It’s quite interesting how much variation can be found in historical records when it comes to simple facts. For example:
- 394 ft
- 400 ft (Eugene Reinhard, chief construction engineer, quoted in the Evening Post, 27 Mar 1913)
- 410 ft
- 420 ft
- 9 ft (most often quoted)
- 8 ft (audio interview with Bill Walker, the last engineer at Awanui Radio and the man who dropped the tower in 1930)
- About 40 tons (rough calculation by George Newlands, conveyed in phone call to maritimeradio.org 2016-06-25)
- 50 tons (Otago Daily Times, 3 April 1911)
- 60 tons (Eugene Reinhard, chief construction engineer, quoted in the Evening Post, 27 Mar 1913)
- 120 tons (this is often referred to as the “base weight” which presumably included the weight of the antennas and guys, plus the downward tension on the guys)
- 20 tons (caption on photo Te Ahu Museum photo collection)
- 60 tons (Newlands article?)
- 150 tons (Eugene Reinhard, chief construction engineer, quoted in the Evening Post, 27 Mar 1913)
- 300 tons (Southland Times, 24 Dec 1912)
- 150 ft level
- 160 ft level