Karori Water Supply Dams and Reservoirs Register Report - ipenz

Historical narrative
In 1865 the seat of New Zealand‟s Government shifted south from Auckland to
Wellington. This was a contributing factor in Wellington‟s rapid population increase by
the end of the century, from 7,460 in 1867 to 49,344. This boost in people led to
overcrowding which, along with poor hygiene and a lack of adequate public water
supply and sewerage facilities, resulted in a high rate of disease and infant mortality. 1
In 1871, Government scientist James Hector referred to the “misery and suffering
entailed especially of the children from the presence of intestinal worms” and
concluded that “no water collected from within the crowded part of the city either from
wells or housetops, is safe or proper for human consumption.” 2 At the time, water
reticulation in Wellington was limited to a few pipes laid by the Government to supply
their own buildings and the naval vessels in port. Residential water was “collected
from house-tops into barrels and iron tanks, and also shallow wells.” 3
Even in 1867 it was recognised that the city‟s water supply was inadequate. Various
plans had been formulated, but nothing came of them because they were “more or
less grand in design, and expensive in character.” 4 The chief difficulty was a financial
one. Wellington‟s first town surveyor/engineer, Richard Skeet (1832-1894), developed
a scheme to supply the southern wards of the town with water from the Te Aro (or
Waimapihi) Stream in Polhill‟s Gully (upper Aro Valley), with the Thorndon ward being
supplied from the Kaiwharawhara Stream (or Kaiwarra Stream as it was known by
early European settlers) tapped near Baker‟s cutting. However, the estimated cost
was over £41,000, which was a huge sum and beyond local government financial
capacity. Other engineers generally agreed with the scheme, George Aickin (1822-
1882) added that a reasonably deep four acre reservoir would contain enough water
to adequately supply double Wellington‟s population at the time. 5
1 C. Maclean, 'Wellington region - From town to city: 1865–1899', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, URL:
http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/wellington-region/8 (updated 24 November 2009); S. Morrison, History of Water Supply
in the Wellington Region, 1872-1985, Wellington, 1986, p.1
2 A. Mulgan, The City and its Strait: Wellington and its Province, Wellington, 1939, p.211
3 „Report of the Select Committee on the Wellington Waterworks Bill,‟ Appendix to the Journals of the House of
Representatives, 1871, Session I, H-03, p.3. URL: http://www.atojs.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-
bin/atojs?a=d&cl=search&d=AJHR1871-I.2.2.5.3&srpos=1&e=-----1871--10--1------2wellington+waterworks--
(accessed 26 March 2012). This was stated by Nicholas Marchant, Wellington City Engineer, when he was before
the Select Committee.
4 Wellington Independent, 19 February 1867, p.3
5 Wellington Independent, 16 May 1867, p.5
IPENZ Engineering Heritage Report 6
Karori Water Supply Dams and Reservoirs