PORT OF LONDON AUTHORITY

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 179, 27 April 1938, Page 8

PORT OF LONDON AUTHORITY

Representative’s Visit IMPORTANCE OF NEW ZEALAND’S TRADE “The Port of London Authority has always recognised that the great volume of produce shipped from New Zealand to the Port of London forms one of the most important sections of Loudon's overseas trade,” said Mr. T. It. Toovey, M.8.E., representative of the authority in Australia and New Zealand, interviewed by “The Dominion’ after his arrival at Wellington by the Awatea yesterday from Sydney. Mr. Toovey has been 40 years with the Port of London Authority. From 1925 he was principal assistant to the general manager and has had considerable experience in the organisation and management of the authority. During the war he was secretary of the Transport Workers’ Battalion, and for that received the M.B.E. Mr. Toovey ischairman of the committee which deals with the safety-first work in the Port of London, and has bad very wide experience in dealing with labour, having been the authority’s staff manager. He is connected with various bodies m the City of London and is a freeman of the city. “To foster trade by close eo-operation with the Dominion, the authority for many years past has had a personal representative for New Zealand, and the able and vigorous manner in which Captain Pearse has acted in that capacity for 16 years is well known,” said Mr. Toovey. “Advancing years unfortunately caused Captain Pearse recently to decide to relinquish that appointment. and the authority had to look for a successor.

“In 1929 I had the privilege and pleasure of visiting Australia and New Zealand, and, having in mind the extraordinarily kind reception on that occasion, L had no hesitation in giving up my position as principal assistant to the general manager of the Port of London Authority and accepting their invitation to act as their personal representative in .the Commonwealth and Dominion. Although my headquarters will be at Sydney, I shall frequently visit New Zealand and keep contact with the principal ports and producing centres. “As a result of 40 years’ service with the authority I can claim an intimate knowledge of the Port of London and I have also had the advantage of visiting many ports in the European' and North American continents. Advantages of London. “It is my intention to keep before producers and shippers in New Zealand the advantages of London as a market and a port and the special facilities offered by the Port of London Authority for dealing with the trade with New Zealand and to supply to those interested in the vast trade between New Zealand and the Homeland any information regarding the Port of London they may desire. By discussion with traders and others I shall endeavour to find out their requirements in connection with the handling, marketing and distributing of produce in order that I may send home suggestions for improving and developing the present 'trade. “My experience is that the Londoner know's little of his great port and perhaps I may therefore be pardoned in assuming that the general public in New Zealand has yet to realise the extent of the port and the variety and magnitude of its trade. “The Port of London embraces the whole of the tidal section of the River Thames — approximately 69 miles. Within that area are the five dock systems of the Port of London Authority with a lineal quayage of 45 miles equipped with the most up-to-date cargohandling appliances and provided with dry docks to accommodate the largest vessels using the port. The authority is the largest warehousekeepers in the world and is able to store more than one million tons of goods. Accommodation for a further million tons is provided at the many wharves that line the banks of the river. , International Market. "Some of the factors that have made London so great are that it is a great international market, the financial centre of the world and an enormous distributing centre for the United Kingdom and for many other parts of the world, as well as a huge and expanding manufacturing area with a population of 8J - millions within its boundaries. During 1936 more than 62,000,000 net register tons of shipping passed in and out of the Port of London and 43,000,000 tons of goods were dealt with. Both these tonnages are record figures, and the Port of London continues to stand paramount among the ports of the United Kingdom.”