THE PATH TO POWER

Documentary chronicling the construction of the Manapouri Power Project.
Intertitle: “A tribute to the skills of engineers and builders who brought to completion at Manapouri the largest undertaking of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.”
Explains the concept behind the dam: harnessing the power potential in the lake that sits six hundred feet above sea level by digging a hole through a mountain range to Doubtful Sound; Comalco’s idea to transport bauxite from Australia to New Zealand and utilise the power potential to turn it into aluminium.
The Wanganella arrives as accommodation for the workers. Construction of road to Sound. Geological research. The cutting of the tunnel and extraction of rubble. Construction of power lines between Doubtful Sound and Invercargill. Problems of power and water extraction. Life onboard the Wanganella and at the West Arm married men’s township. The construction of the machine hall. The Honourable Ralph Hannan fires the final blast to remove last barrier of rock. Fitting of floodgates. Installing the generators in the machine hall. Opening of the floodgates and the first turns of the turbines.