OAMARU FORESHORE EROSION.

Evening Star, Issue 22682, 23 June 1937, Page 6

OAMARU FORESHORE EROSION.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir—Considering what has happened since the publication in your paper of June 11, following the discussion of the council on June 10, of a lengthy letter from the Minister of Railways about foreshore, protection at Oamaru, it is natural to wonder if the Minister is now pleased with hxmselt for having signed that- report. yCTtainly time and experience do make fools of us all. A “ small sea, was running a few days ago just following the publication of the report, and the waves were high enough to splash over the clay bank occasionally and soak the clay. Result was, when weighted with a small shunting engine of the I U ™“S Billy” kind and a truck of stone, the foreshore gave way for a distance or 10yds or 12yds in length, and engine and truck were precipitated into tne sea. The driver and fireman escaped injury and possible death by jumping as the engine toppled. It is thought very probable that the driver was sat ed by the prompt action of who rescued nun-. by pulhng fr the.engine by his legs. „ The same sea made several other breaches, •' erosion occurred at other points, m the shingle was removed from the only groyne, which had apparently been operative to extent that some shingle had admittedly colected to the south of the southern grovne. The sea certainly made sport of the Minister’s report, and said to the railway engineers: You have not beaten me. yet, and you won t heat me by fighting me.” It is indisputable by competent , observers that at the time of the Minister’s report the statement that the groynes were effective was like Mark Twain’s death, greatly exaggerated, as shingle was evident only to the south of the groyne— out of three—and this grovne the .least completed of the three It is contended by the man in the street that this was caused more by the protection given to this part of the shore hv the Ramsay extension of the breakwater than the groyne itself. It lias been discussed in the papers and in open council and board that the most

dangerous point on the foreshore is shifting north, as the .above arm is gradually extending seawards. It was. recently pointed out in the council that' the point above the engine sheds was now likely to be the most dangerous, and this experience of the Railway Department in losing the engine and truclc would seem to prove this contention, to tho hilt, and makes the Minister’s claim of success rather a farce. As regards a concreted wall, anyone who knows anything of the-strata; and the very, deep shingle bed which underlies Oamarn, extending northwards well past the High School, agree* with the railway engineers that a concrete wall is not feasible.- Even if built it would not stand. The Minister announces that concrete piles can bo driven, and no one doubts this, but everyone wonders why the engineer* persist in disproved methods of fighting Nature, instead of using forces which will assist the action of the sea in retaining a shingle belt on our shore. Forget Canute’s methods, and adopt a method of assisting Nature. Any reference book will supply information as regards the limit of force in the sea waves. It is believed by tho writer that the sea waves lose all force in a distance of slightly over S3ft., Ask any sea captain. Then let the department drive its concrete sheet piles in a continuous row at a distance of 35ft to 40ft from the foot of the clay bank, and only to a height of 3ft to 4ft above high water level. Tho waves will flow over this obstruction easily, and will throw over shingle and sand, which will be deposited - and become solid, just as ' all reclamation work was done in Dunedin. This will not be a costly job, and the shingle bank desired will be formed, the clay bank saved, the foreshore erosion arrested, and the problem solved. Some such method of assisting Nature is the only possible method. I repeat, this will not be a. costly job. as all the material except cement and reinforcing is on the job, and 400 unemployed men are available on the site. The Minister mentions the stone which for many years has been deposited on, the foreshore as a difficulty of piledriving. It certainly is_ if the present foolish methods are persisted in, but is really an asset and a saving of past loss if a method as outlined here of assisting Nature is used. Put in the piles at the suggested distance from the clay bank, and these stones, the emblem of past waste, are present on the job to be utilised to face the few feet of piles which would be above sea level. Practical men have assured me the job can be done at a reasonable cost, and Is the only method of protecting the foreshore at Oamaru. Canute could, not fight the sea. Neither can the Railway Department or the Minister _of Railways. But the sea can be assisted to retain the shingle which is available all the time. Surely there is enough wisdom and more in the ‘ heads that be” to discard methods .proven to bo failures and to adopt a method ot assisting Nature.—l am, etc., Not an Enginehe. Oamaru, June 21.