Skip to main content

We have a property!







We heard yesterday that we have finally scored a property so we should be moving by the end of March - it's a big relief and we are looking forward to starting again.  Here's a piece of Kerikeri history...it's what remains of the old hydro-electric station which began to produce power to 17 customers on 11 July 1930 and it is stuck in the middle of the Rainbow Falls river walk.

A Mr George Alderton with a land developer and some of his customers were British civil servants that were wanting to settle in town. Alot of them were use to having a privileged life along with servants and maids etc, the wives were not impressed at having to do the manual work themselves which is why having electricity would be essential.  George set up his company so the settler's wives would be happy and want to buy the land.



He then employed Lloyd Mandeno to investigate the potential of a hydro station on the Kerikeri River. He said that it should supply at least 300 horsepower but because of low seasonal flooding the water should be diverted from the Puketotara River.

At the end of 1929 George Alderton's company began constructing the dam as well as the open water race for water diverted from the 2 rivers and in 1930 the power was turned on.  The surviving machinery of the powerhouse has been restored (above) and placed where it originally was so visitors can walk along the track and see inside.

Comments

Sharon said…
An interesting slice of history. That top photo is gorgeous! I love the light filtering through the trees.
So very happy for you, Amy, that you have found a place. Now you can begin getting things organised and headed towards a more stable life.
When one looks around, there were a lot of these little hydro stations around the place before the big power stations took over. Nice to see this little bit of history being kept alive.
gz said…
Congrats on the house..
It would be interesting to know how long the hydro station produced power
local alien said…
Very good news about the house!
Graham Edwards said…
I always thing it slightly strange that I am commenting on a 1st March post on the 29th February. When I used to live in New Zealand for 6 months of the year I was forever trying to get my head around two things: being ahead/behind by approximately 12 hours and the fact that the sun was in the north at midday for half the year and in the south for the other half.

I'm very glad that you've found somewhere to live.

Bill said…
Congrats on securing a house. It must be a huge relief for you and your family.mmmmm
Susan Heather said…
Great news about the house. We must do that walk next time we are in Kerikeri. Only did a small part of it last time when we were on the Kawakawa balm course.
Rhonda Albom said…
Great news on the property. I love little oddities like this generator placed in an out of the way area to service 17 customers.
Serenata said…
Whenever I visit Keri Keri, which is usually yearly, but won't be this year, I always go on the walk that goes past this pump. Love the history of the place.

Exciting news about your move, and I hope all goes well for you, and that you don't end up with Cowboy Moves like we did! No wonder my Dad used to move us himself whenever we moved house in NZ. Wish we'd moved ourselves here - it might have taken a lot longer, but nothing would have been damaged.
Glad you have a place! Yay. Interesting pictures and history. I wouldn’t have been thrilled to do all that work without electricity either!

Popular posts from this blog

Auckland Metropolis Museum

In amongt the modern new highrise buildings in Auckland City is this smaller vintage building that is currently for sale (I'd buy it if I had the money).   My research found that:  "It was designed by English-born architect Charles Towle and erected in the early 1930s as the Church of Christ, Scientist, the building's Graeco-Roman facade has towering columns that frame its impressive entranceway, with three ornate timber doors decorated with leadlight inserts providing access to the expansive foyer. Arched ceilings dominate the former congregational high stud space beyond the foyer and numerous picturesque windows provide a light, airy feel and an ambience many office buildings lack. The building housed congregational and Sunday school services for 70 years until it was sold and converted into office space in 2003. A significant refurbishment was also carried out with care taken to ensure that the building's distinctive character remained intact. Special architectural ...

Grace Brothers

  We have 2 new chickens, both black ladies. If any of you are familiar with British comedy tv shows you will recognize the names we have given them. This one is named Miss Brahms. And this one is named Mrs Slocombe. At the moment we have them in a temporary shelter next to the Special Patrol Group that we've had for the last 9 months just so they can get to know each other before we intigrate the black ones in with the brown ones. These ones give us a white coloured egg whereas the brown shavers give us brown coloured eggs. Linking up with  Tuesday Treasures ,  Happy Tuesdays  and   Wordless Wednesday .

Vondel

  I nthe heart of Devonport in Auckland is this little block of businesses. In my younger days I worked in this suburb as a legal typist for lawyers and to see it now as it is, it's made many changes over the years. This building is surrounded by older style buildings in the main street with businesses such as shoe shops, clothing shops, professionals, cafes, bars, restaurants etc. It's a very upmarket suburb with quite expensive houses along the waterfront. Vondel in the above photo is a restaurant but upon looking up their website, there wasn't alot of information about who they are. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .