THE “MORTON” DAM
AT WAINUI-O-MATA OFFICIAL VISIT BY CITY COUNCILLORS
The Mayor and councillors, accompanied by their wives, together with the principal officers of the corporation, motored to Wainui-o-mata yesterday afternoon to officially inspect the new storage reservoir, which has been referred to in the past as the Solomon’s Knob dam but now stands a good chance of being rechristened the “Morton Dam” as a compliment to the city engineer, under whose guidance the work has been carried out.
Included in the party were the Mayor (Mr T. M. Wilford) and Mrs Wilford, Councillors J. Smith, J. Godber, J. Trevor, L. McKenzie, A. H. Hindmarsh, J. Fuller, G. Frost, Mr Cameron, Messrs W. H. Morton (city engineer), J. M. Palmer (town clerk), J. O’Shea (city solicitor), J. M. Morice (assistant city engineer), and W. Murdoch (assistant engineer). The reservoir is 510 feet across at the face wall, with a depth of 44 feet at the bywash. The area of the dam is 30 acres, with a holding capacity of 120,000,000 gallons. After the official inspection, afternoon tea was served in the open, and the customary congratulatory speeches were made.
RED LETTER DAY
“This should be regarded as a red-letter day in the history of the city,” said the Mayor. “For some three years, the contractors have been busy building probably the most up-to-date dam in the Southern Hemisphere.” The cost was in the region of £50,000, and the reservoir would guarantee the citizens a water supply far greater than currently needed. There was enough water for a population twice as large as present. The new dam would hold 120,000,000 gallons, while the old reservoir held 20,000,000 gallons. The minimum daily flow of the stream supplying the water basins was 3,000,000 gallons. In addition, there were two dams at Karori with a capacity of 108,500,000 gallons. When the work of duplicating the main from Wainui to the city was completed, Wellington would have one of the finest water supply systems in Australasia. “Wellington stands in the proud position of being the cleanest city in the Southern Hemisphere. Melbourne is running us close,” he added, “but statistics show that from a health point of view, we are the cleanest city on this side of the world.” Wellington had shown great foresight by undertaking such an important and necessary work. It had been found necessary to duplicate the pipes because the present main was not large enough to provide the requisite supply, and £100,030 had been borrowed to carry out the work. He congratulated the city engineer on the successful completion of the reservoir. The city might well be proud of Mr Morton and his officers. Other local authorities keenly watched Mr Morton’s work and were always eager to employ men he had trained, proving that Mr Morton’s abilities were recognised elsewhere.
The dam was a construction type new to the Southern Hemisphere, to a large extent an experiment for the engineer and the contractors. Known as the Ambursen type, it was first adopted at Schuylerville in the United States. It was satisfying to know that the city possessed men capable of undertaking significant and completely new works and carrying them to a successful conclusion. The dam, known as the Solomon’s Knob reservoir, should be renamed the Morton dam, he proposed. Men who carried out important works were often quickly forgotten, as the public has a short memory. Mr Morton had led an entirely new class of work, and it would be a fitting tribute to rechristen the reservoir as suggested. It would show that his work was appreciated. He would certainly ask the council to rename it the “Morton Dam.” He also congratulated the contractors (Messrs Martin, Hurrell, and Snaddon) on completing the work.
IN REPLY
Mr Morton thanked the Mayor for his kind and appreciative words. He acknowledged the loyal assistance of his staff, particularly mentioning Mr W. Murdoch. He also praised the clerk of works, Mr P. Robinson. “I am glad to see the work carried to a satisfactory conclusion,” he added, “and I think it will be a lasting job.” (Applause.) Mr A. Hurrell also expressed thanks on behalf of the contractors.
Tags: Newspaper Waterworks
