Port development

Press, 4 December 1978, Page 16

Port development

Sir, — “The Press” (December 2) reports Mr K. M, Wells, chairman of the North Canterbury Federated Farmers agriculture section, criticising the proposed development of port facilities at Lyttelton as being not warranted “at this time.” This is nonsense. There can be few farmers who could contemplate without alarm, the operation and development of their farms by an elected committee of seamen. For this reason practising professional seamen aware of the natural and partly developed advantages of Lyttelton and aware

that little has been done despite the clearly apparent future direction of shipping for well over a decade cannot regard Mr Wells’s uninformed remarks with equanimity, Examination of the port’s berths and equipment show it to be well overdue for modernisation. It remains an excellent sail-ing-ship facility. Mr Wells’s apparent ignorance does much to explain this and the general state of inefficiency of New Zealand ports. ■ — Yours, etc., (Captain) J. F. E. CRAWFORD. December 2, 1978.