Monowai - Southland Electric Power Supply Brochure, c1990's

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Central & Western Murihiku Southland Archive

Monowai - Southland Electric Power Supply Brochure, possibly printed for the Power Station automation set for 1991, does anyone know please? BROCHURE: This shows the Monowai Power Station, with plans, photos and information. Part of our Waiau River - Source to Sea project, to preserve all of its history. If desired, this Brochure can be viewed, read or printed as a .pdf file by clicking on the link for this under the photos of the brochure above. Text from the Brochure is quoted as below: Front Cover - "MONOWAI - Southland Electric Power Supply, [photos and a drawing of the Power Station and surrounding views are shown, on the front cover]. Monowai Power Station, Bringing Power to the People of Southland." Inside Page1 - "MONOWAI - Hydro Electric Power Station. Monowai hydro electric power station lies on the banks of the Waiau River 62km south of Te Anau. Monowai is the second smallest power station of the earlier New Zealand Electricity Department. Nevertheless, as part of the Southland Electric Power Supply, it has been of considerable importance to the people of Southland. THE HISTORY. The scheme was investigated as early as 1919, the year the Southland Electric Power Board was constituted to undertake the task of generating and distributing electric power throughout the province. Major construction began in February 1922 and was completed in December 1924, despite setbacks caused by high floods and a serious shortage of materials. The station was officially opened on 1 May 1925 with two machines. The third was commissioned in 1927. In October 1936 the station and distribution system were taken over by the Government and operated under the name of the Southland Electric Power Supply. Monowai now has gates which are radio controlled from the power station, and with new switchgear and increased turbine efficiency the station is all set for full automation and control from Invercargill by 1991." Inside Page2 - "MONOWAI - Hydro Electric Power Station. THE POWERHOUSE. The powerhouse lies in the Waiau River bed and is a reinforced concrete building housing three turbines and generators. Two transformer banks step up the electricity generated at 6,600 volts to 66,000 volts for the Southland Electric Power Supply transmission network. THE HEADWORKS. The 31 square km Lake Monowai, about 8.5km from the powerhouse, is controlled by gates at its Monowai River outlet. Water flows down the Monowai River for some 6km to a pond formed by a weir across the river. A recent innovation has been the inclusion of a floating debris collection and fish pass. The pond is then diverted into a canal 865m long to a forebay, from where a 1,036 pipeline leads to the surge tank. Three penstocks, with diameters which vary in steps from 2.6m to 1.6m, take the water from the surge tank down to the turbines in the powerhouse." Back Cover - "STATISTICS: Annual energy output into the national system, 36 GWH. Total kilowatt rating, 6000 kilowatts. Powerhouse, 43m long, 12m wide. Turbines, Horizontal Francis type 2400 kilowatts built by Boving. Generators, 3 machines of 2,000 kilowatts at 6,600 volts with two built by English Electric and one by British Thomson Houston. Net Head, 48.2m. Transformer bank capacity, 2 x 7050kVA. Total cost of project, $562,000. Commissioned, 1925 and 1927. Purchased by Government, October 1936. [also drawn plan of the Power Station workings and a photo of the turbines]. By Atlas Print." SITE HISTORY: The history of this station actually started before the date in this brochure. As explorers started moving in larger numbers through the lake areas and mountains of the south, potential for power generation was seen. It was in 1914 when Lake Monowai was identified by the Southland League, as a potential hydro-electric scheme site. The Southland Electric Power Board was formed in 1918, with the Monowai Power Station firmly in their sights. This was a project with massive potential to transform the lives of everyone in the region, from manufacturers to those on farms, their workers and especially residential households. Firstly, there was the issue of getting machinery to the site. So, the Monowai Bridge was specifically made to transport both machinery and materials across the Waiau River, to the Monowai Power Station works at Lake Monowai. There is a fabulous photo of this in these Community Archive entries on here, under no. CWA.037.150.058.3 After the bridge was opened, construction of the Monowai Power Station started in 1921. A whole village was built for the power station workers, but more on this later on. The station itself was finally opened in 1925. While these works were going on, the site became quite the tourist attraction! The Monowai Power Station was officially opened on 1 May 1925 by the Southland Electric Power Board. After financial difficulties, it was bought by the Government in 1936. Up until the Southland network was linked to the national power grid in 1939, the Monowai Station was vital to the whole Murihiku Southland disitrict, as its main power source. From 1894 some private and local council coal powered power stations were meeting localised power demands, but a much more robust substantial supply was needed, hence this Monowai project. Pioneer bought Monowai Station in December 2002 and still own this, along with many other power stations across the south. As we start this part of our current project on the two Murihiku Power Stations histories, many more photos of the site and works will follow on as we progress through our project of collating these and celebrating this history. It is 100 years next year, in 2025, since the Power Station opened and there is a planned Centenary event to be held for this, at Monowai, in celebration. We hope to have this community history finished before then. In the meantime, it would be wonderful if more people contributed memories, photos and other memorabilia to add to the story and history of these life-altering project works. If you can help with this, please comment in the section under this image page, or contact us.