THE ARAPUNI DAM

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVIII, Issue 285, 30 October 1928, Page 6

THE ARAPUNI DAM

ALLEGED INSECURITY. SURPRISING revelation. Per Press Association. HAMILTON, Oct. 29. Tn connection with the sensational , : .Viv tt W. Holmes, iormcr engmeer-in-chief of the Public Works Department, regarding the alleged mspciiritv of the Arapum-dam, Hon. J. A Young (Minister of Health) to-day made a surprising revelation. in an interview witn the Waikato Himes The Minister said that he had icceived a letter from Mr J. D. Holmes, son of Mr H- W. Holmes, threatening the publication of this Arapum document, unless a certain request in lelation to a gravel business at Otoronanga was granted by the Government. After reciting the alleged of the gravel concern, Mr J. D. Holmes wrote •“ We.have always supported the Reform Party and’have no wish to do anything to damage that, party, particularly before the coming election, but the facts about Arapum will have to come out sooner or latei. Enclosed is a statement 'about Arapum by Mr TV Holmes. We are reluctantly compelled to state that unless we receive a telegram or other notification by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, October 24, from the Government, ’ that our requests'will be acceded to then this statement will be made public also all correspondence in regard to the matter.**. Mr Young replied by telegram that that matter was one entirely between Mr Holmes and the Premier. Mr Young informed the interviewer that he had intended to take no part in the matter, but in view of the local alarm likely to arise from the publication of Mr R. W. Holmes’s statement, he felt constrained to publish the letter he had received. , ... EXPERTS’ REPORTS. NO GROUND FOR ALLEGATIONS. Per Press Association. . AUCKLAND, Oct. 29. In referring to Arapuni and the allegations by Mr R. W. Holmes, fjumerly chief engineer of the Public Works Department, concerning the safety of the dam, Mr Coates' in lus speech to-night said that the tactics 'of some of those opposed to the Government were not altogether fair. He referred to the allegations because some people might believe, that they had some foundation ■in fact. It was perfectly clear that somebody with a grouch against the Government and the Public Works Department thought that by launching this canard he could frighten the people in the Waikato and make them think Arapuni would be tumbling about their ears in the morning. He then read telegrams from Mr F. ■ W. Furkert, ’ engineer-in-chief of the Public Works Department, Mr Janies Marchbanks, engineer to the Wellington Harbour Board, Dr. Henderson, director of geological survey, and Dr. Marshall to show there was no ground .for the allegations. Dr. Henderson, in his message, had said: “Mr. Holmes is not very definite as to what is to' cause the collapse at Arapuni. While he was engineer-in-chief he suggested that the Waikato had cut a gorge along an earthquake fracture. There is no geological evidence to support this supposition. The tunnel made beneath the river before it wag. 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 of New Zealand outside the RotoruaTaupo zone. The dam is of the gravity arch type, heavy enough to resist water pressure without support ''from • the sides and it can collapse only after extensive undermining of the foundation. The rock is strong and insoluble. The bores into it are bottomed in similar rock and I do not believe extensive undermining 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 E. Morton, Marchbanks and Furkert.”

The messages from Messrs Furkert and Marchbanks and Dr. Marshall were also to the effect that the dam foundations were absolutely socured. FINANCE MINISTER EXPLAINS. QUARREL WITH GOVERNMENT. Per Press Association. ’ DUNEDIN, Oct. 29. The Arapuni dam sensation was made tho subject of reference in the Kaikorai Presbyterian Church hall this evening., In asking the electors to suspend judgment on the allegations made by Mr. Holmes with regard to the dam, Hon; W. Downie Stewart said that he knew for a fact that there were wheels within wheels in the case. It was a strahge thing that Mr Holmes had kept the matter dark for so long a period and had elected to make his sensational allegations at the present moment. The real cause of the whole business was that there was a quarrel between the Holmes family and the Government. Some time ago a quarry site had been opened up by the Holmes family who had formed a company to work it. Shortly afterwards, however, tho railway tariff had been revised and as a result the company had suffered severly. Mr Holmes had approached Mr Stewart with regard to the matter, but had, been told that his was not tho only company that had been affected by the change in the tariff. Since then Mr Stewart had received .letters threatening all sorts of disclosures if the Holmes grievances were not remedied, but it had been found that the writer, Mr Holmes’s son,.was suffering from a severe illness. It was not known, however, to what extent Dir Holmes was in league with his son in the matter. Mr Stewart said that a short time ago he had received a letter from Mr Holmes, stating that, if. the long-standing grievance were not remedied, he would publish a sensational article with respect to the Arapuni dam. Letters had also been received making accusations against the engineer-in-chicf of the Public Works Department (Mr F W Furkert) but Mr Furkert’s reputation was sufficiently well-known to the electors and he (Mr Stewart) had no hesitation m asking them-' to suspend judgment until the full facts of the matter were investigated