-ialc nbrrr tlx- other drag was! pertafcen 'i : ha ,l direct), and the -bole party vis-ited the pipe-works. Ties , . ' r >* <=:r,i "- "'" a permanent I gjffioon to the indn«Trie« ci xhc proqns, and thp Mephan Bergus=on Co.. j i< making 1h" bijr p;pPL- for the j _ppjr. is putting in -i &n" lot of vain- ! jfck'moirrn on pf-manpnt AVjjpr Tbe Counri'lors vis- j ifi'ii yesterday :h= v >re huj- i •T up th<? n:d' - faiai-;--- iasido a Hj-E iron >hed near fQe railway line. ; v ' as ' l 1 " inchoate stag?, i it is no " 1 anticiiated thai tbe tnafjjjjeiT wil! be rrariy for mrk'oo ihe for another sis j ln£ ks. The piate* for the pipe? are j annng, however, and no time wilj he j lost Prominent amongst the machinery feing Je' in place i- a mighry stec-i ; bearft tnth a travelling saddle upon ■ ir. used ia welding the plate? together I jato specially strong pip«"*. fhp rnun- | gjcgsvne what was to lie done. , I2S taFV Drr-mised to pay another vi-ir i then the machine shop -uas finished.
Frcsi Arondale the part^ - drove for tje ions stage to where a ronfar of them were detailed to ride eJ horseback up tbe big hill to thp easerratioa tvorks. Councillors who had isineenona hor~e for forty ypars. ozhers'riiowerr nniaraLliar wiih ihe beasts siid stispecTed them of tricks that Here rain, braved all peril.-- in onier to estate tie kra<: journey up the hill afoo r _. la due time they arrived at the lowest ■xors. where a trakc-reservoir and a ppe-rrack ana tunnel are being conSTCcted. A eompleTP description of rhe Hindoos s-orks that arp in progress ■t Waitakerei appeared ia our issue f2 Monday ia<?. and there is really Ktiriiig inneh to add to what has been erittea. The snpervising engineer (Mr. VTuas'!. a«ei as ricerone for the oecaEos, Eid explained fnlly what had to
Tsnbmi vra* served at the first sta■"'tkiuad after a welcome and comfortlia seal, a lengthy ascent, attended "?ih araeh discomfort and unhappiness tjssr—quite unlike the "picnic" aforebegun. The horses were ot s t3l the long runnel which is to set the pipes from the Waitakerei 52a Tvas reached—it is driven in a cou.K of frandred feet on thi? side and 150K 600 feel on the other, with a distance, and thp worst ground S3 to go. From the western side t: ths fame! there L? an almost precisioss ssceat by a. mere bridle track ft about a mile to Mr. George's dearly on the top of the ridge- It nearly cOai some of the Councillors, but they tl »ati»e<L The glorious, superb view tsss aifaited them was compenO3BL Auckland, the Waitemata, Saagaoto. Hauraki Oulf. with its isaadsaßajotn to dim Cape Cofviile, lay rasas out before one. as on a ivonderhl aimi— s, magnificent picture s?t e5 io sdrantage in the best of days— Sse ««E a cloud in th» sty. «2i tke air was clear and bright. It reutshing to the eye and conveyed a iapression of greater height than '■x as: warranted—the height is someifeft about a tWousand feet at most 62 it is an exquisite view-point. Sev«al Coaadllors thought they* would like »«ltmUj house there, with the reserva--35 thai there wouid have to be a few sHiv? "talloons a-tuicaed for a vehicular Otherwise the place would be - ::S sss to them unless they were fired jrißere out of a iamiiy cannon of the flis Vense type.
