WELCOME BAY QUARRY

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 12825, 21 August 1939, Page 5

WELCOME BAY QUARRY

~ . r t )e allowed to make (- irr -Mig re garding the above. „ few i’ ellia Mr Maudeno was be with combers ® orOUg fvS k s Committee, ot winch I of the , a thorough inspection « EilC 10 W °' l " P ” 'evc.;° w °st P r “ h 1(1 hivo in be well days- . , heavily metalled to stand » rroeda ,, r vlnE " ilh l,lr '‘ e .1 I »«> Cr. MolfftU 1 llie length at fifty cl.aine. (h iim ate ,- ' c j ul ins would go a Wei !’ way to metalling the present ?0 ° Hlled streets of the Borough, ‘Sb U, baaa. M „ 11l not ova.' >nll formation till the ilry !he «i T sets in, and the Council is m «tt »Si .* »«•»» the t!n !f'thc metal proposed to quarry is .. imp as was laid in Welcome s"* “u is too soft to crush. That 1 was laid in large spawls and ine n with axes. The only reastood so long is that it was JOl , t , S l ciwamp and never got thorlai< ilv(]ry The same metal laid on OUg Porough streets would crumble Z w away as soon as the dry Stfer sets in-much to the annoySe o the re * ldentS I,vmg alollg ’ •«? it stood up to horse-drawn Sc for years, but as soon as the P ame it went into holes. ” The Council owned and worked the T-aimapu quarry for years under Lat difficulties. It was only woik- * for short spells and just when metal was wanted a quarryman with " ticket could not be found. These nen draw big wages and want'constant employment. Then there is the question of transport of the men there and back each day in the Council’s time and to be paid for; with the present cost of benzine quite an item to be added to the cost of each yard of metal. Did the Mayor and bis supporters make a test of the stripping to be done? A quarry face may look quit© all right, yet after getting in some distance it -may be found that the overhead Is such that it will make it quite uneconomical to work. The only way to test this is to drive an iron rod in the back country till the rock is reached. ' Years ago samples of the Welcome Bay and Waimapu stone were sent to Wellington to be tested and analysed. The report was that the Wailiiapu metal was much superior. This was one of the reasons why the. Welcome Bay proposal was rejected and (be Waimapu quarry opened up. Why did the Mayor and his supporters refuse to allow the Engineer to report on such an important proposal? I will undertake to say, sir, that if a report had been brought down such an unconsidered, wild cat scheme would not have been gone on with. As it was it was only carried on a catch vote while two councillors were absent, and on the casting vote of the Mayor. During the fourteen years I was Chairman of the Works Committee, not a meeting was held without the Engineer being present; for, however good a layman may be, the engineer’s expert knowledge and advice will often save a lot of useless talk and argument and the ratepayers prd cash, By the way, sir, if all Council meetings were reported as fully as last Friday’s, ratepayers would get some valuable information as to the way the affairs of the Borough are being managed. CHAS. WHITING.