THE RATAPIKO DAM

Taranaki Daily News, 2 October 1929, Page 10

THE RATAPIKO DAM

INTERLOCKING STEEL CORE. ACCURATE WORK IN PROGRESS. In order to strengthen the Ratapiko dam and as a precautionary measure in reducing any seepage there might' be in the big°clay embankment, the Taranaki Power Board recently decided to insert a steel interlocking core right down the centre of the dam. Forty-one piles, 13 inches wide and 25 feet long, were ordered and are now being driven into position. Yesterday the scene of operations was visited by Messrs. R. J, Knuckey, MGernhoefer (members of the board’s works committee) and the ' secretary (Mr. W. J. Tristram), who inspected the progress already made and watched the assembling, aligning and driving of one of the steel piles. An efficient gang of five men Tinder the able direction of Mr. A.. J. Hansen, engineer to the Wdimate West County Council, and especially engaged for the job, proved to the board members that the utmost accuracy and expedition was being observed. Team work has beenraise’d to a fine state of efficiency and’ scarcely an order is given as .the great piles are raised into position, adjusted so that interlocking, device -fits interlocking device, and stayed in guides while the. ton monkey hammers them through the centre of the dam. There is no room for careless work because the thin steel piles'have to reach their ultimate position perfectly true and thoroughly interlocked with the previous one. For the work Mr. Hansen first pegged out the direction of the core;- then a trench was dug so that the top ends of the piles would be at least four feet below the surface, when driven. The derrick was then set .up on skids, and one of the board’s large motor-lorries equipped with a winch and hauling gear was backed into position .to. furnish the motive power. ~ >._■ At a signal from Mr. Hansen a pile is. raised to the top of the derrick-and slowly lowered until the interlocking devices engage. It is then fixed to. guides at intervals on the derrick and the weight of the monkey is allowed to force the pile its first distance into the ground. The pile is then “triied” aiid hammered home with, blows of the monSo expert have the gang become that~scarcely an hour is occupied in preparing each pile and forcing it into position. Already thirteen piles had been sunk, and, by the end of the day’s work the total would be at least 18. To cover the: full 40 feet of the dam Spiles yet remain to be driven, but so rapidly., is the work being executed that the complete reinforcement should be in position by the end of the week. There should then be no fears as to the strength and solidity of the dam.

GENERAL ITEMS. Fine weather marked the opening of the fishing season yesterday and several parties of Stratford residents spent the day whipping their favourite streams.. Some fair catches were reported. Near Ratapiko a rqad branches off to the left. This is boldly indicated by a sign as the Kupara-.Road. As a matter of fact this road, is a continuation of 'the Tariki Road, and the Kupara Road junctions a little distance further on. According to the annual report of the Stratford Volunteer Fire Brigade ..honours were. gained during the past year as follow: Five years’ medal, K. Bevins; three years’ certificate, D. Butcher and G. Tubby; two years” bar, C. Fawcett, Deputy G. King and J. Pearce. To mark the close of the basketball season an important tournament, in which 14 teams drawn .froin secondary schools of Taranaki will take part, has been fixed to take place at the Stratford Technical High School grounds on Saturday. There will be no charge for admission and those interested in the game should witness some keen contests. Building permits issued by the Stratford Borough Council during September represented a value of . £2925. New buildings were represented by three dwellings, one costing £lOOO and the other two £BOO each. An. alteration and removal of an existing house was valued at £3OO, while a garage costing £25 made up the balance. A decision to continue the fortnightly road cycle races of the Stratford Cycle Club was reached at a meeting.,of the club on Monday evening. The faces have proved iso. successful that it was deemed wise to keep riders in form. Both A and B grade races will be organised, the first of the new series to take place on Thursday week. It was also decided to present all club trophies and the championship ribbon after the championship race held when the Mt. Egmont road race is in progress. A feature of the Stratford Jersey Breeders’ sale of bulls to-morrow will be the “Hatcliffe” entry on account of Mr. H. J. Kaye. This will include the valuable 4-year-old-herd- sire* Holly Oak Bobbie. Selected by Mr. John Hale for all the heifers previous to the last Holly Oak sale, “Bobbie” has developed into a ni .gnificent bull-. Of true Jersey type his great, deep body and soft, pliable skin indicate bis wonderful constitution, and he passes it on. Tini bred to the gieat K.C.B. cow Lady Ivy (7361 b fat), including Miss Ivy (727ib fat), and backed up by the well-known Primrose cows Lady Superior'(997lb.fat) and Rose Royal (5481 b fat), also three champion butter-fat bulls, his breeding is hard to beat. The owner having about 30 of his daughters now in hand he is being offer- ' ed only to make room for a particularly [good yearling son and a further acquisition from the Holly Oak stud. Sjx of his yearling sons will be included in the I entry and these should -prove an attrac|tion to dairymen. Strong, lusty, wellgrown youngsters, they show the quality and conS’stution of their sire.-Ample butter-fat backing will be found on the dam’s side. ■ Every cow milked at “Hatcliffe” is tested every year, and a great [herd of producers is being built up. All the group test records of the dams are given in the catalogue. copies of which can be obtained from the auctioneers.