ARTIFICIAL HARBOUS

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 27, 27 October 1926, Page 7

ARTIFICIAL HARBOUS

USE BY HOME BOATS UNECONOMIC REMEDY SUGGESTED BY CAPTAIN POST Captain Post, a member of the Wellington Harbour Board, returned from a trip round the world a few days ago. He ■ said that from the standpoint of weather it was really b remarkable trip, as cn.no time was there occasion to close the port-holes of the steamers travelled upon. Even on the Atlantic Ocean, where he was twice wrecked before he was 17 years of age, the weather was on its very best behaviour. Captain Post came back to Wellington reinforced in the opinion he has always held, that Wellington is the finest commercial harbour in the world, and at the present time there is no other place so well equipped for the loading and discharging of cargo; there is no trouble here over tidal drifts; no abnormal rise and fall in the tide, which makes for such a lot of work in some ports, where there is anything from 10ft. to 15ft. rise.

Situated as it is strategically in the centre of the Dominion, and close to big producing districts, Captain Post holds the view that Wellington should naturally be a bigger shipping port than it is, and favours the view that it causes a tremendous economic loss for such places as Wanganui, Napier, Gisborne, and New Plymouth to drain their resources in expensive and often futile harbour works, when there is such a magnificent harbour as Wellington such a short distance away. He is quite sure that from his experience the shipping companies would rather see their ships Wing in the harbour preparing for the Homeward voyage than continually standing off and on these coastal ports burning up coal and keeping everybody on the rush. In Jiis opinion the idea of tenders to bring the produce to Wellington is a much •more feasible one, and more economical for both the shipping companies and the port authorities. At each of the ports mentioned these tenders could fill up during the dav, leave in the evening, and be in Wellington and alongside the ocean-going , steamer the first thing in the morning; discharge that day, and be back in their own port the next morning. He believes that, if the Harbour Board were to acree to remit harbour dues on such tenders altogether, some development of the kind might occur in. the future. It was the natural and safe policy, and now that there was some hint of a possible amalgamation of meat companies it was a new policy that well mivht be considered by all parties concerned.