WESTPORT HARBOUR

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 51, 7 September 1928, Page 4

WESTPORT HARBOUR

QUESTION OF CONTROL

Tho position of the harbour at Westport, and the noea for carrying out improvements in order that tho port might bo more easily worked by colliers, were mentioned by tho Leader of the Opposition (Mr. H. E. Holland) in the House of Bepresentatives yesterday afternoon, when tho report of tho Marino Department was under consideration. Mr. Holland said that, as a result of the harbour' not being in a workable condition the mines in the surrounding district were idle from time to time, and most of them were working short time. That was a very serious matter not only from the point of view of the district, but the country as a whole. Tho various .shipping companies had prepared statistics showing how serious tho delays had been from their point of view, and when a deputation waited or Sir Francis Bell some little time ago Mr. J. O. Brown, district manager of tho Westport Coal Company, pointed out that ships which used to leave the port with 3000 tons of coal now left with only 1500 tons, and he also mentioned that in other days steamers used to leave with as much as 5000 tons. That was an indication of the trouble they wore up against so far as the port of Westport was concerned. ,Mr. Holland said he thought the time must inevitably come when they should return to local control. He did not wish to rellect on anybody connected with the administration of tho harbour, but tho fact remained that. Westport had no marine engineer in charge. The people of Westport bad no voico m tha administration of the harbour; all they had was an advisory committee. Sir John Luke (Wellington North) said Wellington was very closely interested in the port of Westport, as there was a time when steamers came to Wellington from the West Coast fringing as much as 0000 tons of coal. Westport coal was at ono time very.highly rallied by the Admiralty.