PROGRESS OF THE PORT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 91, 10 January 1908, Page 9

PROGRESS OF THE PORT.

TRADE MORE THAN DOUBLED IN J ' , , . ,TEN YEARS,,: , 1 DEMAND FOR INCREASED: STORAGE. : : DISCUSSION BY THE-HARBOUR. ■. BOARD. , ■ - i ;:The chief: business at yesterday's special meeting of the Wellington Harbour Board ' was the consideration of Mr. Shirtclilfe's long-delayed motion in' favour of providing . increased storago accommodation on the Queen 'j Wharf 1 ; .Tlioso' present' at . tho. meeting won? the Hon... T. Iv. Macdonald, M.L.C. .(Chairman) /Messrs.' W. T.. Wood, ' M.P., ,Jiv»M'Lellaj R. Fletcher, H.; Beau- ' champ, C. E. Dani 'U» and G. Shirtcliffe. MR. CHIRTCUFFE'S MOTION. (Mr. Shirtcliffe's vnotion; was, as follows: . That In view of the inadequacy of the present wharf anff shed accommodation to cope with 'iVie rapidly-increasing import uace oi- the' port, the I " provision; of , I' : increased: accommodation be treated as' an urgent work, and the Engineer take steps to have the widening of the outer tee of tho QueeriV Vfharf' and the tien thereon : oftwo-storied sheds, as recommended by. him in his report of Maiy.. : 31, 1906,, put in hand at the earliest possiblo date. ,- ... ... .- . • The mover thanked the . members" for. tending at "tlio'-Special' meeting, Yand- boned' that ir thoy did not agreo with him, tney .-.* would still give .the matter- that..consideration which ho thought should bo given 'to it • Ho had brought it forward at the request ~of the' Chamber of Cqmmerco. He' had, 1 J somo r diffidence ~iri proposing a scheme/ithat-,.would ; cost, ~;he understood, ' £75,000, arid,' if membors opposed the idea, it would donbtleßS .be on account of tho I ex- . pendituro .involved, especially;' in view of the very heavy-commitments'that the Board already "bad' to face:' Those commitments would about' balance'- tlio present borrowing powers of the Board,'so that if-his proposal was "adopted:'further-borrowing; powers to the amount of £75,000. would; havp to be obtainedi'- ' -No extofisidn of the-accommoda- . tion at the' Queen's Wharf had'been effected since thoi-yea'r 1895, yet tho're-had beoii -'agreat.'increase of'trado.'-i-. In -1898 'the transoceanic'imports of this port were 78,000 tons, and last .year- . .the '' amount' had-risen to 156,000 tons. The'great , bulk- of these imports oaipo across .'tho'Qiifeeh's/Wharf. It. had been; the. policy .of- the -Board/to. concentrato j.tlie.' import, ta-ade. at' tbc'. Queen's / Wharf for,''convenience' in; transhipping, and L be was strongly, of. opinion that that system ■j ■ should ;be: continued. . 'The colonial ' and " coastwiso:'trade inwards in-1898 was 83,500, . tons',/and. in. 1907 it had. risen 'to' 163,900' tons; - timber, .1898,. 1,900,000 - feet ; . 1907, 24,000,000 ,feot. The increase in the timber import'"had/not -been 'uit'og'cthor grddual. The-bulk'-of it had taken placo during tho last-.two; year's, '.but. he' thought that . there was'likely to. bo, n. .-rapid"'increase| as'- the years/went oh,.in.tho timber trade, both inwards and- outwards; "especially- 'when' tlio . Main Trunk lino was opened. ,';TKo imports . of coal in 1898, were 67,000 tons, and .in 1907 145,000 ' torts.' "It ' would' be 1 soeri . that the inward .trade in/foreign goods, coastwise and colonial..'traffic, 'and coal, had rather more than doubled .in ten yearswhile the: in- - crease iri'-.timber had been-very much greater. This showed that some increased' accommodation for, the inward trade of the':,port was.called'.-f0r.... , •-! / .■; ;; •-.

CONGESTION 'AND .DELAYS. Members had only to go down to the wharf to.see the tremendous congestion,, that, took, place when - one-'"of-in. ..The size-.-of...theseV-yosspls had greatly increased of .late years, and when 4COO to 6000 tons of goods.had-to.be handled, through sheds- that, were only built for 2000! tons, -it was oasily iJ mustrtakp; placo. Thpre.was.-great inconvfcnienco to iriir; porters in,.riot; being -able to get their .goods within' a . reasonable time, and-the , delay : to tho ships was also a seritois matter. It was marvellous to" him,how the. Harbour Board officials managed to get through the work as well as'they did, but congestion was. bound to take place', and importers often had to wait a week for gobds'that'wore buried under the accumulations' of later arrivals. " : LETTER FROM CAPTAIN EVANS.