u« rigours of the way wer» not so *«3 tfla-?ah erj although the roads ~: -'' z _'ike QuEen-sireet, bat one got to it apparent!y—it is wonderful Jt tie human being when put to
i ca £» T t0 — an! j citizens. BUisrs of 5-ocipty. all in the cause duty, riambered along the ■*? of giddy precipice and beetling J?s- through murky tunnels, under *P*T tree trunks. through scTub, rough bridge aad unkind tracks. T -Sev came to where the great work ■ *KkE, the hag? Wartakerei dam. is a at
a : tflis tisK one realises a little how JO" a colony Like ours this scheme l l is- Just when* the tv-ater hurls tbe mighty cliff to dash into ; t ? ar *-_ and spray—i lit- upper Waitf* 1 ral >- soon, in summer' at least *a memory and no more—'here is natural ba--in. and in this body of water which is to supfor a- generation to come w Peered. The basin of the big « be about 60 acres in area, anoup win be about 16 acres jLj*! ttd together they will contain gallons of water. The gZ* of tho ciry is about aili ! ion nitons daily. The timbrr Q !: m " areas ie estimated at about £7 *** feet, and every scrap of it *a« Amoved before the storage :? 2Ss!^ at?r ' S i>e ? l Jn. Thpre are some jfat,"* 3s kauri amoDjst them, and *W»k 5 root has come up %t»* Irraa]< le "' ? av ° on measuro- *****?**" ° f ab ° Ut 15 feet The ■« the hasin is covered tvith big ther rre,?s ' unlimited 3 . n ha: " to rome awav - the -t^rV? s . 110 f* grubbed for root- to a **•& * iC ~ l 0 the cla . v t- 0111 *- ,ol- - --!*s6>j[e>[ e> mrtn " on i< tap top of the 0 -' rid ? p of ttie.eatcbr JciOTcn locally, one underI"* 13 - The hei ? ht is about iSifflr ' Sea - the dam is W - ? - -water will gravitate pipes to the Ponsonby refe|jjj * r That at" once iereof a comprehensive Q - the scope of the york
waterworks scheme attempted in the colony. There is just now on the sbelf behind the Falls a big embankment of earth thrown there from the excavations. The merest trickle of waier runs over the edge of the cliff in this weather, oozing through the ombankment. And yet it is gravely stated that the whole of the big earth-heap, weighing hundreds of tons, will be swept away by the first flood that roars down the innocent-looking gully behind it —that all this great mas? will be swppt over th? broad edge of the rock-shelf in a yellow flood to the valley so far below that its stream looks a mere ribbon, its giant ferns wayside growths, its towexin£ tree? merely well-developed shrubs, "ircat its the. power of water seeking it? level, and that power man in the might of his knowledge proposes to use in getting the precious liquid into the household tap.
The Colonial Analyst having got a bottle of water from the stream for testing, the descent to the Swanson r-tore was begun shortly before two o T doek. and on the road down the party fctad tbf unusual pleasure of seeing six or seven nearly simultaneous blasting "shots : " go off. Thf workmen are engaged cutting a wide pipe-trae, from the dam to the tunnel, and there is a !o! of ioiid rock in ihe way. Into a Mock o! this the charge- happened to he pur yesterday, and the explosion was ready just when the councillors went by. The shots were splendid—the first threw up fragments like the bombs out of a volcano: one of the last burst with a heavy boom that shook the air around, and with the sound came the roar of the burst rock as it divided into huge fragments and hurtling over Into the canon below carried with it a large trpp that inoffensively stood by the track—down, down to the vorv bottom valley, leaving an awe-inspiring track of devastation. It was good work.
At last the camp with its quaint raupo huti- and cheery smoke was reached, and liquid refreshment for the inner man revived the spirits of the faggedout explorers. Finally the drags rattled along the roads homewards, and reached town a little after six. And not a counr-iUoT hut will say. with his hands on his aching joints, that if that be
■■pienicing" then have changed since the days he ivent a holiday-mak-ing! It was a pleas-ant outing in splendid wearher. but it was no joke and no philandering excursion. The councillors went to inspect the Nihotupu supply works to-day.
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 34, 8 February 1906, Page 3
Word Count
1,521THE NEW WATERWORKS. Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 34, 8 February 1906, Page 3
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