72 | NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019
flowsfromLakeManapōuri,engineers
arguedtheycouldraisethelake’sheight
byupto30m,increasingtheamountof
waterit heldandtherebyimprovingthe
powerstation’soperation,andgenerat-
ingpowernearly100%ofthetime,even
indryperiods.Doingso,however,
wouldmeandrowningmanyofthe
lake’s 33 islands,andfloodingsurround-
ingnativeforestforkilometresinland.
Theelectricitydepartment,theMinis-
tryofWorks,successivegovernments,
andthegiantmultinationalcompany
behindthescheme– Comalco– argued
theeffectsonthelakewouldactuallybe
beneficial;atworst,negligible.
IdeasofharnessingLakeManapōuri
reachedbackto1904,whena Public
WorksDepartmentengineer,PeterHay,
prescientlynoteditssuitabilityforgen-
eratingelectricityandsmeltingalumini-
um.Buteveninthoseunregulateddays,
Hayforesawdifficultieswiththeplan,
givenManapōuriwasalreadyoneofNew
Zealand’smostidealisedtouristloca-
tions.“Itisnotlikely,forscenicreasons,
thata highdamwouldbebuiltatMan-
apōuri.Thepresentbeautyofthelakeis
worthpreservingtothefullestextent.”
Butbythe1950s,Hay’swarningshad
beenlostintherushtodiversifythe
country’seconomyawayfromfarming,
andattractindustry.Leadingthecharge
wastheMinistryofWorksengineer-
in-chief,CharlesTurner,whotolda pub-
licmeetinginInvercargillthatNewZea-
landneededtoexport“ourrainfallin
someotherformthanmeatorwool”.
Notlongbefore,largereservesof
bauxite,therawmaterialforalumini-
um,hadbeendiscoveredinAustralia
andComalcohadtherightstoextract
it.Thus,Turnerencouragedtheidea
thatrefinedbauxitecouldbeshipped
fromQueenslandtoa smelteratBluff,
wheretheenormousamountsofcheap
electricityfromManapōuri,thecoun-
try’slargesthydro-electricscheme,
wouldcreatealuminium.Itseemeda
brilliantcollaboration.
Soin1960,withoutanypublicconsul-
tation,thethen-Labourgovernment
signeda dealwithComalcogivingit
exclusiverightstousethewatersof
Lakes Manapōuri and Te Ānau for hydro-lake.Sparrowsdescendonthepicnic
table,searchingforcrumbs.Apairof
paradiseducksswoopsoverhead.Itis
theperfectplace.
But 50 yearsago,thepowersthatbe
werepreparedtosacrificeallthis.Inthe
nameofprogressandindustrialisation,
thegovernmentwantedtoartificially
raisethelevelofLakeManapōuri,which
lieswithinFiordlandNationalPark,to
generatemoreelectricity.They’dalready
builta powerstationatthelake’swestern
end– waterdropping178mfromthelake
toundergroundpowerturbines,then
dischargeddowna 10kmtunneldrilled
throughthemountainstoDoubtful
SoundandtheTasmanSea.Theelectric-
itythiscreatedwasalldestinedfora sin-
glealuminiumsmelteratTiwaiPtnear
Bluff,160kmaway.
But by damming the Waiau River thatT
hreeguysona roadtripparkup
andwanderdowntotheedge
ofLakeManapōuri.Theyroll
uptheirtrousersandtestthe
waterwithbarefeet.Theytakephotos,
thenheadbacktothecar.
A passerbyremarksthatit’snota bad
spot.“There’snobodyhere,”oneofthe
guysreplieswithwonderment.“It’sthe
perfectplace.”
He’slying.Fiftymetresalongthe
beach,therearetwootherpeople,having
a latebreakfastata picnictable.They
finishup,andreturntotheirvanandthe
restoftheirholiday.
Thenthere’snobodyleft.Justanemp-
tybeachanda stilllakestretchingto-
wardsislandsandoutcrops,andtheir-
regularridgelineofthesurrounding
mountains.Somewheredistantthere’s
the rumble of a boat chugging across the
Left:LakeTeĀnau’sshoreline.
Belowleft:Lupinsalong Lake
Manapōuri’s shore.