Invercargill Water Tower

"Nice architecture to take a look and capture some photo moments. There are free parking opposite that you can park."

Michael

"Beautiful architecture. It is managed by water works. Not able to go in and kept clean. Still standing strong for an old tower."

MT

"Invercargill is built on almost entirely flat land. A major landmark in Invercargill, is the Water Tower which was built in 1889.

It was built to support the city’s first high-pressure water supply tank. It was designed by consulting engineer William Sharp, and built by Matthew and Hugh Mair.

Water towers are located on high ground to provide enough pressure to send water into a municipal water supply with enough force to supply all the customers in the  immediate vicinity.

It comprises 300,000 bricks and is 42.6 metres high landmark . New Zealand suffered many great fires.

In the late 1880s the Invercargill Borough Council decided to build a water tower on part of the green belt.

Ratepayers wanted the tower but not an eye-sore on the town belt, architect-engineer William Sharp suggested blunting criticism by disguising the 300,000-litre steel tank with an elaborate brick tower.

Earthquakes don't kill but buildings do.

The building has been declared a 'earthquake-prone' hazard which constitutes a major risk to public safety and infrastructure. It includes a threat to the continuous operation of the city's main pump station.

Both the Water Tower and the control building are category one historic buildings, and at the moment have a rating of 25 percent of the national building standard.

The council basically don't want to pay to fix it because it will cost ($) millions to strengthen it.

It is ready to fall down in the next big magnitude earthquake.

In the last 12 million years the Southern Alps have been uplifted by an amazing 20 kilometres! The Alpine Fault has ruptured four times in the past 900 years."

W R Edwards