Stormy Days THIS PALMERSTON NORTH TREASURE IS

UNDER THREAT. CAN SHE BE SAVED?

Welcome to my world

W O R D S & P H OTO G R A P H S JENN Y H A M P TO N

WHEN YOU STEP through the door into the Power Station, you have to stop and stare for a moment. Two massive diesel engines confront you, gleaming black and shiny with the most exquisite copper piping and brass detailing around polished gauges. Quite simply they are beautiful.

The immaculate presentation of these engines has been accomplished by a dedicated group of volunteers. Two passionate members of the Palmerston North Electric Power Station Society are Paul and Bruce Burr who commit hours of their time to the station in an effort to preserve this treasure for the people of Palmerston North to enjoy.

“At present we have in our possession one of the few surviving power stations of its type in New Zealand in a relatively unmodified form and where both engines are still operational although not connected to the grid any longer. The only other one is at Springlands in Blenheim”.

Bruce remembers being able to step through the hatch in the big door without bending down, that means he was probably around 5 or 6 when he first started coming to the Power Station with his father. Having grown up across the paddock the boys would often hear the engines starting up and come over to have a look; so the place has a certain nostalgia for them.

However, it’s not just a personal indulgence to see the station preserved, the brothers hope the wider community can continue to use the facility and enjoy the museum for years to come. Palmerston North has precious few buildings like this one and even fewer historical artifacts displayed on this scale. Paul and Bruce’s dedication is evident in the lovingly restored machines with their shining gauges and immaculate presentation. The enormous diesel engines hark back to a time past when the station first brought electricity to Palmerston North. “The city owes this building and these engines a debt of gratitude” says Paul. “Before it’s installation there was no power in the city, people used kerosene and gas and cooked on a coal range. They brought Palmerston North into the 20th century”. So when they heard the Council was intending to sell the building for demolition back in 1997 they just couldn’t believe it . “It just didn’t seem to be the right thing to do” says Paul. “They were intending to rip the engines out for scrap and sell the building for $60,000. The building is built on reserve land, it’s listed as a Heritage building and was signposted as being on the Heritage trail”. In response to this the Manawatu Branch of the NZ Historic Places Trust and interested locals organised an open day and ‘engine start’. In the two hour period about 350 people visited the station, in terrible weather. From such positive response the Palmerston North Electric Power Station Society Inc was born. They leased the building from Council and set about working on the building and its machinery. They worked with the Council and completed reroofing the building in 2010, expensive but essential work ensuring the building’s future progression.

When they heard the Council was going to have the engines scraped and the building demolished they were horrified

The city owes this building and these engines a debt of gratitude, they brought Palmerston North into the 20th century

“When we took it over it was a dirty rotten black hole. There was black overspray everywhere as they used to fix transformers in here using an overhead crane. One of the engines had a crack in it that had been bodgeyed up just to keep it going but we got inside and welded it back together and soon had it running smoothly. We continued to have demonstration days where we’d get the engines fired up and running”. Then a tourist group in the UK showed interest in including a visit to the station in their itinery. It proved a success. Instead of taking the groups from Auckland to Rotorua to Wellington then straight down south, they diverted off State Highway 1 especially to visit the Power Station, the Feilding Steam Rail and other points of interest. Opening the station in this way brought much needed tourist dollars to the city as the groups would stay a night in Palmerston North - good for a variety of businesses. “It’s hard to divert tourists off the main highway but we did it and it was successful”. Once theives broke in and stole the copper piping off the engines just two weeks prior to a scheduled visit. “We had a fortnight to learn how to copper weld and replace them before the next group came through. We did it though, with a lot of help from many people” Centrepoint Theatre hosted their shows Peter Pan and then Dracula in the building. Preparation was underway for the next show, and the buildings unique potential was being buillt up as a community wide attraction with many and varied uses. The future looked bright. But then the Christchurch earthquakes struck and new regulations saw an automatic no-go zone imposed upon the building without anyone having physically inspected it. “Overnight, our doors were shut and no-one was allowed in. A “No admittance” sign was put on the door”. It devastated the society and saw some members pull out in frustration seeing no point in putting all the hard work into the preservation if it was just going to be demolished. The Burrs however, continued to try to work through the issues and are still trying today, believing the building and its contents are too precious for the city to lose. Palmerston North has hardly any of these buildings left and this one is sound although doesn’t meet the new regulations, and the artifacts inside are unique.

NOWADAYS the sign has been downgraded to “Enter at your own risk” which has meant that care of the engines and contents has been able to carry on. It’s hard to keep motivation up when it seems that closure will be forced upon them at any moment. But they are not ones to sit around bemoaning the end. They see the value in keeping going and are always pleased to see somebody poke their head in the door to say hello and ask to have a look around.

Interested people can see more information and contacts at the Society’s website: http://webspace.webring.com/people/qp/pnpowerstn/ and they’re also on Facebook.

Overnight, our doors were shut and a “No admittance” sign was put on the door

At a Council meeting just this week, it has been proposed that the group find $482,000 as a contribution to half the cost of earthquake strengthening. A task that seems daunting. But with the support of the people of Palmerston North and beyond, nothing is impossible. The question is, do you want this treasure to disappear?