Skip to main content

Story: Geothermal energy

Geyser Valley, 1950s

Video file

This film, taken in the early 1950s, shows a selection of views in Geyser Valley, Wairākei. A few years later the extraction of steam for power generation caused the disappearance of all the hot springs and geysers, and left only steaming ground.

Using this item

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: People of the Waikato. National Film Unit, 1956

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Carol Stewart, Geothermal energy – Effects on the environment, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/5437/geyser-valley-1950s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carol Stewart, published 2 March 2009.