Waihi pump House

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Completed in 1904, the building, based on a design used in the tin mines in Cornwall, England (there is one other example in New Zealand, on Kawau Island) was used to house the steam engines and pumps to keep the 400-metre deep No. 5 mine shaft dry. The pump was designed to shift 6375 litres of water per minute and was used until 1913, when electric centrifugal pumps replaced it, though it was kept in working order until 1929, on account of miners’ deep mistrust of that newfangled electricity. Today it is a gorgeous shell, Gothic-looking, with its tall, imposing lines and cathedral-scale windows, and has become a symbol for the town. But it lives a perilous existence.
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Coordinates:  37°23'21"S 175°50'36"E
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This article was last modified 12 years ago