The Patea Power Station was the first Council owned electrical plant in New Zealand when it opened on Saturday 19 April 1902, Other towns around New Zealand had started on privately owned schemes, although Kakaramea farmer James Ball offered a ten-year term loan of the whole amount of the project of £2500 at 4.5%, which was gratefully accepted by the Patea Borough Council. Lighting Patea by electricity was first minuted at a Council meeting in July 1882. but the idea didn’t take momentum until 6 November 1899.
The Power Station is situated north of the town, on the cliff at the end of Powerhouse Road. Water was derived from the Kaikura Stream on the Honeyfield farm, and a dam was constructed to conserve the supply. It was connected to Payne’s Flour Mill Dam, behind the Kakaramea Dairy Factory, which the Council bought for extra water storage at the time the scheme was being constructed. The Mill was leased to Mr Buckthought, a Foxton flax miller, until the end of 1905, after which it was used to control the flow of water to the hydro. The architect for the building was Climie and Fairhall, Hawera. Builder William M Aitchison of Patea, with Turnbull and Jones supplying the required machinery for the Electric Lighting Works for Patea. Locker & Dickson of Patea commenced the concrete work and building of the dam of about four acres in extent in September 1901. The internationally renowned Captain Alban J. Roberts was the first engineer. He resigned in 1904, and went on to invent remotely operated robots and machines.
There is a good fall for the water, which drove a Brown-Bouverie generator and Escher Weiss turbine. The current was led into the town, where it is transformed at various places to 100 volts. In 1906 there were 100 consumers of electricity. The pill box on the cliff side housed the generator plant, and the tower was the surge chamber to allow the flow of water to the turbine to be turned off.
Transmission to Patea, a distance of three miles, was by a single-phase line at a voltage of 3,000 volts, distribution at 110 volts single phase. The station was at first for lighting only from dusk until about midnight and in the winter starting at 6.30am for 2 hours. But later the plant was run on Monday afternoons to enable housewives to do ironing. Consumers had the choice of either being charged by meters or per installed point, with the former option being preferred.
In 1918 a 65 horsepower suction gas motor was installed in York Street as part of the town water reticulation scheme. This supplied electricity to operate the pumps but could not be synchronised with the hydro, although the hydropower could be used to operate the pumps. This motor could supply the needs of the town when for any reason the hydro was closed down. The concrete building that housed this machine is still standing on York Street.
When the dam walls broke on Tuesday 26 November 1920 the attendants’ hut, above the powerhouse was swept into the sea along with its two occupants, Mr Mitchell and Mr McDonald, they were fortunate to miraculously survive. New machinery was installed and the Power Station continued to generate power. Around this time water rights had been obtained to the Mangaroa Stream and work was in hand to add this water supply to the system. The idea was dropped when the decision was made to build a new powerhouse and install higher-powered machinery. Charles F Pulley, the contractor who had just finished the sea wall at Patea, was hired to demolish the old plant, cut a new terrace nearly 5m lower on the cliff, construct the new concrete Powerhouse and install the new plant. The tunnel on an angle through the cliff, for the engineers to access the building from the flat paddock above was also built by Charles Pulley at this time, a big improvement from the ladders down the cliff. A new cottage for the electrical engineer was also constructed. The dam burst could have been disastrous for a town by now dependent on its electric light. Fortunately, the backup power of a suction engine for the towns sewage system, enabled the supply to resume while the dam was rebuilt. The sides of the dam were also built up higher. Power supply was extended to Kakaramea at this time. Alton and other outlying districts didn’t connect to electricity till 1933. In 1923 the Powerplant made a profit of £4.
