This concrete hut was erected between 1901 and 1926. Today it is hidden deep inside the native bush of Wainuiomata Regional Park.
The Concrete Hut, sits above a cast-iron pipe and the older concrete water race, which lies approximately ½ meter below its concrete floor. Around 1901, the concrete water race was converted to a 750mm cast-iron pipe with a Venturi meter added as part of the Ōrongorongo water supply scheme completed in 1926. This places the likely construction of the Concrete Hut between 1901 and 1926 as it was used as a meter hut.
Inside, remnants of the water flow meter system can be seen on the walls and floor, once used to regulate the steel pipe beneath. Near the entrance and a window, is concrete sealing at each end of the hut marking the entry points to the water race, which begins at the Lower Reservoir and extends to the shaft at Colemans Tunnel near Richard Prouse Park.
The hut is of a rectangular design, measuring 3.365 meters along its longer side, corresponding to the track side or the south/north orientation. On the shorter side, measuring 2.455 meters, lies the east/west alignment. The height from the exterior to the arched concrete roof peaks at 2.5 meters. Positioned on the north side, the entrance features a window opposite on the west side, both fashioned from molded concrete.
Until the mid-1990s, the hut was visible from the Sunny Grove and Hine Road vicinity, but over time, dense tree growth has obscured the structure from view. Its exact location is on an old track that ran parallel with Reservoir Road that use to accommodate four-wheel drive vehicles until about 2008. Since then, nature has all but reclaimed this section of the old track / road. It was initially carved out in the early 1880s for the water race’s construction and had undergone widening over the years to facilitate vehicular passage.
Special thanks to Jeremy Foster for his help with this article.
