Horahora Power Station

Horahora Power Station was an early hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River in New Zealand. It was the country’s first large-scale power station, completed in 1913.[1] Initially built to service a gold mine, the power station was expanded to supply a significant part of the North Island.[2] The power station remained in use until was submerged by Lake Karapiro, which was formed to supply the larger Karapiro Power Station.[3]

History

Horahora power station was built by the Waihi gold mining company to provide power for mining operations at Waihi, about 80 km away. Construction began in 1910 and took three years, continuing through the Waihi miners' strike despite attempts to involve the Horahora construction workers in the strike action. When the power station opened in October 1913 it was the largest generating plant in the country with a capacity of 6.3 megawatts (8,400 hp). The power was put to use throughout the mine and stamping mills, however under the mining company’s ownership the power station was never utilised to its full capacity.[2]

The power station was bought by the NZ government in 1919 and it began to supply Cambridge, Hamilton and surrounding farming districts. In 1926 the power station was upgraded, increasing capacity to 10.3 megawatts (13,800 hp). This allowed supply to be extended to include the Bay of Plenty and Auckland.[2]

Submerging

In April 1947 Lake Karapiro was finally formed behind the Karapiro Power Station dam, submerging Horahora. It was kept generating until the last possible day due to power shortages, with the turbines and generator units being left in place. To the amusement of onlookers, two generators continued to rotate and thrash the rising waters, even after the water had almost covered them.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Our Heritage Mighty River Power
  2. 1 2 3 4 Martin, John E. (1998). People, politics and power stations : electric power generation in New Zealand, 1880-1998.
  3. ↑ Aniwaniwa Waikato Museum

1926 photo of power house and nearby housing

Coordinates: 37°57.133′S 175°39.446′E / 37.952217°S 175.657433°E / -37.952217; 175.657433

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