Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery
 The Masonry Dam present day. The Waihi Dredging Plant site is behind the trees top left. 2004. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 Looking across the top of the dam from the south, or true left bank. In the foreground are the remains of the drain outlet control mechanism. Note that on the far side of the dam the 1911 concrete addition to the masonry wing has disappeared. 2004. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 The dam showing the 1911 concrete addition to the masonry wing, on the far side of the dam. c1930s. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 Masonry dam inlet control structure remains. The low concrete wall is the original structure height, the high concrete walls at each end are "wings" added to the dam in 1911. Three large threaded steel rods protrude from the ground, the nearest rather short. These raised and lowered the control gates below them, now completely covered by several metres of soil. The far side of the dam is visible top right, the Ohinemuri River flowing from right to left. Below are details of some of the remaining hardware. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 Water race immediately below the Masonry dam. At top of picture are the remains of the flow control gate structure. The dam is beyond the left of this picture. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 Concrete wall supporting the water race, a little way below the dam where the water race is very close to the river. The wall is butted into bedrock. A recent flood has exposed the wall normally hidden by blackberry. May 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 Water race in a rocky cutting as it rounds a small ridge nearing McKinney Road. Flow is left to right. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 This levelled off "roadway" is the water race, in the Orchard farm. We are looking downstream, the Ohinemuri River is at the extreme right top of picture, but not visible. The smooth green pasture area is part of the area where the Rakeline passing-bay was located. Here also was a fuelling and watering station. 2004. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 The water race can be seen as a bench below the pine trees. It has been filled here and used as a farm track. The tramway alignment can be seen as a small embankment towards bottom right of picture. Picture looks downstream, Mount Karangahake in distance at right. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 Sharp bend in the Ohinemuri River. The tramway formation, and above it the water race, are visible top left. The deep tramway cutting, and the water race crossing are within the trees top centre. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 Still on the Orchard farm, but now further downstream, and looking upstream. The water race is the ditch at the right of the picture. The Rakeline can be identified as the narrow flat area running from bottom left to the water trough middle distance. The water race is by now several metres higher than the tramway, and crosses over it approximately 150 metres downstream from this photo location. 2004. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 From within the water race we are looking to the far side of the Ohinemuri River. A flume bridge connected the water race (where the patch of sunlight falls) to the bank top centre of picture. This was the upper flume bridge; water flowed in the race from behind us to the bridge. A bridge pier footing remains in the river, as do some other pier remains. See image below. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 A pier footing is visible in the Ohinemuri River, remains of the upper flume bridge which carried the water race across the river. The water race enters a deep cutting on the bank at the top centre of picture, behind the wattle trees (see next picture). 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 This photograph is from the true right bank of the Ohinemuri; the river is flowing from left to right below the bank at the bottom of the picture. The dark cutting in the centre of the picture is the tramway. The straight line between the pasture and the bush, upper right of image, is the water race, just after it has crossed over the tramway. The Hawthorn bushes, mid left, indicate the position of the water race bridge. It brought the race back to the true left bank of the Ohinemuri, and continued over the tramway cutting so that the tramway could pass beneath it. 2004. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 Downstream from the photograph above, the Ohinemuri is behind us. The water race is visible in the middle distance. A little lower down, at the base of the slope, the tramway passed. The water trough is roughly on the tramway. Down hill and down stream is left to right. 2004. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 Water race in the wilderness approaching the Victoria Battery. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 The water race intercepts a small stream in the wilderness area approaching the Victoria Battery (approximately opposite the confluence of the Ohinemuri and Waitekauri Rivers). The top cascade falls directly into the water race. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 This is a concrete over flow and control structure on the water race, a little upstream from the Victoria Battery. The water flowed from left to right in the race behind this concrete wall. Two arches are dimly visible in the centre of the photograph. Through these arches water could be discharged to the small stream which ran to the left. This structure allowed the water race to be "turned off" for repairs and maintenance to the system within the battery, without the battery being flooded with water. 2004. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 The water race end and penstock in the Victoria Battery site. Water can be seen in the race bottom right of picture, and the concrete penstock structure can be seen mid left. The 54 inch steel pipe runs from the bottom of the penstock structure (not visible here) to the turbine pits beyond this picture to the left. See next. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 The two turbine pits can be seen mid picture (the box like concrete structures). These structures extend considerably below present ground surface. The penstock is out of picture, top right. The first set of 100 stampers were positioned in front of the masonry wall seen at the top of the picture. Tail race exits to bottom left. 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |
 The tail race at Victoria Battery. The two turbine pits are at the left, the tail race exiting to the Ohinemuri River at top right, beyond the bridge (old Main Trunk Railway line). 2006. Low Level Water Race - Victoria Battery |