In 1927 a Ruston Hornby Diesel Electric engine was installed, which could be run in parallel with the hydro or separately when required. The Patea Mail reports on 12 Aug 1927 of the Mayor Mr Peter PS Finlayson and several Patea Borough Councillors visiting the Powerhouse. They were very impressed with the cleanliness and order of the buildings and machinery. Mr Roy Kinnaird was the electrical engineer at that time and it is thought he was living on site in the cottage that was rebuilt after the 1920 wash-out. His wife provided afternoon tea for the tour party that day. She was presumably living there too, and I’m sure she provided a neat and cosy atmosphere in that remote cottage for all who visited. By the late 1940’s or early 1950’s no one lived on the job and the cottage was probably demolished. Melbourne and Olive Fairweather were one of the last couples to live in the cottage when they were married in 1945. Melbourne was caretaker of the Power Station at the time.
At the meeting of the Council on 8 July 1952 the engineer reported that the hydro generator had burned out. He recommended that no further repairs be carried out. At the meeting on 13 January 1959 it was reported that the Borough Power enterprise had been sold to the South Taranaki Electric Power Board for £15,000. It ceased generating power, was stripped of most of its machinery and abandoned to the elements.
Some info from article by David Bruce for The Daily News 19 July 2003
The Power Station is situated north of the town, on the cliff at the end of Powerhouse Road. Water was derived from the Kaikura Stream on the Honeyfield farm, and a dam was constructed to conserve the supply. It was connected to Payne’s Flour Mill Dam, behind the Kakaramea Dairy Factory, which the Council bought for extra water storage at the time the scheme was being constructed. The Mill was leased to Mr Buckthought, a Foxton flax miller, until the end of 1905, after which it was used to control the flow of water to the hydro. The architect for the building was Climie and Fairhall, Hawera. Builder William M Aitchison of Patea, with Turnbull and Jones supplying the required machinery for the Electric Lighting Works for Patea. Locker & Dickson of Patea commenced the concrete work and building of the dam of about four acres in extent in September 1901. The internationally renowned Captain Alban J. Roberts was the first engineer. He resigned in 1904, and went on to invent remotely operated robots and machines.
There is a good fall for the water, which drove a Brown-Bouverie generator and Escher Weiss turbine. The current was led into the town, where it is transformed at various places to 100 volts. In 1906 there were 100 consumers of electricity. The pill box on the cliff side housed the generator plant, and the tower was the surge chamber to allow the flow of water to the turbine to be turned off.
Transmission to Patea, a distance of three miles, was by a single-phase line at a voltage of 3,000 volts, distribution at 110 volts single phase. The station was at first for lighting only from dusk until about midnight and in the winter starting at 6.30am for 2 hours. But later the plant was run on Monday afternoons to enable housewives to do ironing. Consumers had the choice of either being charged by meters or per installed point, with the former option being preferred.
In 1918 a 65 horsepower suction gas motor was installed in York Street as part of the town water reticulation scheme. This supplied electricity to operate the pumps but could not be synchronised with the hydro, although the hydropower could be used to operate the pumps. This motor could supply the needs of the town when for any reason the hydro was closed down. The concrete building that housed this machine is still standing on York Street.
When the dam walls broke on Tuesday 26 November 1920 the attendants’ hut, above the powerhouse was swept into the sea along with its two occupants, Mr Mitchell and Mr McDonald, they were fortunate to miraculously survive. New machinery was installed and the Power Station continued to generate power. Around this time water rights had been obtained to the Mangaroa Stream and work was in hand to add this water supply to the system. The idea was dropped when the decision was made to build a new powerhouse and install higher-powered machinery. Charles F Pulley, the contractor who had just finished the sea wall at Patea, was hired to demolish the old plant, cut a new terrace nearly 5m lower on the cliff, construct the new concrete Powerhouse and install the new plant. The tunnel on an angle through the cliff, for the engineers to access the building from the flat paddock above was also built by Charles Pulley at this time, a big improvement from the ladders down the cliff. A new cottage for the electrical engineer was also constructed. The dam burst could have been disastrous for a town by now dependent on its electric light. Fortunately, the backup power of a suction engine for the towns sewage system, enabled the supply to resume while the dam was rebuilt. The sides of the dam were also built up higher. Power supply was extended to Kakaramea at this time. Alton and other outlying districts didn’t connect to electricity till 1933. In 1923 the Powerplant made a profit of £4.
