Episodes
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Episode 5 looks at the Clyde Dam - the last big power station built by the state.
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Episode 4 of Dam the River, looking at the development of the Manapouri Power Scheme, the Tiwai Point Aluminum Smelter, and the rise of the environmental movement in opposition to it.
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Missing episodes?
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In Episode 3, we look at the expansion of the hydro-electric power network in the post-war period, as the growing country came to depend on electricity more and more. Workers moved into houses built by the government in specifically designed hydro towns while they constructed these dams. We cover the schemes on the Waikato, then head back to the South Island to look at Roxburgh, Benmore, Aviemore, and then finally the Cook Strait Cable that connected the two islands.
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Episode 2: From The Muddy Banks of the Waitaki.
In this episode we look at the expansion in hydro power projects from the end of the First World War till the end of the second. This covers Parry's North Island schemes - Mangahao, Arapuni, and Waikaremoana, a look at all the industries driving the demand for electricity, and the smaller scheme at Monowai. Finally, we talk about the mighty Waitaki, the first major run-of-river scheme, that both harnessed a huge amount of water, and unleashed a huge wave of social change. -
Episode 1: It's Lit.
In this series of podcasts, James Macbeth Dann looks into the history of hydro-electric power in New Zealand, how and why the dams were built, and the changes in society that led up to and resulted from these big pieces of infrastructure.
The first episode looks at the early power schemes in New Zealand, including the Bullendale Scheme in Central Otago, the first public power scheme at Reefton, the dam at Waipori, and the government's first big dam at Lake Coleridge.
