Ōmanawa Falls Power Station (Place)
Te Rere o Ōmanawa - Ōmanawa Falls is a site of cultural significance to Ngāti Hangarau.
Lot 1 DPS 82484, Lot 1 DPS 82722 and Sec 10-11 Blk VI Otanewainuku SD (RT SA65b/226), South Auckland Land District.Main Body
1912:
- Tauranga Borough Council commissioned an infrastructure improvements report from engineering firm H.W. Climie & Son, which identified Ōmanawa Falls as a site for a power stationi retriculation scheme.
- Ratepayers voted in favour of a £15,000 to pay for the project.
1914:
- Public Works Department approved Tauranga Borough Council taking water from the Ōmanawa Falls for the purpose of water generation, and circulating subsequent electricity.
- H.W. Climie & Son won the tender to design and manage construction.
- A cave was excavated out of rock for the power station.
1915 August 28: officially completed, and commissioned.
1915 October 2: electric street lighting in Tauranga (replacing city gas lamps).
1921: Enlarged by further excavation into the rock, installation of a vaulted concrete roof, and 600kw generator.
1992: Energy Companies Act transferred ownership from the Council to the newly created Tauranga Electricity Ltd.
1993 December: Registered by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga as Historic Place Category 2, under the Historic Places Act 1993.
1997 June: Council owned Tauranga Civic Holdings Ltd became the full owners (rather than majority interest).
1997 October: Manawa Energy (formerly Trustpower) purchased Tauranga Electricity.
1998 July 29: the station was decommissioned and gifted to Tauranga City Council.
2007: Michael Davis, hydro developer, negotiated a 35-year lease with Tauranga City Council to restore the vandalised station.
2008 November: the station began generating electricity again, supplying to PowerCo's Kaimai feeder.
2020: upgrade to restore and develop equipment, increasing efficiency and output.
Equipment has included:
- Initially two 75kw 400 volt direct-coupled generating sets.
- Three phase 11 kV lines to transport the power.
- Escher Wyss cast iron turbine, 1,200 hp, 275 rpm (originally used at a gold quartz crushing plant in Karangahake Gorge).
Staff over the years included: Warren Aitken, Jim Berryman, E.L. Gossett (original operator), Lloyd Mandeno (original electrical engineer), Johnny Milne, Tommy Milne.
See also: Tauranga Electricity Power Board
SourcesBay of Plenty Times. (1929, March 13). Farming lands in Tauranga County. p. 2.Bay of Plenty Times. (1981, March 21). Power plant serves the city well.Bay of Plenty Times. (1988, June 4). Ōmanawa birth of power era. By Lincoln Vincent and photographs by Robert Harding. p. 11-12.Bay of Plenty Times. (2010, July 3). Revived falls station's keeping Kaimai cosy.Bay of Plenty Times. (2015, December 13). Ōmanawa Falls station turns 100 (+ a video). By John Cousins.Butters, Lester. (1959). Omanawa Falls: A brief written and pictorial history. Tauranga City Council.Heritage New Zealand. (n.d.). Ōmanawa Falls Power Station.Malcolm, R.L. (1979, August). Old history of Ōmanawa Falls and district: from January 1910-1960. Journal of the Tauranga Historical Society, (63). p. 15-18.Morris, W.E. (1972, December). Journal of the Tauranga Historical Society, (46). p. 15-16.Richardson, W. (1998). A history of the Tauranga District water supply. Tauranga District Council.Stokes, Evelyn. (1980). A history of Tauranga County. Dunmore Press.SunLive. (2023, July 1). Powering up history: Tauranga‘s electrifying past. By Georgia Minkhorst.SunLive. (2013, December 31). Electric memories.Tauranga City Council. (n.d.). Te Rere o Omanawa - Omanawa Falls.Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 99-895





