One Mile Creek Power Station

One Mile Creek Power Station
Powerhouse
Country	New Zealand
Location	Queenstown
Coordinates	45°2′11″S 168°38′40″E
Status	Decommissioned
Opening date	18 September 1924
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Reinforced concrete arch
Height	12 m
Power Station
Hydraulic head	150 m
Turbines	1 x 60 kW

One Mile Creek Power Station is a former hydro-electric generating station in Queenstown, New Zealand. The power station was commissioned in 1924 to provide electric power for lighting in Queenstown. A re-inforced concrete arch dam was constructed in One Mile Creek to divert water into a penstock that supplied a pelton wheel turbine in a powerhouse constructed near to the shore of Lake Wakatipu. The station was officially opened on 18 September 1924^[1] and operated until 1966 when it was decommissioned. The headworks of the scheme were subsequently used by the Queenstown Borough Council for water supply purposes.^[2]

A charitable trust was formed in 2002 to undertake restoration of the building and re-instatement of the generating equipment as a heritage project, and the work was completed in 2005.^[2]

The One Mile Creek Walk generally follows the steep route of the penstocks from the powerhouse up to the dam.^[3] The walk passes through beech forest that is the closest area of native forest to Queenstown.^[4]

References

1. "Queenstown Hydro-electric Scheme". Lake Wakitip Mail. No. 3606. 23 September 1924. p. 4. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
2. "One Mile Creek Hydro-electric Station". Engineering New Zealand. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
3. "Wakatipu Walks" (PDF). Department of Conservation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
4. "Ben Lomond and Queenstown Hill Reserve Management Plan" (PDF). Queenstown Lakes District Council. p. 35. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.