(ESCOM Annual Report 1928:16; ESCOM Megawatt No.25/1972:19-20, No.32/1974:35)

 When the Colenso No. 2 station was built in 1944/45, new workshops and a stores building were constructed to replace the previous buildings, which were demolished to make way for the new turbine and boiler houses. These buildings, and an adjoining personnel block, including spacious mess rooms, a kitchen and change rooms with ample locker and ablution facilities, were modernly equipped to provide adequate accommodation for the maintenance and stores staff. Construction of twelve dwelling houses was commenced as part of the larger housing programme to provide for immediate needs and for future staff that would be required when the power station was extended. By 1948, sixteen houses had been built and occupied. Orders were placed for a further twenty, which were completed and occupied in 1949, and water-borne sewage was being installed to all houses. ESCOM continued to supply potable water in bulk to the Colenso Town Board, which earlier had assumed responsibility for water reticulation. Certain of the water mains, formerly the property of ESCOM, were transferred to the Board. As more houses were required, plots were purchased and another twelve houses built. These, and the sewage system, were completed in 1951.  (ESCOM Annual Reports 1944:17, 1948:23, 1949:20, 1950:22, 1951:22)

 The office accommodation at the power station was extended in 1952 and new first aid rooms provided. The mechanical workshops were moved to the old stores building, which was suitably enlarged. Change room accommodation at the power station was improved and additional accommodation provided. Further workshop additions were made in 1965. Twenty more houses were constructed and occupied in 1966 and a bulk supply of electricity was made available to the Borough of Colenso in October 1966, when the Council took over the reticulation of electricity within its area. From the take over of Colenso Power Station, Escom had undertaken to do so.  (Escom Annual Reports 1952:39, 1965:34, 1966:37&38)

NOTE: Earl Roberts was the second British commander in chief (Dec.1899-Nov.1900) in the Anglo-Boer War. In a skirmish near Colenso, Sir Winston Churchill, then a war correspondent for The Morning Post of London, was taken prisoner by the Boers. (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica; ESCOM Megawatt No.25/1972:18)

In an article by FR Mitchell, who had been at the power station only six weeks before it was taken over from the Railways, he reminisced about the effect the construction of the power station had on Colenso. He remembered how the construction, which began in 1922, transformed Colenso into a boomtown. The Electric Hotel was built and many new shops were opened. The Tugela Hall was erected and this provided the first cinema in Colenso. The existing school had to be extended due to the increase in the number of children.  (ESCOM Megawatt No.25/1972:18-20)

While the power station was still in the commissioning stage, heavy rainfall and the subsequent flooding of the Tugela River, resulted in a build up of silt at the power station intake works. This necessitated a temporary shut down of the power station in February 1925. The rains caused damage to the Onderbroekspruit Bridge between Colenso and Harts Hill. It collapsed as a train passed over on the night of 21 March 1925, resulting in the death, by drowning, of the engine driver, fireman and eight passengers.  (South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, April 1925:300& 301, May 1925:518 [photographs]; ESCOM Megawatt No.27/1973:35 [with photograph])

On 2 June 1925, not long after the storm and the shutdown of the power station, the Prince of Wales (Prince Edward) passed through Colenso on his way to Durban, having stopped overnight on 1 June at Harrismith where he laid a wreath at the War Memorial. Nine years later, in 1934, Prince George (the King’s youngest son) also passed through Colenso on the White Train.  (South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, “With The Prince Day by Day”, May 1925:392, 407-495, March 1934:251, April 1934:380 & 495; ESCOM Megawatt No.27/1973:35)

On 29 May 1926 over 80 members of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers and South African Institution of Engineers, travelling overnight from Johannesburg by special train, made a visit to the Natal electrification works. Others who had made the trip from Durban joined this group. Among them were some of the most distinguished engineers in South Africa and overseas, including Mr Bernard Price, at that time Chief Engineer of the Victoria Falls and Transvaal Power Company. Their visit included the Colenso Power Station. Mr  JA West, the Resident Engineer, conducted a tour of the station.  (South African Railways and Harbours Magazine – “One Hundred Engineers Visit Electrification Work in Natal”, July 1926:958-964)

NOTE: Mr West came out from England to be the first Resident Engineer at Colenso, taking over from the Resident Construction Engineer, Mr Hayes. He was later appointed Local Manager of the Natal Central Undertaking and was followed by Mr HH Jagger as Resident Engineer. Mr Jagger later became Manager of the Cape Western Undertaking.  (ESCOM Megawatt No.25/1972:19-20)

A policy of employing white labour for certain unskilled work previously performed by blacks, was introduced at Colenso Power Station during the economic depression of 1930/31. It was hoped that the men would qualify for promotion to more responsible work. With the assistance of the Labour Department, suitable men were located and about 40 were employed. Few discharges were necessary, but a large number of changes took place, mainly due to the men obtaining better employment elsewhere. The average duration of service was 8 months. They were accommodated at a nominal charge in the wood and iron quarters used by the construction workers, and a mess was organised providing a plain but nourishing diet. But as the general prosperity of the country improved, it became increasingly difficult to fill the vacancies that occurred as the men found employment elsewhere that paid more.  (ESCOM Annual Reports 1930:15, 1931:22-24, 1935:15, 1936:21)

