FATHER THAMES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 180, 2 August 1938, Page 4

FATHER THAMES.

THE LIFE OF LONDON,

MAZE OF LOCKS AND DOCKS. THE PORT'S AMAZING FIGURES

(By L. C. WALKER.)

Old Father Thames is the life force of London. Londoners drink the Thames. it is thoir main traffic highway, their great air funnel, their sportway, th«* vista, and approach to many of her best l>uildings; the frontage to unending ■warehouses, factories, nil tanks and gas ■works, as well as the huge power stations thnt dot its banks receiving and delivering vast volumes of its precious water to generate into steam or for condensing purposes. It has been frozen over a few, times in its history, and now and again it can do its share of flooding, but take it all in all, it is a faithful and consistent servant when allowance is made for a fairly big rise and fall of tide. At tli-j present time the pros and cons of building a big barrage across the Thames are being debated. This would mean locking the fluw of the river and by so doing turni Ihn Thames for HO miles into a fixed luvi'l lake. Fancy 60 miles of river frontage at a fixed level ready for factory or warehouse service, such is the facility made possible by old Father Thames adjusted a trifle. An Artificial Port The Port of London is artificial, because it consists of many areas received from the river, being dug out and locked in a similar manner to the locks at Panama. The Thames is really the approach to the Port of London, only the smaller boate or barges use the Thames to load or discharge cargo the best-known j»lace being the Pool between the Tower and London bridges.

Hal(P Whnrf is at London Bridge on the south side of the river in this pool, and at this wharf our Xew Zealand butter is unloaded from barges. The Xew Zealand Government have their Dairy Board office in the official Hays Wnarf office, and a very interesting and animated scene is to be viewed from thoee office windows.

I often wonder how many folks know the .Port of London, because do what you ivilT it is not easy to visit, because it is so scattered and in most place* is.buried by fence, warehouse or cunning receeement. I arrived at Tilbury Dock, twentyfive miles belo«r London Bridge, and left from the Royal Albert Dock, ten and a half miles below London Bridge, -bo at least I hart a peep at those from the inside. In addition I have trudged around the Surrey Docks on the south side of the river, and on the north eide I have acted the Peeping Tom around St. Katherine, .London, Regents Canal, West India and East India Docks. By Water to Midlands

People can live for years in Camberwell or Peckham innocent of the fact that tfioee districts are served by canal. Likewise on the north side of the river it's great fun discovering a canal and losing It agqin. A canal, for instance, goes right through the Zoo at Regent's Park. There are three waterways on the north side of the Thames which conn:ct London with the Midlands, the oldest is. the River L-a and the other two are the Grand Junction and Regent'* canals. The, .Regent's. Canal Dock if at Limehouse and ha* an area of ten acree. It was strange to me to see bargee being loaded for Midland terminals. Alto, gether a network of 240 miles of artificial waterway exists between Limehouse and Birmingham.

London may have been built up by private enterprise, but in like manner to the underground 'trafoe, trams,land buses, so the varied dock and harbour companies, were taken over fey the £ort of London Authority in 19&6 at a. cost of £23,280,0001; sums of money have; ;.b*en ? .spent; bringing the total capital Commitments'' up to forty million, pounds sterling. ' '.'„• y ■■'> The cost of running the port amount* to £5,700,000 pei' annum, of which discharging, shipping and• handling,. goods amount* to £1,700,000 and interest to £1,400,000. Dredging only costs £170,009 per, annum. V i,- -•- v /•;. •, •

First Bock In 1696. •». -.Thefirst tondbn dock was ianctloned in lflOfl. \^.,fe.: the: «outh side of the river, and is now part .of the Surrey Doeki. 'For years it was no deeper than-oft. /At the present! time the dock* under control of the 1 . VliJjz-tH as fejlowet— '■ ■ ■'' ■- •■ •"- '•- • ; ■;C... ' r '-- i iy>K-ptig» : '''Li "•'' Biient' „. , ..,. .;•:; London Water of •■-■, ; '■- Bridge, area, quays. London '..*;..>•,; ,I,© „ 84.9 3.1 . Surrey 8* .184.6.8.9. Surrey Ca«s)l.'-i»!,>;-—,';;.•', 26.4;. 7.4 lfiiiwsii. ..;it*."i= : :;>*«.;,:. i.ae'r -2.1^ West India .... 6.1 97.8 4.e East India .... 6.7 «.« 1.7 Royal Victoria . 7.1 97.0 8.8 King George V. . 10.8 64.2 8.4 Royal Albert .. 10.6 84.6 B.S Tilbury 24.8 104.4 4.0 721.8 45.4 The canals and docks for same, on the north side of the river which I have already mentioned, are privately owned. It is not so much the Port of London M the secondary port of London that is to interesting. From the oversee, boats much of the cargo goes into bargee to be delivered into warehouse or factory. Those that passed . through London Bridge on » given week for np river were 1340 laden np and M 0 down. These targes tike about ISO tons each on the average. Beside*, many of the barges are unloaded'below London Bridge, and all eanal traffic enters below that spot, so they are not included in the figures ■ .-puaii, .■'••• ?y*sp*j! fif • ! "' * i '"'. eblpe aao> 'Bargee. ■ _'■ * - imported in one year up to £e50,00Q,000 worth of ovenMa products. Even in 1934 they amonnted to «. otit-of a total , for Great '-''• v«**ftLl *n* Northern Ireland of .'•"•VOepjOOO. E»porUin 1934 amountedH T-^SS 0 ' 000 ,' *° w * cen only sum up W desttfting the trade of the port ae SS , ia«J«&'twp million tone of »rS?iv g • T li Ted in 1934 ' el - 6 of 'it being emiovad tl *?*??*** 12 '°°° men «• tnS . J * *»• London Docks: 31» eS^ffi**"? I'**1 '** pilotinTtt.' yir? *»• *arges that serve on the Thames. t b h r . d T?.s h Ksisaastiz eeverely restricted fiom operatW I ' Jad a ehort run on a .ight-swing jSunch but oht for a_ run on,tie Thames in ifke manner to the 70-mile .trip you can do on Sidney Harbour. However, r leave that to the New jJSe? and then perhaps we can probe the mysteryjthe romance and.the weader of Father Tluwsi'aill fcs'l ig s#L'l~