Title: War Economy

Author: Baker, J. V. T.

Publication details: Historical Publications Branch, 1965, Wellington

Part of: The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945

This text is the subject of: ‘Something of Them Is Here Recorded’: Official History in New Zealand

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Domestic Cooking and Heating

For domestic use, electricity was tending to push aside gas and coal. Electric ranges for cooking were gaining in popularity at the expense of gas ranges; electric heaters were taking over from gas heaters and open fires. Nevertheless, gas production increased by a quarter between 1939 and 1945.

Use of coal in gasworks increased from 226,000 tons in 1939 to 300,000 tons in 1945. Gasworks were the main users of imported coal; they took 78,000 tons in 1939, but had to be content with smaller quantities in the later war years as coal imports declined. In 1944 they used 41,000 tons of imported coal and in 1945 only 800 tons.³

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Inadequacy of stocks held by gasworks, and irregularity in supplies of suitable coal from the West Coast, led to shortages and interruptions in gas supplies in 1945.

The increase of 25 per cent in gas production over the war years seems quite fast until it is compared with the 67 per cent increase in electricity generation.¹ The slower rate of increase in production of gas was due partly to inadequacy of coal supplies and partly to the continuing tendency for electricity to take over from gas for domestic cooking and other purposes.