One of Ohaeawai's little known historic places has survived a bit of rough and tumble

Dam-buster? The breach in the dam (far right) photographed a day or two after a log damaged the 100-year-plus dam at Ohaewai. Despite the knock, though, the dam has held. Photo / Supplied

One of Ohaeawai's little known historic places has survived a bit of rough and tumble.

Recent flooding resulted in an errant log running into the wall of a small dam causing damage to one of its walls, and undermining a much-loved swimming hole.

The dam, which is on the Pekapeka Stream close to Ohaeawai, is listed with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga as a Category Two historic place and was built in 1902 to provide water for use by a local dairy factory, and to later generate electricity.

Long since decommissioned as a source of power generation, the dam has been a welcome oasis of coolness during the long summer months, though the recent weather event proved to be a threat to the idyllic pond.

"The log has knocked a hole about 200mm in diameter through the middle section of the dam which resulted in the dam losing a significant amount of water," Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Northland manager Bill Edwards said.

"It's still intact, though not as full as it used to be."

The damage has put the spotlight on the previously little-known dam, which originally used an overshot water wheel to generate enough power to run the dairy factory at Ohaeawai and a number of local houses.

The small-scale power generation enterprise was a rarity in Northland, where electricity was unavailable to residents until the late 1930s.

"On December 15, 1939 power was switched on from the national grid, for the first time illuminating houses in Kaikohe, Kawakawa and Russell who were wired for electricity," Edwards said.

"Power was a long time coming to the north, though not without attempts by local people to make it happen.

"In 1916, for example, Public Works Department officials first looked at the possibility of using Lake Omapere for power generation. Not long after the First World War, however, the Government lowered the lake level and the plan was shelved."

Initiatives by private individuals like the Baldwin family, who built the dam and overshot water wheel at Ohaeawai, were important reminders of Northland's past according to Edwards.

"They remind us of the fact that Northland's infrastructure wasn't always as developed as it is today, and that Northlanders like the Baldwins overcame the effects of isolation through innovation and invention," he said.

"The dam is a great example of Kiwi 'Number 8 wire' farming innovation as well as having a long history among locals as the perfect swimming hole.

"It may not be feasible to fix the hole so its future is a bit uncertain, and the pond may end up being a ruin. In the short term, though, it's still probably usable for swimming – it's just not as deep as it once was."