A large and engaged crowd was ready in Tautoru / TSB Space at 1.30pm on Friday 29 August to hear author Rosemary Baird talk about her book and research into the stories and lives of the Manapōuri hydro project. This was one of our largest infrastructure projects from 1963 to 1971 and 18 lives were lost over its course.
Interviewer Liz Grant praised Rosemary’s book as she skilfully takes the reader on the journey of the plant’s construction and workers’ lives.
Rosemary talked about how this book emerged out of her PhD project looking at New Zealanders who had migrated to Australia and encountering an interviewee (Frank) who talked about his time at Manapōuri before moving across the Tasman - “a gripping story”.
For the workers, pay was a big driver as they could earn 2-3 times more normal wages working on the project as well as earning a variety of different bonuses depending on their work. But she also talked about the dangers, frustrations, and isolations of the work – though workers found the humour in their dangerous work. Rosemary related one of Frank’s stories about an Irish worker who quickly quit after being tormented by the friendly local kea who interfered with the hosing for his acetylene torch, and even his helmet after he’d thrown it at them in frustration - “I’ve never met anything like these devil birds!”.
For workers, the project was an opportunity. Frank got a lot out of it and built experience that served him well working in Australia, and he was able to pay off his debts. Others saw both short and long-term opportunities – saving for university, an OE, or helping to buy a house and set up their families.
The dangers of the project were real for the men – 18 of them died across the project. The isolation was a challenge – though there were medical staff on site, injured workers were also evacuated by seaplane.
Another interesting insight was how the diversity of the workforce was important. When faced with a racist American senior engineer (the project was managed by an American company), workers downed tools and their union helped force the sacking of the culprit. The workforce was multicultural and diverse, and Rosemary noted that though social norms have changed, and she was talking to the men years later, things were less conservative than we might assume. All of her interviewees were positive about the diversity, and many talked about it as a positive life experience. An interesting comment was that there were many gay men working on the project (especially as support staff) and this was recounted very matter of factly and non-judgmentally (something like how my great-uncle and his “friend” were never an issue within my own family). Tim Shadbolt worked on the project as a young man and he was very positive – recounting it as part of his later life experiences and mixing with different people help set him up for his future activism.
“Alcohol was the lifeblood of the project” - as were well-provisioned meals from the Wangarella moored in Doubtful Sound. The cooks were vital for morale and well respected, as were other support staff like the nurses and doctors. Women worked on the project but were not involved with more dangerous sites and work, and the isolation and loneliness described was a fascinating aspect for Rosemary.
Liz Grant noted the very positive comments made by Radio New Zealand - “history as it should be told, full of vibrancy and colour”, and asked about the advantages of oral histories. Rosemary said that the idea was that you are creating a new archival source that includes stories and narratives often excluded in others. It is a work of co-creation with interviewees and is a great tool for exploring social relationships and into people’s emotions and experiences.
Liz asked whether the men minimise their feelings and experiences in their stories. Rosemary said that they did minimise injuries – often downplaying them compared to those who were killed, and women minimised the effects of isolated living.
On the question about what we would lose without oral history, Rosemary noted that people’s lives are finite and there was something so touching in having people who did not see themselves as important tell their compelling stories – ones that were vivid and sensory-rich.
Liz asked Rosemary about being able to visit Manapōuri - was it strange? Rosemary was struck by how tidy and clinical and automated the plant was now compared to the stories she heard where the environment was an overwhelming aspect. Manapōuri was one of the first big environmental protests, but the men were mostly uninterested at the time, though some reflected and saw the protestors’ point of view.
The audience was grateful and emotive in their thanks for the work – with two members thankful for hearing the stories, having worked on the project themselves or been young children of families working on the project.
Liz Grant closed the session with a wonderful comment - “a great gift to New Zealand and a totally compelling book.”
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