JOANNE O'CALLAGHAN/NIWA
Doubtful Sound in the South Island was a dumping ground, according to a whistle blower who has just come forward.
A tranquil fiord in the heart of one of New Zealand's world heritage areas is harbouring an explosive secret - a stash of gelignite.
Deep Cove, the furthest inland arm of Fiordland's Doubtful Sound, was a vital access port during the construction of the underground Manapōuri Power Station between 1964 and 1971.
It also became a dumping ground for cartons of squashed and leaking gelignite when they were tipped from a barge into its depths, according to a whistleblower who has just come forward.
BOB RADLEY
The Wanganella, moored in Deep Cove, was home to many workers on the Manapouri power scheme in the mid to late 1960s. Rubbish and washing machines were thrown over the sides into the fiord.
Former power station project senior paramedic and assistant safety officer, Dr Bob Radley of Christchurch, told Stuff he felt compelled to blow the whistle on the gelignite dumping after seeing rubbish strewn across isolated South Westland beaches following the March floods.
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That wasn't all that ended up in the sound.
The Wanganella, a former trans-Tasman passenger liner, was moored in the cove until 1969 and used as a hostel for workers.
ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF
Former Manapouri Power Station paramedic Dr Bob Radley helped remove unstable gelignite from a hut before it was dumped into the depths of Deep Cove.
Old washing machines, worn-out gumboots, wet-weather gear and millions of empty beer cans were tossed over the side of the ship during the mid- to late-'60s.
In fact, so many cans were thrown into the 100-metre deep fiord it was said the Wanganella was resting on a bed of them.
The historic Fox Glacier Township Landfill in South Westland was ripped open by the swollen Fox River, washing away plastic, burnt materials, car tyres, tins, engine batteries and old shoes.
BOB RADLEY
The Manapouri power scheme in Fiordland.
The junk, some confirmed as hazardous, washed downstream and into the Cook/Weheka River, and was then deposited along the river bed and over about 50km of coast from the river mouth northeast to at least Ōkārito and about 10km southwest.
Radley, now 79, said he never actually saw the gelignite tipped into Deep Cove. However, he had loaded the unstable and dangerous explosives from a hut on to a truck which then took the cache to a barge, which was towed down Doubtful Sound for the gelignite's jettisoning.
"It had to be dumped, and was just dumped into the water. Back then there wasn't the same consciousness about dumping. It was just what happened."
BOB RADLEY
Handling gelignite in the Manapouri power scheme tunnel in the mid to late 1960s.
The gelignite was used to blast tunnels in Fiordland's granite mountains.
Fiordland Marine Guardians chairwoman Dr Rebecca McLeod said the group was aware of waste dumping into Deep Cove from the Wanganella.
"Needless to say that kind of behaviour would obviously not be acceptable in the current day, but unfortunately going back a few decades it was pretty standard practice - throughout New Zealand I suspect - to throw waste over the side."
A Department of Conservation spokeswoman said the department had "no records" of the dumping.
BOB RADLEY
A mine worker sorting gelignite at the face of the Manapouri powerhouse tunnel.
Neither did Meridian Energy, which now operates the Manapōuri station, built for the former New Zealand Electricity Department.
A Meridian spokeswoman said: "We are aware of rumours over the years of historical dumping of material but we have not had reason to investigate this."
Fiordland's beaches are not as pristine as might be expected in the Te Wāhipounamu - South West New Zealand World Heritage Area.
In June 2015, 30 volunteers were dropped by helicopter on to beaches between Chalky Inlet and Breaksea Sound to pick up rubbish.
BOB RADLEY
A Scandinavian crane ship unloading goods for the Manapouri power station scheme in the mid-1960s.
Among the items they found were a pistol, lost fishing gear, three soccer balls and an Australian real estate sign.
McLeod said it was likely commonly used anchorages around Fiordland contained various fishing rubbish and there were also rumours rubbish may have been tipped from a ship into Milford Sound several decades ago - "although that is purely conjecture and we have not heard any reports of concerns about pollution there".
Radley said that sometime in 1966-67, he and safety officer Maurie Hartley had to deal with stacks of leaking gelignite.
BOB RADLEY
Millions of empty beer cans were thrown into Deep Cove by workers on the Manapouri power scheme in the mid to late 1960s.
"The sticks were a pinky-grey colour. They were partly soft and they stored them in a plastic bag inside a carton that might hold 100 sticks or so.
"If they are then stacked up and you get heat, and they get squeezed down, you'd see this oily green liquid oozing into the plastic bags in the bottom. That's the nitroglycerine, which is very, very dangerous.
"It was a volatile and dangerous situation, as any violent movement could possibly cause a massive explosion.
BOB RADLEY
Berthages in Deep Cove, Fiordland in the mid-1960s.
"Our job was to gingerly lift every carton and open them to inspect the contents. Many contained about an eggcup of raw nitro. These were carefully placed on to a truck outside.
"All the faulty gelignite was later placed on a barge and towed down Doubtful Sound to be dumped in the depths."
On board the Wanganella, if there were faulty washing machines, "rather than repair them they'd just throw them over the side," he said.
BOB RADLEY
A barge in Deep Cove, Fiordland, circa 1966-67.
McLeod said any attempts to clean up waste from the Wanganella era would have to be carefully considered - "in terms of the risk the waste posed currently, what a clean-up from such a deep site would involve logistically, and also the benefits of the clean-up versus the risk of re-exposing any hazardous/toxic waste in the process".
It was possible the flat bottom of Deep Cove, the high rate of sedimentation into the fiord and the lack of wave energy there might have kept the waste buried over the years and stopped it moving elsewhere.
"Without knowing what the site contains, what risks it poses, and what a site remediation would involve, it is difficult for us to form an opinion on whether remediation would be a high priority.
Artificial reef surfaces also tended to get covered in marine life, eventually forming habitats, McLeod said.
Sunday Star Times