ESCOM made contributions towards providing secondary educational facilities at the Government primary school for the children of the employees. The employment of an additional teacher for the higher standards was subsidised. This continued until the number of children attending secondary school had reached the necessary minimum laid down by the Education Department to qualify for the provision of such facilities by the Department.  (ESCOM Annual Report 1936:21)

The Club House at Colenso Power Station provided for recreation which could “be taken in the form of golf, football and tennis, and for indoor pastime…a billiard room, reading rooms and a dance and concert hall fitted with sound motion picture equipment”. Mr Alexander said his wife grew up in Colenso after moving there at the age of seven. According to Mrs Alexander, the community had to be completely self-sufficient. If people wanted a social life, they had to join clubs. Sporting activities were important to the employees of the Colenso Power Station. Tennis courts and bowling greens were constructed. Many of the events were organised as part of annual competitions with the Durban Undertaking. Some of the events included tennis, bowling, badminton and soccer. The Colenso Club was successful in outside sporting competitions e.g. winning the Prideau-Brown Shield at Bergville for bowls. A new event, which proved to be quite successful was a flower, vegetable and garden show held for the first time in 1960. Mrs Alexander recalls that people brought in animals that they had found and started a zoo in Colenso. The zoo was run by Eddie Pottinger and was closely supervised by the Parks Board. It provided a constant sense of interest and amusement. Many people spent their Sundays picnicking at the zoo. In 2003, the club still existed.  (ESCOM Ten Years 1923-1933:29; ESCOM Megawatt Vol.2 No.1/1966:9, No.32/1974:32, No.33/1974:36)

When the power station was finally closed down, most employees were offered jobs elsewhere in ESCOM. According to Mrs Alexander, many employees chose to retire rather than face moving to a larger city or town, after living most of their lives in Colenso. The existence of the power station at Colenso had had an enormous effect on the town. Its construction transformed the village, whose greatest prior technological time of achievement had been the arrival of the railways in 1886. Colenso has never been the same since the closure of the power station. Economic activity has declined tremendously, and Colenso will perhaps never again see the kind of activity and energy experienced during the operating years of the power station.

This information on Colenso Power Station was produced by Riashnee Pather, a historical researcher from the University of Natal and Dick Fowler, a retired Eskom employee.

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•  Dictionary of Business Biography, Vol.4, Edited by David J Jeremy, Butterworths, London 1985

•   Electricity Supply Commission: Annual Reports, 1923-1984

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•  ESCOM: Twenty-five Years – A record of the origin, progress and achievements of the Electricity Supply Commission, 1923-1948

•  Hopkins HC: Natal Railways – An Historical Sketch. In: South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, May 1922

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•  Jagger, The Hon JW: The Electrification of the South African Railways. In: South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, May 192

• Kotze, Sir Robert: Electricity Supply in South Africa. In: South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, May 1922 

•  Merz & McLellan: Electric Power Supply in the Union of South Africa, April 1920

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•  Hoy, Sir William (born 1868 in Scotland) joined the Cape Government Railways in 1889 and became Assistant General Manager from 1 January 1909. After establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910, he became General Manager of the South African Railways and Harbours. He was appointed a member of the Committee to consider the Merz Report of 1920.

•  Kotze, Sir Robert N (born 1870 in South Africa) became the Government Mining Engineer from 1908-1926 and was appointed by the Government as Chairman of the Committee to consider the Merz Report of 1920. The deliberations of this committee resulted in Parliament passing the Electricity Act of 1922 and the establishment of ESCOM in 1923. Sir Robert and Dr van der Bijl did the major part of the Committee’s work.

•  Merz, Dr Charles Hesterman (1874-1940), Consulting Engineer in Great Britain who took William McLellan (1874-1934) as a partner in 1909. In 1913 the firm employed a staff of 73 and were world leaders in the field of railway electrification and power station construction. Merz, and two of his children, were tragically killed during World War II by a direct hit on their Kensington home. (Dictionary of Business Biography).

•  Mills, Frederick William (born 1870 in England) came to Natal in 1895 for Messrs Woodhouse and Rawson, a firm of electrical engineers. He joined the Natal Government Railways in 1896 and introduced train lighting by electricity. He became the Chief Electrical Engineer for the SAR&H on 1 November 1911 and made initial reports and estimates on railway electrification. He conducted Merz over the proposed railway electrification routes in South Africa in 1919 and visited the major railway electrification schemes in America and Europe in 1920-1921.

•  Pask, TP (born 1873) became Superintendent (Electrical and Telegraphy) for the SAR&H in 1920 and Chief Electrical Engineer in 1925. He was appointed a member of the Committee to consider the Merz Report of 1920.

•  Lydall, F – An expert from the firm of Merz and McLellan, who came to South Africa in October 1917 to collect the necessary data for the report dated June 1919 “South African Railways – Report on the Introduction of Electric Traction”. Due to the change in conditions, he carried out a fresh investigation in 1921, and was Merz and McLellan’s chief representative in South Africa for the duration of the project in Natal.