A special joint project to restore the heritage-listed RDR pipe shed at Methven is now complete.

The shed was originally built from a giant piece of concrete pipe created for the construction of the Rangitata Diversion Race (RDR) in the 1930s. It was converted into a storage shed for explosives and remains on its original foundation in its original location on Council land near the Garden of Harmony.

Council has been working with the RDR management company and Heritage NZ over the past few months to do restoration work and raise its profile.

The recent work has involved repairing the foundations, replacing damaged floorboards and other timbers, repairing external cracks and applying a timber preservative to all timbers.

Group Manager Infrastructure and Open Spaces Neil McCann said the work had been kindly funded by RDR, who first raised the restoration with the Methven Community Board several years ago.

“After the scope of the project was set, they contracted Joseph Builders to do the work, with assistance from Council and Heritage NZ, and now the pipe shed has been preserved to tell its part of Mid Canterbury’s water history.”

Mr McCann said the pipe shed was already accessible to the community and tourists via the Garden of Harmony, and an interpretive panel shared information about its importance.

The special building has a Category 1 Heritage NZ listing and a Category A listing in Council’s District Plan.

The RDR scheme was built during the 1930s depression to deliver irrigation water to farmers on the Mid Canterbury plains. The pipe shed was one of the giant concrete pipe made for the canal that runs between the Rangitata and Rakaia Rivers and Heritage NZ says they were remarkable for their construction and size.

About 800 pipes were used for siphons in parts of the 67km canal and are not visible, so the repurposed pipe shed is considered a unique piece of engineering.

The shed was built in 1940, on the site of the public works department’s headquarters and the workers’ accommodation camp in Methven, and was used as a secure place to store explosives. It is 3.65m in diameter and set on a concrete foundation slab that was a pre-cast control gate for the water race, with timber wedges to keep it from rolling off.

The works camp was once a bustling area with a large number of buildings associated with the RDR scheme and the pipe shed is the only remaining item.