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This programme consists of occasional music, narration and interviews about the Waipori hydro-electrical scheme and the area's gold mining history.
The announcer describes the beautiful scene around the Waipori Dam.
An engineer, Mr. G. Dungey, describes the history of the hydro-electric scheme. It is the largest municipally owned and operated scheme in New Zealand. Power was first delivered to Dunedin in 1907.
The watershed comprises an area of 125 square miles, the runoff from which is stored in the dam at Lake Mahinerangi. He describes how the water moves through the scheme to feed the water to the main power-house.
The village at the power station has a population of about 100 and has enough amenities for the people living and working there. They have their own grocery store, post office and sports facilities.
Frank Collins, the Station Engineer, talks about the function of the control room - the nerve centre of the whole operation. The operator's function is to keep the water at the optimum levels by controlling the amount of water discharged into the station. He describes how power is generated and transferred to Dunedin.
The announcer gives a brief description of the Mahinerangi Dam and the lake.
Mr Dungey describes the dam itself in detail, giving measurements of each section and of the lake.
The focus moves to the old settlement of Waipori, which was submerged beneath the new lake.
Fred W. Knight, a former resident of the gold mining township, talks about living in the area during the gold rush. He talks about the miners' recreation, drinking and dancing. There were over a hundred hotels in the township to cater for them. There was rivalry between the Irish and Cornish miners which resulted in a brawl.
Fred Knight describes gold mining techniques, his nephew Syd Knight talks about some large nuggets of gold found in the Waipori field.
They both remember other businesses in Waipori and talk about some of the stores there. The first store was opened in 1862. Syd talks about the first rabbits in the area; at first they were a novelty, but before long they overran the area.
The programme returns to the dam.
Mr Dungey, the engineer, talks about how the idea of using the river to provide power originated. He says the gold miners started with crude methods and developed to using hydraulic methods then progressed to dredging, which required steam power. The cost of bringing coal in was excessive.
Fred Knight talks about storekeeping and the challenges of bringing supplies into the area, using 'prairie schooners' - large tented wagons.
Syd Knight expands on the theme and speaks about bullock teams which were used to cart coal for the dredges.
Mr Dungey talks about the advent of electricity in the area. A miner called Lawson had the idea to build a flume to harness the power of the fall of the water but did not have the funds to accomplish it. The idea was eventually taken up by the Dunedin City Council, who had recently had an electric tram system installed.
Mr Dungey describes the initial hydroelectric scheme and its initial difficulties. It supplied the City of Dunedin with power from 1907. It was not sufficiently reliable to begin with, and almost immediately improvements started being made. The decision was made to build a dam, but mining interest in the area was too strong to be able to build the dam in the most natural place; two lesser dams were built across tributaries instead.
Eventually the mines department conceded that there was no longer enough interest in the area and in 1920 permission was given to Dunedin City Council to build a dam in the mouth of the gorge.
He talks about increased capacity meaning that upgrades needed to be made to all aspects of the scheme. It was connected with the Waitaki scheme in 1934 and was very beneficial for both sites.
The dam was not completed to its full height until 1946. The dam was not permitted to be raised to its full height until access was provided for farmers to reach their properties.
Mr Dickson, assistant engineer of the City Electricity Department, talks about Dunedin's other power plants, used to augment the power supply from Waipori, and further developments planned for Waipori. This will include three further power stations and dams.
The announcer thanks the contributors and concludes the programme.