2025 marks 60 years since the first of Kordia’s iconic high sites were built and the television tower at Wharite Peak was one of the first of the major high sites still operational today to be commissioned back in 1965.
Between 1960 and 1966, the number of television viewers in New Zealand exploded from a few thousand in the Auckland area to almost 90% of the population – thanks to the government’s efforts to extend broadcasting coverage with a network of powerful transmitters, complemented by nearly 400 smaller translator or repeater sites in rural areas. Many of the towers built in this era still feature in Kordia’s network today.
Originally towering at 122m, the Wharite site still transmits Digital Terrestrial Television to a substantial part of the Manawatu area. Other services on the site include FM radio, emergency services and Kordia’s digital microwave network.
The first TV transmitter at Wharite was commissioned in 1963, relaying Wellington's WNTV1 channel from a repeater station in Masterton. The current high tower commenced construction in 1965, and the upgraded main transmitter was commissioned in 1966.
The tower has evolved over the years. The buttresses were added to the tower in 1991. The height was also reduced in 2015 and 2019 as part of maintenance to deload and strengthen the tower.
Andy Powell, who began his career working on the major transmission site at Wharite Peak says the building of the current tower would have been a big task.
“Initially it was a small pilot site, probably a 10m tower with a pilot service to check the coverage. The bigger operation of building the main tower would’ve started with bulldozing a road up the hill.”
Wharite is one of a handful of early towers built by an international team of riggers and engineers. Later towers would be built by local crews as New Zealand developed more expertise in critical broadcast infrastructure. A full building was also established onsite, to house the transmitters and large equipment required for analogue TV, and a team of workers made the journey up the hill every day to operate TV transmission and radio broadcasts in shifts.
Andy began work as a trainee radio technician at Wharite in 1981, a location he stayed at for around 4 years.
“There were around 14 people manning the site. We’d drive up every day and there was two shifts a day, seven days a week, that pretty much ran from 8am in the morning through to 10pm at night.”
The team based at Wharite were also responsible for maintaining radio infrastructure TV translator sites across a vast region covering Wairarapa, Manawatu, Wanganui, Central Plateau and Southern Hawke's Bay, which would repeat analogue TV beyond the line of site of the main tower.
“We’d drive up to site, load up the car and then take off for about a week stint doing all the TV translators. The smaller sites were in places like little farm settlements. There was a lot of small sites to visit just up on a hilltop covering a small community below.”
While Andy finished his job at Wharite in 1985, after he left a base was established in the closest town, Woodville.
“I think in the late 80s or early 90s, they'd established a base on Woodville as much of the work was able to be remotely controlled. But the tower was still sort of an icon for the community in Woodville, because it provided employment and was a landmark.”
Andy has since worn many hats at Kordia, but he says being able to work and visit Kordia’s high sites is still a highlight for him.
“Up on a high site like Wharite Peak, you can’t grasp how far you can see and how high up you are until you're up there and see the view for yourself. You can actually see how far these towers cover, because TV reception was about line of site back in the early days.”
“One of the best things is how peaceful and serene it is up there. There is no noise. I think the people who work on high sites at Kordia get some of the best views of New Zealand. The camera never does it justice. You can take as many photos as you like, but it just it doesn't give you that perspective, that expanse of the countryside.”
Lead image credit: Geoff McKay 2022
Did you work on or have memories, photos or stories to share about the Mt Kaukau tower? We'd love to hear from you. Please contact Sally Vernon, Head of Communications at Kordia - sally.vernon@kordia.co.nz