In 1927 a Ruston Hornby Diesel Electric engine was installed, which could be run in parallel with the hydro or separately when required. The Patea Mail reports on 12 Aug 1927 of the Mayor Mr Peter PS Finlayson and several Patea Borough Councillors visiting the Powerhouse. They were very impressed with the cleanliness and order of the buildings and machinery. Mr Roy Kinnaird was the electrical engineer at that time and it is thought he was living on site in the cottage that was rebuilt after the 1920 wash-out. His wife provided afternoon tea for the tour party that day. She was presumably living there too, and I’m sure she provided a neat and cosy atmosphere in that remote cottage for all who visited. By the late 1940’s or early 1950’s no one lived on the job and the cottage was probably demolished. Melbourne and Olive Fairweather were one of the last couples to live in the cottage when they were married in 1945. Melbourne was caretaker of the Power Station at the time.
At the meeting of the Council on 8 July 1952 the engineer reported that the hydro generator had burned out. He recommended that no further repairs be carried out. At the meeting on 13 January 1959 it was reported that the Borough Power enterprise had been sold to the South Taranaki Electric Power Board for £15,000. It ceased generating power, was stripped of most of its machinery and abandoned to the elements.
Some info from article by David Bruce for The Daily News 19 July 2003
The architect for the building was Climie and Fairhall, Hawera. Builder William M Aitchison of Patea, with Turnbull and Jones supplying the required machinery for the Electric Lighting Works for Patea.
Hawera Normanby Star Sat 30 Nov 1920
ACCIDENT AT POWERHOUSE - PATEA EMPLOYEES' THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
The story told by the two young men who bad such a narrow escape from death on Tuesday evening when the dam burst at the Borough Council's hydro-electric works is a thrilling one (reports the Press). It appears that the young fellows had just sat down to tea, when they suddenly became aware of a large volume of water pouring over the roof and sides of the whare in which they were sitting. Mitchell says that he had a plate on his knee at the time, and to his horror and amazement he found the building commencing to rock, and gradually slip towards the edge of the cliff and into the sea. He rushed to the window and endeavored to escape through it, but at that moment the whare must have been carried over the cliff for the next thing he remembered is that he was lying on the sand with the waves dashing over him. At that time he had on a pair of pants and a shirt. As he was sucked out to sea the pants became entangled around his feet, making swimming impossible. Fortunately, the next wave washed him ashore, where he lay for some time unconscious. McDonald, his companion, who had toppled over the cliff in the whare, and had been badly shaken and bruised, managed to scramble out, and on seeing Mitchell's apparently lifeless form, dragged it above high water. Mitchell at this time was clad only in a shirt. Shortly after he regained consciousness. The sides of the cliff are perpendicular, but an active person can scramble up under ordinary circumstances. The two young lads, however, were badly battered about, and both had lost the use of an arm apiece. They had, consequently, to remain on the small sandy inlet in the drenching rain, with the waves from time to time dashing over them. After some two and a half hours in this predicament they began to lose hope, and fully anticipated being washed out to sea and drowned, when suddenly they heard a shout, and looking up saw Mr Bason at the top of the cliff. He immediately told them to hang on whilst he went for a ladder, which, after a short hunt, he found. It was' too short, however- so with the aid of some telephone wire he managed to fasten a couple of poles to it and let himself down the cliff. On reaching the bottom he found he had to wade across a gigantic hole, nearly six feet deep, which the water from the bursting dam had made, before he could reach the two stranded youths. Not without some difficulty he managed io get first one and then tie other across the water hole and up the cliff. "On arrival at. the top he lit a fire, and after seeing that the young fellows had got some warmth into their bodies he went to the nearest house; which is about a mile away, where-hi obtained assistance and some warm clothing, and brought the injured men into town. On arrival at the hospital it was .at once seen that Mitchell's arm was dislocated, whilst McDonald's arm was so swollen that it was impossible to say whether it was broken or not. However, Mitchell was soon attended to his shirt first of all having to be cut off his swollen limb before the latter was pulled into place, an operation which, by the way, was performed without the aid of chloroform. McDonald had his wounds dressed, and was, detained at the hospital, but Mitchell was allowed to proceed to his home. Both, look upon their escape from death is little short of miraculous, for the narrow strip of beach on to which the whare toppled from its foundation m the side of the cliff is only a few feet square, and is under water at high tide, the waves dashing .with great violence against the cliff sides.
