“Lux e Tenebris”-- Light from Darkness

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 September 1932, Page 11 (Supplement)

“Lux e Tenebris”-- Light from Darkness

CONTRIBUTED BY:

MR. J. O’BRIEN, M.P. for Westland, an ex-member of the Power Board.

"VOW that the time has come when ' the Grey Electric Power Board’s hydro works are to be opened, one feels that one sincerely regrets the passing of those stalwarts who were tireless ih their efforts to give the Grey district a cheap and efficient electric service. In the first place, I must mention the late Mr H. F. Doogan, to whose untiring energy was due the founding of the first Grey Power Board. It is regrettable that he is not with us to witness the realisation ofc* his dreams —the Arnold River harnessed to supply power to the Grey district. I am afraid there are some who might say that the late Hugh Doogan was wedded to steam, but they must remember that the first scheme advocated by him was the harnessing of the Arnold, and it was only after the Board had been let down on its original scheme that steam was introduced. Even then the steam plant was to have merely been used to build j up the load, and whatever we may say or do to-day, we must remember that the electricity consumei-s in the Grey district owe a debt of gratitude' to the late Mr Doogan. There is another, too, whose sterling fight for hydro brought him many friends and, incidentally, a few en-

\ emies. To him steam was anathema when there was so much water-power available. His work will last for all time, and I am pleased to know that the members of the Power Board have decided to perpetuate his memory by christening the lake at the headworks “Lake Uddstrom.” The passing of Charlie Uddstrom is deeply regretted by all, and we all wish sincerely he were with us to celebrate the completion of his pet scheme. As one who was closely connected with him in the fight for hydro, I know full ,well the amount of time and energy he sacrificed to have the Arnold scheme adopted, and, with others, I deeply regret that he is not here to take his place and receive the- credit due to him. Let us hope that the members of the Power Board will do their duty, and place the names of H. F. Doogan and Charles Uddstrom on a tablet, so that future generations will know they owe something to these men. There are some who may not understand my writing in this strain, but I can assure them, if there are any such, that, although I may have opposed both departed gentlemen in the past, we had agreed to differ, and were each actuated by what we thought was best for the ratepayers.

HYDRO THE FIRST SCHEME. It must be remembered that the harnessing of the Arnold River for the purpose of generating electricity was the first scheme put forward by the original Power Board, and even long before the Power Board was formed, tjie Arnold was examined by several experts as to its suitability, and it is father remarkable that a scheme very similar to the present one was advocated by the Engineer to the Greymouth Borough Council, Mr O’Donnell, who at one time took several Councillors over the ground and explained his plans to them. In the initial stages of hydro development, those who were trying to, give the public the best possible service had to listen to all kinds of criticism when the Arnold was decided upon. It seemed that every stream and creek was supported by a number of people who wanted their own particular’ fancy to be harnessed up. Each had a neverfailing water supply. Each was capable of generating untold energy. The principal schemes I can call to mind were the Crooked River, the Roaring Meg, Lake Hochstetter, and the Ku- ( mara water race. It was rather fortunate for the ratepayers that Providence sent along an exceptionally dry spell at the time when it was most needed. This enabled the engineers to test these wonder-working streams, and one by one most of them proved unequal to the task of generating the power needed. Perhaps I should, right here, sound a warning note to those who intend to harness certain streams for the generation of elec-

tricity. and suggest that during long spells of dry weather, particularly in winter, these streams be carefully gauged by competent engineers, so there will be no doubt that they will stand up to the work they are expected to do. This warning should be noted by the members of the Christchurch City Council, who, I understand, in the near future intend to harness the Waimakariri River for the purpose of generating electricity; for I am afraid had the flow of that river been measured during the recent dry spell, the power it would develop would have been found to fall far short of Christchurch City’s requirements. I base this assertion on the fact that' the Waimakariri was a mere trickle where it passed under the railway bridge on August 30 last. Careful calculations in this direction may save the ratepayers of Christchurch hundreds of thousands of pounds. However, as far as Grey was concerned, the one stream that stood, up to all tests was the Arnold River, and those who believed that water power was preferable for the generation of electricity went ahead with their plans for harnessing the Arnold. May I state that, before that decision was arrived at, the most searching enquiries were made by the members of the Power Board as to whether steam or hydro were the cheaper. Engineers’ reports were checked and checked again, and finally submitted to other engineers, so that there would be no doubt about the final outcome. Still the supporters of an extended I steam plant were not idle. Every ar-’ gument that could be advanced in

favour of steam against hydro was advanced. This only had the effect of making the Board members go deeper into their figures for hydro, and to check up again the cost per annum to the ratepayers of the load in sight with either scheme. No matter how we looked at it, hydro showed a saving of some £lO,OOO per annum over steam, and members felt i that they would not be doing their duty if they did not take the cheaper and equally-reliable hydro generation. It was strange that the Board met with opposition where it was least expected. The Government Loans Board intimated that it would not give consent to enable a poll of the ratepayers to be taken to raise the necessary money, and members of that body assured some of us that our needs would be -well supplied by purchasing a certain amount of power from the Westland Power Company. It took several weeks’ work and quite a lot of worry before the members of the Loans Board were convinced that our own hydro scheme was the cheaper. Even then it was necessary for the then Chairman, Mr J. W. Greenslade, the Engineer, the Secretary and myself to visit Wellington and explain our data to the Loans Board members. '

We thought that, now we had the permission of the Loans Board to put our plans before the ratepayers and ask for authority to borrow sufficient money to put the plans into practice, our troubles were over, but the exponents of steam had different views. We found that a decided set was made against the loan

for hydro being carried. This was more apparent where steam or other schemes had most influence. By this time Power Board members had their backs up, and each of them agreed to do his best to get the loan through. Suffice it to say that, in each place the Board members and engineers spoke in favour of the loan, a majority was secured —the ratepayers evidently did not believe in some of the methods used. COMPLETION. Now the scheme is complete, and almost insurmountable obstacles have been overcome. I am of the opinion that the plans were carefully laid, and the Grey district ratepayers will benefit by the foresight displayed by those responsible for the work. Criticism we may still have, but with two sets of turbines, two generators and a double line to carry the current to the distributing station, the possibility of breakdown and of being without current for even a short period is reduced to a minimum. In fact, the steam plant would be just as liable to a breakdown as the present one. Those who still advocate that the present steam plant should be retained as a stand-by should take into consideration the duplication of the essentials which was done for the very purpose of making a stand-by unnecessary. More necessary, in my opinion, is the

extension of the transmission lines to such places as Rotomanu and Tptara Flat, so as to give the settlers in those localities and on the way thereto the benefits of electric service. I feel this short article would not be complete without reference to those who worked so hard to make hydro-electricity possible at the earligst date to the ratepayers of. the ln all there were hundreds, but still I feel sure the following are worthy of special mention: The late Mr C. Uddstrom, Mr J. Drake, Mr J. W. Greenslade> Mr J. Mulcare, Mr P. J. McLean, and last but not least, Mr j. B. Kent, the present Chairman. Maybe I have forgotten some who did good work; if so, I can only say it is because ofc iny unfortunate memory. In conclusion I can safely say I have never worked with a better team, including the staff, than those I was associated with on the Grey Electric Power Board. In fact, the Board was lucky in its choice of officers, for such experienced ahd thoroughly reliable men as Mr. MeDowall, the secretary, and Mr. Trotter, the engineer, are hard to find. The hydro-electric scheme is now to be put into operation. Let us, one and all, assist the Board to the best of our ability, and hurry on the time when the Grey district will have the most efficient and the cheapest power in the Dominion.