Manawatu Evening Standard. TUESDAY, OCT. 30, 1934. WAITAKI POWER SCHEME.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 285, 30 October 1934, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. TUESDAY, OCT. 30, 1934. WAITAKI POWER SCHEME.

With the official opening l of the Waitaki hydro - electric power works a most important link has been forged in the South Island’s supply of electric power and lig-ht. . With its consummation there is told a story of great endeavour, of work under trying conditions both in the winter and summer, in the former when temperatures fell below freezing point to bring severe hardships, and in the latter when the heat of summer sent the thermometer to 90 degrees. Man in this small Dominion has recorded impressive victories over Nature. Always is he willing to take up the battle to harness her resources to his use, and in conquering the mighty Waitaki River he has recorded a most impressive victory over forces which at times might very easily have overwhelmed him. He has had to suffer losses in the battle, but all throughout the world there are works which are in truth monuments to the dead as well as to the living-. The mighty dam at Waitaki, more impressive than its prototype at Arapuni in its size, has harnessed a river that according to local tradition was deemed unconquerable, and provided a lasting monument to its designers, to those who battled against adverse conditions in its construction, and to those who fell in the struggle against natural forces. Fortunately, in the six years of work the river was not converted into a flood of extraordinary size, a circumstance that considerably aided the builders. Now Waitaki is ready to take its place with the Waipori and Lake Coleridge schemes in supplying electrical power and light , to Canterbury and Otago, and a very important and extensive district will reap the benefit from the installation. As the Governor-General said, of all Governmental activities there is probably none more important and certainly none more calculated to assist in expanding the Dominion’s industrial prosperity, its domestic comfort, and its social amenities than the prudent development of its hydro-electric resources and their progressive and enlightened application to the multifarious, requirements of modern civilisation.

Measured in years electrical energy has only recently been available to residents, of this city and its extensive district; but for townspeople in large numbers the era of gas lit homes is now almost forgotten, and most country people have been able to put away their lamps, a heritage from the pioneering days, for ever. The cleanliness of electric light, an outstanding comparison over the crude facilities of another year, and the supply of energy for farm labour have made country life much more pleasant, and living conditions more in harmony with those of the cities in this respect. A very large sum has been expended in electrical supply undertakings, but as noted by the Governor-Gen-eral the consumption of electrical energy, in spite of adverse economic conditions, is steadily expanding, and the boon is available to 94 per cent, of the country’s total population. One point in the address was striking. Generating costs in the Dominion are exceptionally low, while compared with some countries distributing costs are relatively high, Lord Bledisloe said. It is for the authorities to watch the situation carefully so that, as the opportunity offers with the greater development oi the undertakings, they will bridge the gap as far as possible. An avenue mentioned by which current can be made cheaper in cost was the co-operation of urban and rural bodies to alternate

the periods of peak loads so that each section of consumers would benefit. His Excellency also gave a surprising- list of farm operations to which electric power could be applied—electric ploughing, harvesting, the handling of crops, threshing, electrosilage, electro-culture, and the treatment of plants by intensive illumination, irrigation, pumping, as well as every day operations in dairy farming. By applying electric light to poultry runs experience, including Lord Bledisloe’s, has shown that egg production can be appreciably increased. As'the years progress and settlement expands the consumption of electrical power will steadily increase, and the asset in these State undertakings become more fully realised. “In the matter of harnessing water power for a nation’s economic and domestic requirements,” His Excellency aptly remarked, “there must be few who could reasonably doubt the wisdom of the Government enterprise, if guided by expert knowledge, long vision, courage, and reasonable economy.”