Manapouri Power Station
Most of it is built well below ground in the granite rock. Its construction led to the argument over whether to raise the level of lake Manapouri by up to 30 metres to generate more power. 265,000 signed a petition against the proposal and when Labour got into power in 1972, it honoured its election pledge not to raise the lake. The issue is regarded as the one which gave New Zealanders a sense of "conservation awareness". Now guardians of the lake advise the government on its management, and levels are maintained within their normal range.
The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year... ... read more 
