ARAPUNI "SENSATION."

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 257, 30 October 1928, Page 8

ARAPUNI "SENSATION."

MR. COATES IN REPLY. "LAUNCHING A CANARD." ENGINEERS TESTIFY TO SAFETY. In introducing the subject of Arapuni at his Town Hall meeting last night, the Prime Minister said that some of the tactics of those who opposed the Government were not altogether fair. Statements had been published in the newspapers which might lead people to believe that what had been alleged regarding the Arapuni dam had some foundation in fact. Mr. Coates produced a budget of testimony from engineers, which he read to the meeting. Mr. Coates, of course, referred to the statement of Mr. R. W. Holmes, formerly engineer-in-chief of the Public Works Department, that the Arapuni dam is unsafe. Since Mr. Holmes' letter was published the Hon. J. A. Young, in Hamilton, has released for publication a letter sent to him on October 20 by Mr. J. D. Holmes, a son of Mr. R. W. Holmes. The writer refers to the "insidious persecution" of himself by "Mr. Coates, Mr. Furkert and others," and demands that the Government grant his claim for compensation in respect of losses suffered by his company. Failing the Government's compliance with his demand, the writer threatens to use against the Reform party "every weapon we have, good, bad and indifferent," and to publish "a statement about Arapuni by Mr. R. W. Holmes." "I happened to be Minister of Public Works when the Arapuni scheme was initiated, and, with the engineers, I crawled through every tunnel and duct that was cut on the site," Mr. Coates said. "I crawled under the river many a time before ever the dam wa3 built. As Minister I set up a committee of engineers to inquire into the stability of the dam it was proposed to build." He then read the communications.

"That, ladies and gentlemen," he remarked at the close, "shows pretty clearly the position. A fortnight before the election somebody with a grouch against the Public Works Department and the Prime- Minister thought that by launching a canard he could frighten the people in the Waikato and make them think that Arapuni would be tumbling about their ears in the morning."

Further confirmation of the engineers' ' opinions on the scheme had come from < Sir John Butters, the designer and con- < structor of the great power undertaking i in Tasmania. Sir John had examined t the proposals and had fully approved i them. More lately Mr. Busch, an emi- ( nent Swedish electrical engineer, had in- ] spected the site and declared the scheme , was one of the finest he had seen the world over and that the works were , definitely safe. "You must believe ( him," eaid Mr. Coates, "for he is an , electrical engineer of the highest standing," Based on Recollections. The Prime Minister read the following statement from the engineer in chief of the Public Works Department (Mr, P. W. Furkert): — j "The opinions expressed by Mv. j Holmes are evidently based on his recol-1 lection of years ago and indicate that he has forgotten the facts. The late Mr. P. S. Hay did not consider the Arapuni scheme because it had not then been conceived and no plans were made in connection with it till years after he died. The site was systematically investigated with a thoroughness which impressed both New Zealand and visiting engineers from abroad. You will recollect the congratulations which were conveyed to you by the unsuccessful tenderers on the splendid data supplied to the contractors by the Public Work« Department. "The whole question of the suitability of the site was investigated by Messrs. Jas. Marchbanks, W. Morton, Dr. Henderson and myself, and we were satis- j fled. The actual excavation tallied wonderfully well with anticipations. The statements about the exploratory shafts and tunnels are garbled and incorrect. No leakage of water * into the tunnel caused work to be abandoned. It was not abandoned; it was finished, and disclosed nothing to indicate that work should not proceed. It is unnecessary to comment on the reference to a suppositious gravel seam which did not exist. True to Specification. "Concerning the borehole 263 ft deep put down by Armstrong, Whitworth and Company, which was said to disclose material so unsatisfactory that they refused to proceed:, The true facts are that when the site was unwatered by the Public Works Department and the alluvial deposit cleared out, rock was found on the site of the bore exactly the same as was found on the rest of the site.

"The whole of the works at the site of the dam and.power-house have proved that the conditions were absolutely as described in the specifications. When the Department endeavoured to obtain from the boring contractor the particulars of the very deep hole he could not produce his notes, though his book contained a detailed log of all the other holes which bottomed on rock. "Concerning the St. Francis dam near Eos Angeles, referred to in the digest of Mr. Holmes' letter, the country there is entirely different from that at Arapuni and the latest indicate a cause' of failure quite different from that suggested by Mr. Holmes. There is no need to contemplate the results of a similar failure at Arapuni, because it will not occur. Not Engineers' Language.

"The suggestion that the enterprise at Arapuni is as hazardous • as betting on any horse race is not the kind of language used by engineers in a serious discussion, so I conclude the article is not intended to be taken seriously. Nothing has been disclosed by or during the construction of the works which would in any way tend to alter the considered conclusion that the scheme of works was safe, sound, logical, economical and such as a government should undertake with confidence." The Prime Minister also quoted from a statement by Mr. J. Marchbanks, engineer to the Wellington Harbour Board: "I acted on a committee with the late Mr. W. H. Morton, Mr. F. W. Furkert and Dr. Henderson in April, 1921, to report on the proposed Arapuni dam. The proposal was then to,build an arch type dam, which depends, on its form for stability. The committee considered this type of dam not suited for the site and nature of the country, but was of opinion that a gravity dam, which depends on its mass for stability, could be successfully built if proper precaution was taken to ensure filling and stanching of any joints and leaks that might appear when, the foundation was excavated.' I have not seen the ground since i the worlds were started,

"The committee's investigations were complete, and I am informed that the

ground opened up as anticipated. I have no reason to alter the opinion originally given, that the gavity type dam is perfectly stable."

From Dr. J. Henderson, director of the New Zealand Geological Survey: "Mr. Holmes is not very definite as to what is to cause collapse at Arapuni. While he was engineer-in-chief, he suggested that the Waikato had cut the gorge along an earthquake fracture. There is no geological evidence to support this supposition. The tunnel beneath the river before the contract was let and the excavations after the river was diverted positively proved that there were no earthquake rents at the dam site. The earthquake risk at Arapuni is no greater than in other parts in New Zealand outside the RotoruaTaupo zone.

"Dam is of gravity arch type, heavy enough to resist the water pressure without support from sides, and can collapse only after extensive undermining. Foundation rock is strong and insoluble; bores into it bottomed in similar rock, and I do not believe that extensive underminfng can take place. I inspected the foundations while the dam was being built, and I have the same opinion that the site is suitable as I expressed when I signed the report of the commission with Messrs. Morton, Marchbanks and Furkert."

From Dr. P. Marshall: "I have studied the report of the Arapuni commission carefully and critically in the light of my own geological knowledge of district. I consider all geological facta compel the opinion that the dam foundations are absolutely secure."