At this point Mr. Shirtcliffe read a' letter from Captain Evans, Marine Superintendent, Shaw, Savill, and. Albion Company, .stating that the: Athenic berthed 'at,'s p.m. on August 12, Vand left'a6 .4 p.m. : on.:'August'2l; after' landing' 5180 tons of. cargo'hero:'; The Corinthicj "from 5 on 'September' 11!; .to.. S p.m. "on ! : September 18; landed ,4930 tons, , and the Arawa, from October 10, at 10 a.m., to October 20, at 6 a.m., 1ahded.,6270 tons.Iri the latter caso wot 'weather' caused some' delay. The sheds .were•very...frequently congested, especially- if there; was.-, line -weather and a good London cargo of-caso goods- that must go into the. sheds., This congestion retarded tho; output of cargo, from the steam-, ers, as then .the; cargo could not bo taken aivay as quickly as' tho ship .could givo it, unless there-was a . considerable quantity of '"ugh iCf-ods ,which could be; left outsido the sheas. In S-uch' cases the;, working of-r overtime was 'd .„ „£ considerable expense to tho shi' any commensurate return, and th orking at night'so filled the sheds u operations- woro hampered on the. i. - jay.-• He • had- not made-'any complain; mso ho knew, the officials were doi.\, 'r best, .but-evidently- the sheds wore large enough, to cope with til? ever-in , ivork put upon them..The jte years increased largely in size, "ana jargoes correspondingly increased in que. ony, whilst tho sheds specially referred to had not been enlarged. Until more adequate slied accommodation was provided the difficulty referred'to would increase, with the-;indircct. loss to ships, owing to reduced speed' of : . ■nfork for'the same pay. as would be. given for mote rapid output of cargo' under..better, conditions, with quicker despatch of vessels/, to the advantage of all concerned. With the Company's passenger steamers,.-which-all berthed at No. 1 south, they had always had'their _ Christ-church consignees wanting their cargo, delivered as soon as -possiblo. by . tho early ■ despatch of these vessels from Wellington. •

TRANSHIPMENT RELAYED. Continuing, Mr.' Shirtcliffo said that cargo | to bo transhipped for tho South was often considerably delayed. In tlio case of cargo for Timarii and Oamaru, tlie boats left,only fortnightly, and; it frequently happened that ono boat;was missed, owing to tho congestion, and the goods' therefore had , to waita fortnight longer. TWb was a very serious matter for Southern importers, and the Board ought to' consider their intorosts. Mr. Fletcher: Isn't that the fault of the joastal boats} ■ Mr. Shirtcliffo: Not Tho coastal boats-must get away, with or without the cargo. ,' RECOMMENDED BY THE ENCINEER. Since r 1895, continued Mr.. Shirtcliffo, the cargo handled daily at tho , Queen's Wharf had increased from 977 tons to 1800 tons--afjain an increase of 100 por cent. This widening of tho wharf and erection of new sheds formed part of a larger schemo submitted to tho Board by Mr. Ferguson in May, 1906. Tho Board adopted that report, and tho scheme had therefore boon approved, bo that it only remained to decide when tho work should be put in hand. v Mr. Fletcher said that tho Board did not adopt the report, but deferred the matter for further consideration.

Mr. Shirtcliffe replied that tho point was immaterial, becauso, oven if tho Board had adopted tho scheiri, it could still throw it over now. " v„,

iir. Shirtcliffo wont on to quoto from tho roport of Mr. Ferguson, dated May 31,1906, in which ho recommended that, as soon as the new wharf to tho north-east of tho Glasgow Wharf was completed (say'in years' time), if tho trade would then pormit it, the outer tee of tho Quoeii's Wharf should bo widoned seawards by about 62ft. 'J'liero should be erected on the extension two-story stores of tbe same longths ao tho existing stores, and

having a width of about 49ft: The upper floor would bo available for tho examination, of Customs goads and tho siora"o of light goods. Hydraulic' cranes should -ho provided, so as to do'posit cargo on tho upper.' iloor of the shads. Tho report also recom'monded that the concentration of tho dischargo of ocean cargo at'tho Queon's Wharf i bo. continued us:, long as possihlo. ••%'.!

