Kōrero: Hydroelectricity

People in Taranaki were early adopters of electricity, and a number of dams were built on the streams which radiate out from Mt Taranaki. In 1900 this dam on the Pātea River generated electricity used in the nearby town of Stratford, which had been partially electrified since 1898. Like many of the early dams, this one was privately built and owned. Its ramshackle appearance suggests that some work on the dam was taking place at the time the photograph was taken.