The Cornish Pumphouse. Waihi. New Zealand.
S 37° 23.370 E 175° 50.610
60H E 397624 N 5861290
The 1840-tonne, three-storey Cornish Pumphouse at Waihi Mine, built in 1904 took three months to be shunted to its new position overlooking Waihi's main street in a $4.2 million operation.
Waymark Code: WM7731
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 09/12/2009
Views: 9
Built around 1904, from a design used in the tin mines of Cornwall, England, the structure housed steam engines and pumping machinery. The pumps were needed to cope with the ever increasing quantities of water as the mine workings followed the gold-bearing quartz reefs to a final depth of 600 metres.
Constructed by Hathorn-Davey, the horizontal Cornish pump was the pride of the New Zealand mining industry. The pump had a stroke of 4 metres and continuously dewatered the mine workings at a rate of 7000 litres per minute via No 5 shaft, which was situated adjacent. No 5 shaft had a depth of 399 metres.
The pump was used until 1913 when the Waihi Gold Mining Company completed the first hydro electric power station on the Waikato River at Horahora (now below the waters of Lake Karapiro).
The pumphouse was kept in working order until 1929 as the miners did not trust electricity. By the early 1930s the building was stripped of machinery and left derelict as the mine continued to operate.
In 1987 the area was fenced for public safety. The Company carried out planting in the area, and provided a car park, access track and a viewing platform overlooking the open pit.
By the beginning of 2005 it was obvious that the pumphouse was tilting dangerously and the ground on which it sat was continuing to move. Experts advised that if it was to be saved the building itself would have to be moved. The decision was made to move the entire Pumphouse 26.5 metres to the south. The complicated removal procedure began and is described and photographed on the website (see below).
See Video of the Move: (
visit link)
The Waihi operation included laying pairs of concrete beams 18m long with stainless-steel surfaces to form parallel tracks, over which the pumphouse was slid on teflon pads.
As it cleared one pair of beams, these were rejoined to the front of the tracks, to be traversed five more times.
On the 8 November 2006, amid celebrations in the town of Waihi, the 'grand old lady' finally settled in for her first night in her new location, three months and one day after setting out.
Today the remains of the pumphouse are protected by the Historic Places Trust and the building is a Waihi landmark and tourist attraction.