Front cover of Power to the People: a long concrete tunnel receding into the distance, lit by lamps along its curved walls

New from Spinning Plates Press · October 2026

Power to
the People

The Ministry of Works and Construction of the Tongariro Power Development

Gillian Tompsett

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Available for purchase from October 2026 at spinningplatespress.co.nz

  • A massive project in the 1960s and 70s…
  • A nation at the far end of the earth, distant from all resources…
  • A public service enterprise of the first order.

About the book

About the book

The book dispels anti-public sector myths about large national infrastructure provision and argues that for nearly a century, the Ministry of Works and Development exemplified a mix of cutting-edge technology, sufficient funding, long-term institutional knowledge, skilled people, and a collective commitment to the public purpose of nation building.

A timely reminder of New Zealand's history of exceptional capability in environmentally-friendly engineering, and of the dangers ahead if this expertise continues to languish.

Publication
October 2026
Publisher
Spinning Plates Press
ISBN
978-0-473-79935-9
Available from
spinningplatespress.co.nz
Colour photograph of a Ministry of Works crew in hard hats standing in front of a concrete dam wall, holding up a sign that reads Moawhango Dam, 120,000 yards of concrete, 28 February 1975
Photograph

The crew at Moawhango Dam, 28 February 1975, marking 120,000 yards of concrete poured.

Praise

Praise for Power to the People

A timely reminder not only of the country's history of exceptional capability in environmentally-friendly engineering but of the dangers ahead if this expertise continues to languish because of political ideology.

Diane Brand Director of Academic Reviews, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, I te tari Ihorangi Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland

This book has rekindled a lot of bitter-sweet memories and assuaged a long simmering injustice and indifference. We feel a renewed pride in what was achieved but barely recognised at the time.

Gary Gay Resident Engineer, Ministry of Works and Development

About the author

Portrait photograph of author Gillian Tompsett, smiling, in a blue jumper in front of flowering trees

Gillian Tompsett

Gillian Tompsett is a historian currently undertaking research for a PhD on the Ministry of Works. Her father was the Deputy City Engineer for the Napier City Council during the 1970s and she has worked on construction sites as a labourer.

She is interested in recording the oral histories of the people who helped build New Zealand's post-war public works infrastructure and lives with her family in Wellington.

Coming October 2026

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