ACCIDENT AT POWERHOUSE - PATEA EMPLOYEES' THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
The story told by the two young men who bad such a narrow escape from death on Tuesday evening when the dam burst at the Borough Council's hydro-electric works is a thrilling one (reports the Press). It appears that the young fellows had just sat down to tea, when they suddenly became aware of a large volume of water pouring over the roof and sides of the whare in which they were sitting. Mitchell says that he had a plate on his knee at the time, and to his horror and amazement he found the building commencing to rock, and gradually slip towards the edge of the cliff and into the sea. He rushed to the window and endeavored to escape through it, but at that moment the whare must have been carried over the cliff for the next thing he remembered is that he was lying on the sand with the waves dashing over him. At that time he had on a pair of pants and a shirt. As he was sucked out to sea the pants became entangled around his feet, making swimming impossible. Fortunately, the next wave washed him ashore, where he lay for some time unconscious. McDonald, his companion, who had toppled over the cliff in the whare, and had been badly shaken and bruised, managed to scramble out, and on seeing Mitchell's apparently lifeless form, dragged it above high water. Mitchell at this time was clad only in a shirt. Shortly after he regained consciousness. The sides of the cliff are perpendicular, but an active person can scramble up under ordinary circumstances. The two young lads, however, were badly battered about, and both had lost the use of an arm apiece. They had, consequently, to remain on the small sandy inlet in the drenching rain, with the waves from time to time dashing over them. After some two and a half hours in this predicament they began to lose hope, and fully anticipated being washed out to sea and drowned, when suddenly they heard a shout, and looking up saw Mr Bason at the top of the cliff. He immediately told them to hang on whilst he went for a ladder, which, after a short hunt, he found. It was' too short, however- so with the aid of some telephone wire he managed to fasten a couple of poles to it and let himself down the cliff. On reaching the bottom he found he had to wade across a gigantic hole, nearly six feet deep, which the water from the bursting dam had made, before he could reach the two stranded youths. Not without some difficulty he managed io get first one and then tie other across the water hole and up the cliff. "On arrival at. the top he lit a fire, and after seeing that the young fellows had got some warmth into their bodies he went to the nearest house; which is about a mile away, where-hi obtained assistance and some warm clothing, and brought the injured men into town. On arrival at the hospital it was .at once seen that Mitchell's arm was dislocated, whilst McDonald's arm was so swollen that it was impossible to say whether it was broken or not. However, Mitchell was soon attended to his shirt first of all having to be cut off his swollen limb before the latter was pulled into place, an operation which, by the way, was performed without the aid of chloroform. McDonald had his wounds dressed, and was, detained at the hospital, but Mitchell was allowed to proceed to his home. Both, look upon their escape from death is little short of miraculous, for the narrow strip of beach on to which the whare toppled from its foundation m the side of the cliff is only a few feet square, and is under water at high tide, the waves dashing .with great violence against the cliff sides.
Patea Power Station. The man on the horse is the internationally renowned Captain Alban J. Roberts was the first engineer. He resigned in 1904, and went on to invent remotely operated robots and machines.
Patea Power Station, photo taken by Kathleen Frampton, 2016
