A GROWING PORT.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18571, 22 December 1925, Page 6

A GROWING PORT.

THE MAKING OF A HARBOUR PROJECTS FOR IMPROVEMENT. As a trading centre, Timaru occupies a splendid geographical position. Situated midway between Lytteltbn and Dunedin, it is the logical outlet for the produce of a vast area of country stretching from the Waitaki River to Ashburton. and from the Southern Alps to the sea. It is easily accessible by load or rail from the most distant parts of the province, has a huge and fertile back country, and is on the main railway route from Christchurcn to Invercargill. The harbour, which is. capable of accommodating the largest ocenn-going steamers visiting the Dominion, is rated as one of the finest artificial harbours in Australia and New Zealand, and is equipped with every facility for the speedy handling of caiwo. Thus Timaru has all the essentials necessary to make it, in the not distant future, one of the Dominion s most prosperous ports. Since the harbour works were first commenced in 1878 by the construction 'of the eastern mole, the progress or the port has been remarkable. The harLour revenue in that year amounted to £I7BB ; in 1924 it was £49,972, a record for the uort. The valuation of the harbour district increased from £7,30«,040 .in 1904 to. £19,005,712 last year. Progress of the Port. The produce exported in 1924 was valued at nearly two million pounds, and included 593,205 carcases ot frozen mutton, 1443,7Gb sacks of flour, 141.234 sacks of grain (wheat, linseed, oats, etc.), 68,363 sacks of potatoes, 37.076 bales of wool, 47,978 sacks ot bran and sharps, and 18,521 cases ot butter, the last-named being a record. These figures represent foreign and inter-colonial trade only, and for coastal trade at least another £700,000 must be added to the value of the exports, making a total of £2,692,317. Timaru has a large and increasing trade with the United Kingdom, Australia, America, and Canada, and each year sees the port visited by more overseas shipping. Last year 64 oceangoing vessels, aggregating 314,541 tons net register, and 27 inter-colonial vessels, with, an aggregate of 54,526 tons. made.use of the port. The total tonnage of vessels entering the port in 1924. including coastal shipping (162.594 tons) was 531.661 tons net register, a record, being 03,251 tons in excess of 1923. and 5-4.100 tons above the previous record held by the year 1 1909. In order to encourage shipping, the Timaru Harbour Board has always endeavoured to make its port charges as low as possible, and its wharfage rates, dues on ships, rents, and other charges compare more than favourably with, those made by many of the leading English ports. Thus, although lastyear the total tonnage of shipping entering the-'port constituted a record, and the value of the imports and exports also constituted a record, the +-otal revenue from shipowners was only £34.182—0r £3264 less than in the year 1922, although last year the tonnage of shipping using the port was 93,610 tons .greater than in .1922. The remainder of the Board's necessary revenue is made up of rates borne by the town and district, which last year stalled £ls 790, as compared with £12.189 in 1922. Oil Stores to be Established. The present year has seen the importance of the harbour very considerably enhanced by the decision of the British Imperial Oil Company to establish buik oil stores at Timaru. The port is undoubtedly admirably suited for tho purpose, having a central position, ample depth of water for oil-tankers, coad wharf .accommodation, and space for the erection of storage tanks close, to the wharves so that great lengths of pipe-line such as were requited at Miramar are unnecessary. lb is a matter for congratulation that the suitability of Timaru should have been so recognised from amongst other ports on the coast, for additional shipping will make use of the harbour, and possibly other depots of various kinds will be established in the near future. The wharves have accommodation for vessels aggregating 3300 f?et, and have full railage facilities, double lines of rails and traversers, and are equipped with electric capstans which enable trucks to be handled with a minimum of labour. There is also a smaller wharf equipped with a small crane and adapted for the use of fishing boats. Projected Harbour Improvements. Up-to-date as the port already is, the Timaru Harbour Board has not lost sjsrht of the fact that it must be further enlarged and improved in order to keep pace with the growing needs of the district and to haudlo the rapidly increasing trade. During the past two years the subject of harbour improvements has received a great deal of attention, and in 1923 the Board's engineer,. in. collaboration with an outside engineer, was instructed to draw up a scheme. Two schemes' were proposed and were subsequently submitted to a Royal Commission for .approval. The first plan, which became known as tho Dashing Rocks Scheme, included a. mole commencing at a point about 400 feet south of. Dashing Hocks, and extending towards a point 450 feet inside the termination of the Eastern Extension mole, and distant about 1600 feet from the end of that mole. An entrance, 800 feet wide, would be left between the end of the mole and a spur 900 feet lone extending on the same line from a point oa Itlie Eastern Extension. The

