Little mysteries

It’s quite interesting how much variation can be found in historical records when it comes to simple facts. For example:

Height of the original mast at Awarua and Awanui Radio

• 394 ft
• 400 ft (Eugene Reinhard, chief construction engineer, quoted in the Evening Post, 27 Mar 1913)
• 410 ft
• 420 ft

Width of each face of the original mast at Awarua and Awanui Radio

• 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)

Weight of the original mast at Awarua and Awanui Radio

• 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)

Weight of the anchor blocks at Awarua and Awanui Radio

• 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)

Attachment point on mast for the lower guys

• 150 ft level
• 160 ft level