Let there be light
A STORY on how Vatukarasa Village in Tailevu had electricity in the late ’70s was published on February 6, 1978.
The headline read, “Let there be light”.
A flick of the switch and Vatukarasa became a village of electric fans, drills, bright lights and hot water on tap, the story read.
And this was made possible by a small but effective electric plant at the edge of the village.
The deputy Prime Minister at that time, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, went to the village located about an hour’s drive from Suva and 45 minutes up the Rewa River in a putt-putt to officially turn on the power.
He followed the same route villagers used to take materials for the project, up the same quarter-mile of steep, muddy track from the riverbank along which the villagers carried a hundred bags of cement.
He was welcomed with a full Fijian ceremony in a vakatunuloa (open shed) on the rara (village green) of the well-kept picturesque village.
Then his traditionally dressed warrior guard led him to the dam that the village people built at the top of the small waterfall at the edge of the village, where he turned a wheel to let the water flow into a six-inch pipe.
It raced through the pipe and jetted out two three pipe outlets at the bottom of the waterfall course, turning the wheel which drove the turbine that produced the electricity.
There, Ratu Sir Penaia cut a ribbon to open the door of the powerhouse and flicked the switch that brought light and electrification to Vatukarasa.
Hilary Wyper, a British volunteer from Scotland who worked on this hydroscheme, said the University of the South Pacific had produced the turbine in an experimental workshop.
The people of Vatukarasa had wanted an electric power plant for their village and realising the potential of their little waterfall, set their minds on a hydro scheme.
So in October, Ms Wyper, another electrical engineer, Mike Watkins, and various experts in government departments began work on the scheme.
“There was a great deal of labour needed which the villagers supplied. The dam fell down once and they had to build it all over again.
“Then there was about 300 feet of pipe to lay, some were about 15 feet in the ground. The whole business cost about $10,000 — a low figure because the turbine came from USP.
“Now, water was the fuel the village needed to run their lights and appliances.
“The hydro scheme provided them with power 24 hours a day,” Ms Wyper said.
“Most of it was for electric lights, so much of the power was unused during the day.
“We have regulated and used extra power in the day to heat water.
“The village has an almost unlimited supply of hot, hot water,” she added.
There were also two power points, one in the powerhouse and the other in the shop.
Ms Wyper said there were few electrical appliances in the village but the women could use the powerhouse point for an iron or something. And the power point at the shop could be used to run the refrigerator.
On the day of the opening, it was used to run a fan to keep the deputy PM and other guests cool during the feasting and festivities.
Now, water was the fuel the village needed to run their lights and appliances – Hilary Wyper