area enclosed l>v the harbour workswould then total over 50!) acres, and would provide a line, large harbour, with deep water and little range, or scend. Reporting on this proposal, the Commissioners (Messrs C. J. 11. 'Williams, H. Vickcrman, and J. D. Gilhcsj advised that it was sound from an eng!U-< eering point of view, was quite practicable, and that the estimate of cost was reasonable. Nevertheless, the Commission was not satisfied that the Board's object could not be achieved at much less cost, and considered that in a matter involving an expenditure cf nearly £4C0,000 further engineering investigations should be made with a view to other schemes being devised which would give results more commensurate with their cost. The Board then endeavoured to have the Commission revived, in order that tbev might, if possible, submit some alternative proposal. This, however, proved impracticable, and the services of another engineer had to bo obtained. Mr B. W. Holmes, of Wellington, visited Timaru early in November, 1925. and made an investigation into the harbour works in collaboration with the Board's engineer. At the time of writing nothing was known of tho conclusions at which Mr Holmes had arrived, but it is expected that his report will be presented at tho meeting of the Board on 'December .tlSxid. Should his plan be approved, another Roval Commission, will be required to exuress its approval, or otherwise, of the scheme. After the experience that has now been gained, it is leasonably certain that the new scheme of harbour improvement will meet the requirements of both the Board and the Government, and when put into effect, will mark yet another great step forward in the progress of Timaru and South Canterbury. BUILDING PROGRESS. A TOWN OF GOOD HOMES. One of the'most striking features of the progress of Timaru is the immense amount of building which has been done during the past few years, and which shows a tendency to increase rather than, diminish, as though the buildings erected were still insufficient to cope with the growing needs of the town. On every side new buildings may be seen; some newly finished, some in the course of construction, and some for which the foundations have just been laid. Even in the last twelve months there have been many changes in Stafford street, the principal thoroughfare of the town, new shops, offices, and warehouses having sprung up like mushrooms; many of the existing shop-fronts, too, have been remodelled in the most modern style. It is estimated that the amount of building done during: 1924-1925 constitutes a record, both in the capital expenditure and in the quantity of work carried out. During the year the Oxford Building, a fine four-storied structure in ferro-concrete, was completed, and adds greatly to the appearance of central Stafford street; Messrs Meehan's new warehouse, and the Tekapo Building, both three-storied ferro-concrete buildings, were also completed. All of these structures are fitted with steel casements, are of the best type of office construction, and two are fitted with electric elevators and hot-water radiators. No Jess than 24 new shops have been built in Stafford and at least half that number of shop-fronts have been remodelled, while a large warehouse has been further extended, an electrical distributing agency has been reconstructed, and two large new motor garages have been built. It is noticeable, however, that there has-been practically no expenditure on public buildings, although it is possible that the South Canterbury Electric Power Board may shortly erect an office building. - . The year has been a busy one in the. residential buildintr line, and a largo number of new homes have been built in the north and west parts of the town. It is a feature of Timaru that practically every home is now built in brick and roughcast, emphasising the just reputation that Timaru has for artistic and substantial houses. It is difficult to assign a reason for this universal preference on the part or Timaru home-builders, but whatever it may be, it is certain that by it the town has gained much in beauty. The pretty brick homes, standing amongst green lawns and gardens and bright flower beds, their red-tiled roofs showing against the dark green of the trees, make the residential quarters of Timaru a charming picture. Increase in Value. The value of the buildings erected, or in courso of erection, in tho business and residential parts of tho town since 1920, exceeds £826.100, and' of this amount, about £197,644 has been expended during tho past twelve months, or is now being expended Ihe gross capital valuo of land and improvements has doubled in fourteen Years; in 1911 it was £2,068.001, and in 1925, £4,009,275. The estimated number of houses in the borough has increased from 2314 to 3225 in the same ' PC Tne'state of the building, trade, in a town is surely an excellent gauge of its prosperity—the . writer heard recently of a town of several thousand inhabitants of the West Coast, which since the war has been far from prosperous. It was stated that three new houses have been built there in ten years. Although Timaru is hardly P.a?? in g through a'"boom" period in buiWmg, the amount of constructional worKoeing done indicates that its growth is rapid and sound.