THE BOARD'S POLICY CRITICISED./' iMr. Shirtcliffo went to to say that he thought tho Board had committed a great error of judgment in spending:; borrowed- 1 ilioney on luxuries, such as tlio Potono Wharf, and'- others, when tho main wharves wero, sulfering from lack of accommodation. Every, -.'possible: attention should hp given to tho requirement;! of tho port heforo going 'hi for luxuries, (A Member: Tlio Miraniar \Vharf 1) ■ A groat amount .of liability had been assumed - by tho Board for-such luxuries as tho dock' schemo, and wharves at outlying places like Rona Bay and Potbno. Tho trado of tho port had not yet reached its : maximum, though it had mado wonderful progress. Ho believed the next fivo years would show a fur-, tlier very rapid increase, which would .bo greatly helped by-tlio Main Trunk Railway.It was all very well topropose putting oft' tho improvements to tho Queen's Wharf until tho Ring's Wharf was . completed. ' That , would bo merely postponing tho evil day. Ho took it that such a suggestion would be. made because it would bo very awkward to icloso up tho Queen's Wharf whilo tlio alterations wero being made, 'but . lie thought .tho King's Wharf would bo fully required for the oxport trado by tho time at-was .completed. Ho waslawaro of the schomo'for another export wharf beyond tlio King's Wharf, but tho ■lJoard should not devoto aU : its .attention: to tho oxport trado. Ho did not think tho accommodation was going to bo increased-any, faster/than tlio trado.-. With regard to,the question of how itho. alterations wero to bo liiado to tho Queen's Wharf, that was a question for tho Engineer t-o adviso upon. He could not {hinkHhat Mr. Ferguspn would tell 'them that, tho thing was impossible on.tho ground that . they , could not,, wholly or parti-ally,-(closo the wharf while , tho work was being done. Ho thought tho Engineer would tell them that v without any great i'neonvenionco for a few months, tho work could,bo dono, and ho thought the public would /' bo content to -put up' with that, rather than seo -a>.continuance of tho prosent,congestion of cargo and loss to importer's and shippers.-

HOW MANY ISTORIES7 ,

Ho was not. greatly concerned at present' a3 .to whether tho new. sheds wero to lie 0110, two, or five'stories' high. He would bo, contint to.roly upoli tho judgment of tho Engineer, but he observed that at tho port of . Dundeo a schemo had been adopted for erecting 'wharf sheds of five; stories. This would show that the idea of sheds with'more than ono-.floor was not altogether 1 novel. On . tho Manchester Ship Canal, thero wore sheds' of four, five, and six stories high, and if.• tho; peoplo thero could efficiently l -handle their ■ largo and multifarious cargoes in such sheds, this Board could very, well follow in their footsteps. He was quite ready to adopt tho recommendations of the Engineer, and only doubted, whether two stories would afford sufficient' accommodation.. _ Ho would, havo supported a recommendation in favour Of three-story'sheds'.if the jinginoer had advised such. In conclusion, Mr. Shirtclift'o thanked tho. members for their attention, and said-ho hoped tho question would bo. fully-.discussed; MR. BEAUCHAMP'S VIEWS. ' Mr. Harpld Beauchamp seconded the raa- : tion pro: forma.' ..He.said the question of tho, 'enlargement of the' Queen's Wharf was. a pprennial one. The chief difficulty would bo to provide for trado while'the work was being done. In regard to the;figures' quoted by Mr: .Shirtcliffe, it;should bo borne in'mind that a great deal. of frozen meat was- formerly transhipped out of hulks.- The/col-' onial and coastal goods;' passing : over' tlto .wharf, last year amounted to 1)5,971 tpns, as compared with. 80,013 tons, 79,005 tons, and 79,597 tdhs. in: $htr'.tb'fl{Q :'JitpsMi^yfSars. respectively; 'and 1 ; 5.0, in""1897.' Tho': average .increase, per annum, noarly ;.7"per cent... The export of frozen.'meat, butter;, etc.,'"for . British and? -foreign.-'>ports. ; -iwas,. 3S);11Q tpns ylast. year,'., as compared, with. '.§6,o§3' :tons,->35i055; tons, • and -l 39,551-tons for the three preceding years. In. 1897 it wa30n1y'12,853 tons. . , Tho avoragd. yearly in-' crease was.7-i per cent.' In 1895; the . Queen's Wharf wab' largely.. used for. .export -as well as import trade, but to-dav. practically nothing was shipped Homeward from that;-wliarf, tho whole of tho oxport. trade being -dono • fi'om the Railway Wliarf aiid' tho •• Glasgow ; Wharf. The'-'King!s Wharf ,would be completed at, an early date; and he hoped the' -proposed Fipitca Wharf would ,be the next, work to bo undertaken. He thought; that', when the King's' Wharf was completed and tho'Pipitea Wharf was undorway, the Board could then resolutely determine to-proceed with tho. enlargement of tho -.Queen's Wharf:-. He .was quite .in. sympathy- wjth.'Mr, Shirt'clifle's object,- but if-.thoy set about enlarg- . 'iri'g the Queen's. Wharf-.without finishing.tho Kii/ig's Wharf and starting the - Pipitea Wharf, the result would be the utter - organisation of • the trade of the port.- As ' one who had had considerable oxpcricnco in shipping matters, he could not endorse what had been said of inordinate delays in getting goods from'tho slieds. He thought aa good despatch-was. given at this port as at any other in tho-Dominion, if not better. The matter had not yet reached a critical. stage,, and could, thorflfore, well be deferred, as ho had suggested. . ■ .

