HARBOUR CHANGES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 139, 13 June 1936, Page 11

HARBOUR CHANGES.

NELSON ST. WHARF. DEMOLITION IN PROGRESS. MARKET LANDING EXTENSION. Simultaneously with the demolition of the Nelson Street wharf, the Harbpur Board is extending the width of the Market landing as a berth for fishing boats; and, though some of the oldtimers bitterly regret the passing of the tumble-down jetty that has served them for half a century or so, fishermen generally are glad that they are getting, at last, some of the facilities which, as payers of harbour dues and as workers in an essential primary industry, with important export possibilities, tliey con. sider they deserve.

As one of the oldest of Auckland's j wharves and the last of the old wooden ones to survive, the jetty at the foot of' Nelson Street has many sentimental i claims to the affections of the older' fishermen, who have landed their catches, dried and repaired their nets, fought, argued and idled there all their lifetime. But in reecnt years it has reached such a state of decay that one has to step carefully from plank to plank, avoiding gaping holes, and to wheel a hand truck upon it has been impossible. The western side of the wharf, where is the deepest water, has been occupied mainly by scows discharging firewood; the eastern side has formed one side of a narrow inlet which has so shoaled up that half of it is dry at low tide. For power boats, shallow water is a curse, as the inlet of the cooling system sucks in mud, necessitating frequent dismantling and cleaning.

Pile by pile and plank by plank, Nelson Street wharf is now fast disappearing. A small floating crane has been hoisting the piles out of the mud, but many have proved so rotten that they have broken off, like decayed teeth, at "gum level." A narrow jetty, the eastern side of the wharf, is to remain for a while until the extension of the Market landing is completed, and a few

fishing boats are still berthing at it. Th® ehed, until recently occupied by th® Fishermen's Company, is to be dismantled and re-erected on Onehunga wharf.

Meanwhile, at the Market landing, the piles to carry the extension are already driven and the laying of the decking is progressing rapidly. This site has been for a long time past a subsidiary berth for fishing boats. In future it will b© the only one. The landing runs east and." west, inside of and parallel to the western viaduct, and, when will be as wide as a street and about 100' yards long. While the work is progress- ; ing some of the boats that have been using the landing are berthing on the inner side of the viaduct.