Mysterious, persistent hum disturbs Tu¯rangi life
First came the sleepless nights, then came the complaints to the council, now answers are being demanded over a mysterious hum.
It started last July when Tu¯ rangi resident Sue McDonald made a verbal complaint to Taupo¯ District Council over a humming noise that was keeping her up at night and disrupting her during the day.
‘‘I brought it to the attention of the council – what could this humming noise be,’’ she said.
‘‘We heard it particularly at nighttime, but one day my neighbour and I were both outside at the same time looking for an idling truck nearby – that’s what the noise sounded like.’’
But there was no truck and so began months of sleepless nights for McDonald.
‘‘Originally it sounded like an idling vehicle or generator getting louder until it reached a crescendo speed and vibrating noise.
‘‘It would stay like that for 20-30 minutes then it would die down. You’d be thinking thank God, only for it to rev back up again.
‘‘It’s unacceptable, clearly something is amiss that needs attention.’’
McDonald said some days the hum seems to be coming from underground, but other days it can be heard coming from Tokaanu.
Other people she has spoken with said it sounds like a helicopter flying overhead or the end cycle of a washing machine.
McDonald said the big problem is, not everyone hears it.
Suggestions from Tu¯ rangi residents have said the hum might be coming from the transformer on Puataata Rd, or from the Tokaanu Power Station. Others have said it is coming from the 5G tower in town or from drones.
It has been heard in Gosling Grove, Hinenamu Grove, Puataata Rd, and also on State Highway 1.
But with no answers, McDonald contacted the Environmental Health people in Rotorua.
A specialist from Auckland used sensitive instruments to detect faults in the town’s infrastructure – which may transmit noise through the services – but found no cause for the hum.
McDonald decided to leave the issue.
‘‘In their report, they wrote ‘alleged noise’. After that, we just had to leave it.’’
When lockdown began the noise became noticeable for Belinda Pyman.
‘‘It started off as a minor frequency but then it started picking up from Friday through to Wednesday every week,’’ she said.
‘‘During lockdown I was spending long hours sitting at the table for work and the noise was getting so loud.
‘‘I couldn’t do work without having earphones in and listening to music because my eardrums were getting sore.’’
After putting a post on a public Tu¯ rangi community Facebook page, Pyman was relieved to see she wasn’t the only one.
‘‘From what I could gather, it’s been going on for 16-18 months. I started collating the information and found that 24 people have heard it in the district,’’ she said.
She put together a letter of complaint and, with all the information gathered, sent it to Taupo¯ District Council.
TDC’s Environmental Health Officer, Shane Hancock, has been investigating the noise since July last year.
So far, he has found no answers. ‘‘We really want to try to find the source of it.’’