OPINIONS OF MR. J. prLELLAN

Mr. J. M'Lellan said that, in reviewing what 31r:. Shirtcliffo had said on this periodical nuestion,'ho observed that Mr; Ferguson had recommended, in May, >1906,' that tho work should be undertaken two and a half/years from that date. That timo had not yet come. Ho (Mr. M'Lellan) quito agreed that tho work snould bo done by and by. ' At. the present timo, . it would "bo pre--mature to discuss whether the sheds should bo two stories high, or by how much' the wharf should be widened. It wiis too early ! yet to commit the Board to any such specific 'policy. They must first get.tho King's Wharf finished; and then it would bo absolutely necessary to start another export wharf. In regard to despatch: at tho port, ho was prepared to stato' that at this port cargo was handled in half the timo that was taken for tho purposo at other ports. .At Auckland tho importers could not get their- goods nearly' as quickly as they could here. At Lyttclton, no consignee got his stuff in less than a fortnight. Thfiy might blamo tho railway, - but, as a matter of-fact, they did not get tho goods. In Duncdin they did not get thorn in less -than threo woeks. Tho matter had not reached an 'acute stage. Tho cost of another King's-Wharf .would bo practically £75,000, and tho money would bo better spent in that way than in enlarging tho Queen's Wharf: Tho timo had arrived when they would liavo to spread tilings out moro, and not congest everything at; tho Queen's Wharf. That wharf was quito ablo to dotl'io work it was meant for, and tho Board was not now in a position to spond £75,000 on it. It would bo wise to again postpono tho question, and when they had the King's Wharf and the Pipitea Wharf built, tlioy: should go into tho whole matter and dccido whether the schemo'was a proper ono or not. Tliero woro several days in tlio week when tho export wharves could bo used .to relievo tho Queen's Wharf, if necessary. . AN AMENDMENT. Mr. W: T. Wood, adopting the suggestion previously ■ made by Mr. Beauchamp, movecl as an amendment" That upon tno completion and cquipmont of tho King's Wharf, and the commencement forthwith of the erection of a similar structure, to bo known as tho Pipitea Wharf, the enlargement of tho Queon's Wharf bo treated as a matter of special urgency, and that this ho tlio declared policy of tlio Board." Mr. Wood said that unless these other wharves woro orectcd to relievo tho congestion on the Queen's Wharf during tlio alterations; there would he a great deal of inconvenience. He agreed with Mr. Shirtcliffe that tho timo had. pretty well arrived when an increaso of accommodation oil tlio Queen's Wharf was required. Subsequently, the amendment was altered by striking out all the words after " urgency." Mr. Frasor seconded.tho amendment. Mr. M'Lellan, alluding to remarks proi viousiy made by Mr. Shirtcliffe, said ho did ' not believo tho expenditure on the small i outlying wharves was monov wasted. It

had ,pot exceeded £25,000 in all,- and ho thought tho money was well spent. . Mr. Danicll montioncd that ; thd'i proposed .expenditure of '£75,000 ' on the Queen's Wharf included repairs to tlio . existing, structure. It was'a vory necessary, work, and lie'would support' ,tho motion,

