Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Another offering from my bookshelves

Requiem for a Gasworks
by John S. Pollard

A fascinating read about the history of the Christchurch gasworks and the people who made this misfit work- against all the odds.

A tale to horrify a greenie or an OSH inspector, this book covers an area mostly overlooked by NZ historians- our early utilities. While many have covered rural life, few have said much about life inside the factories or the 'Dark, Satanic Mills' of the early last century.

I remember the fuming, stinking monster from my early days in Christchurch and later as I excavated trenches in the city streets- the smell from leaking gas pipes still permeated the soil many years after the works demise.

A must read for the enthusiast of past ways of life.



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