OLD WHARVES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1058, 22 February 1911, Page 4

OLD WHARVES.

REMINISCENCES OF EARLY' ir. ■ /;-;.;: : : WELLINGTONi v 'v. 'K: Among those present, at the : harbooj ; excursion given to_. the. members of the Harbour Board and friends by Mr... 8.,Fletcher . (chairman)'... was ,;llr. Georse : Prince.who retired from the position of, wharfinger five years ago. Jir. • Prince can go"back a good way in therhistory of Wellington as a port of' commerce.-:,. He was present, for instance,- when _tne first pile in the construction of the first section of'tho old "Queen's-'Wharf.was driven in 1862. The pile-a fine blt-of - : totara—was drawn a iew years ago, and. a portion of it can be seen in the office of the secretary of the board,-little the ■;; worso for.its 40 years' submersion. Mr.. Prince joined the wharf staff as foreman ! . in'lß69, at which time it was under lease-: to Jackson and Graham from Jhe.Citj ..•; Corporation. The-board was constituted ■: in 1879, but did not take charge until 1881. • "In those days," said Mr. Prince to- a DouunoN reporter, "we used to think 50 ■ tons of cargo a big day, and used to make special'arrangements for the strain. This was usually , -the arrival of one' ? of - Jl'Meek'an and Blackwood's steamers from Melbourne , direct, or one of- the V.old. Circular Saw liners.: jThey :w4re very ■ small boats,.but we usedjo pretty-fine steamers in those days.';.:.:; "There was a good deal of. competition . among the wharves in the '60's.-.'No one . wharf had it all its own way, I;can tell you. Going south from "■: the .Queen e, Wharf, there were a whole; regiment of. j ■private wharves—Plimmer-Reeves, 'J-omp-' . ton's, Bowler's (afterwards Pearces.l.PilcheT's (the Customs Wharf),: Hunter s.Hickson's, -Rhodes'—then came _the ■Iβ Aro Pa, about the location-of Lower Taranaki Street. On tho northern side of the Queen's was Levin's (afteTwards. Brown's). ■ The reclamation has : lonsr, ; sinco swept away all trace of these-; ■ The two who have -been longest in _ the;•;, employ of the Queen's Wharf authorities .<; ave tlie secretary (Mr. n. .B. fcicholls)-,. and the assistant wharfinger, Mr. ; Harry.; Claridse, who entered the service on the: same day-February 9, 1874. ■ Since, then; Mr Claridge has hn<l a break, m hra service but Mr. Nicholls has been, conrtinuou«ly on. the wharf for 37 years. ;'