STATEMENT BY THE ENCINEER. |' i The. Engineer (Mr. W. : Ferguson),;- on - ; boing appealed to, said he thought the 1 Pipitoa Wluirf could bo begun-in six months' ,time, and would take two years. Tlio plans for tlio onlargenio'ntt of. tho' Queon's. Whftrf' could' lio prepared and tenders c'allqd for by, • the end of 1 tho/present , year. It would .bo . impossible to closo, . any portion of/ tho Queen's Wharf now. Tlio proposed, woric,.at tho Queen's Wharf' would navo to bo done in two separate, contracts, ,it' not three, so that at no timo. .would tlioro bo more-than two berths lost.' Tlio work would occupy htwo .years. A largo portion of it must bo done-owing to tho presont-condition..of the wluirf.' ■ , ■ .'•■ .. : ',; REMARKS BY MR. FLETCHER. : 'Mi\ Flotcher thought tlio delivery. of goods was as quick at Wellington as anywhere; else, if not quicker. '-Tlio tiriio had come when they -needed two now wharves atvPipitea, for import and export trade, so that tho Queen's Wharf could be kopt : for intercolonial and coastal work. One objection to extending tho Queen's Wharf was that it would interfere with ships swinging round. A report should, bo obtained from tho < Harbourmaster on this point.. , The big sheds of five and six stories at Dundee, and.; 'Manchester' .were really ;warehouses for storing, goods in great bulk, which was not What was .required-, at this port, except for wool. . 'Ho thought tho; ships might stow tho cargoes for tlio different-ports in such, a' way'as-to- avoid :a good deal of tho delay that', took 'place, in 1 transhipping., Ho; would say; nothing 1 of tho Rona Bay and Miramar Wharves,, but the money spent on the ,Pe- , toiio I '. Wharf could liavo been bettor employed. COST of the,board;s other works. ■ Tlio Chairman ; said , that wh'.le ho had, always held that the..Harbour must keep pace with tho growing requirements of tho Dominion, .ho -would point Out that, the , Board was already committed' to ail enormous . expenditure. There was the .now dock, to cost £250,000, and other necessary works! amounting' to £160,000, making a total of £410,000, to which the .3oard was.absolutely' committed, In addition;-tho .Engineer had suggested .other necessary works that- would cost £280,000, including that advocated by-; Mn. Shirtcliffe. If .the Evans Bay schemo wero proceeded with that would mean spending another £130,000, and tho' purchase, of tlio Patent Slip, with adjScent reclamation, would cost £85,000 moro.. , Altogether, ; the tot.al cost _pf the works to which the Board .was committed, with tho others, which it wasrecommended , to ! undertake, would be • £925,000. Roughly speaking, tho Board' ■would requiro to spend a million sterling witlun tlio nest threo or . four years. Ho •' was glad'to hear .what Mr. M'Lellan had' i said regarding tho despatch 'at this- port • compared with others. Ho had asked Mr

Ferguson . to. present a full report on.tho financial position of tho Board at tho next mooting, and he wished to' add that' towards the expenditure to which'• tho 1 Board was committed thore was £157 .000 in . hand, so that. the finances of' the Board at present were absolutely .sound. /'

MOTION! WITHDRAWN.. ■ .'Mr;' Shirtcliffa• said that ho was glad the matter ; had been discussed, as tho ; public woucl now know what tho intended to do.ln. regard .to the rapid delivery of goods, they- should not shelter themselves bclirnd comparisons .with bother sports.:-TRey-prided themselves on: doing ;■ better.'; thaii others. Ho did not think Dlmedin, wag' so . s !P)K '. a ? MJLcllan had ,Baid. : i In, regard to'; the use of high sheds at Manchester and Dundee for goods, in large bulk, ■ ho thought that if wo had smaller parcels wo needed all tho more floor space, so .that tho argument in favour of the sheds of nioro tniiii one story. It did not-setfrrt' to 'himJ as ;a'"laytnan, that the., addition of 62 feet to the. Quoen's Wharf would ' miil<o: much- ,dif.'forohep' trt'"the;; handling of .ship'?; but that .•pointrought'tri'-.reqoivo consideration.' Ho :did-not'.-tliink; the financial. difficulty, should hin-

tier ' thorn, "'but , on. hearingfrom Mr. • Fcr-i gnabii; tliat'.ifc .would be. practically.' impossible to' close .the 'Queen's-; Wharf, at;prosont, ■ and difficult ..to do so'o'ven when- the King's ■Wharf was'comploted, ho wished to ask leave to withdraw his motion. ';. c .. 1 ..

.. Leavo to withdraw, the motion was granted and this having been clone, the' amendment .also lapsed. ;; . . . " ;

• Tho Chairman said that at the nest moeting„ on January, 30, a report on the question of manoauvring ships, as affected by tho proposed- extension of the Queen's Wharf, wpukl be presented. ■ The ■ matter of the proposed Pipitea, Wharf would also come before tBo Board, as well as certain important questions of finance.'.