GREY HARBOUR BOARD.

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 August 1936, Page 4

GREY HARBOUR BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Greymouth Harbour Board was held last evening, there being present, Messis. P. J. McLean (Chairman). G. A. Perry, J. Ryall, G. E. Perkins, W. Clayton, D. Tennent, the Engineer (Mr. D. C. Milne) and the Secretary (Mr. W. B. Gilbert). Mr. J. W. Greenslade wrote resigning his seat on the Board, and expressing his appreciation of the good relations which had always existed between the Board members and officials and himself. . The Chairman, in moving that the resignation be accepted, and that the Board express its appreciation of Mr. Greenslade’s services during his term of office, said that he was sorry to sec him leaving the Board, but at the same time he knew his own business best. Mr. Tennent questioned whether the Board could accept the resignation He thought that as the Minister had made the appointment, the resignation had to be forwarded to the Minister. The secretary said that the resignation had to come to the Board. The chairman said that Mr. Greenslade had been a very useful member of the Board, and be was sure that all of the members regretted his resignation. . , The chairman's motion was carried, and on the suggestion of Mr. Perkins, it was'llecided to record in the minutes appreciation of Mr. Greenslade s services.

. The chairman said that the secretary’s report regarding wharfages for fishing vessels had been considered in committee, and it had been recommended that a conference be called with the owhers of the fishing vessels to see if some satisfactory arrangement could be arrived at, in regard to the berthages of the vessels. The recommendation was adopted. The Treasury Department remitted wharfages and special rate on coal, £Bl9/15/8; wharfages and special rate on State coal, £837/12/0; rents and royalties, £4B/11/4. Referring to the inquiry into the wreck of the Abel Tasman being held at Greymoutb, the Chairman said that as soon as the mishap had occurred he bad made representations to the Minister of Marine that the inquiry should be held at Greymouth, as he had thought it desirable that the inquiry should be held where the evidence was available, not in Wellington, as had been the case with the Kaponga wreck. The action of the chairman in applying to have the inquiry held at Grey mouth was approved. Messrs. Guinness and Kitchingham forwarded an opinion seting out the rights of lessors where rents are in arrears, forwarding a form of authority from the Board to re-enter the land and also the form of notice to be placed on the section.

The chairman said that the matter had been discussed in committee, and he moved that it be referred to the secretary ,to take any action that he might decide was necessary, in regard to Dobson leases. The secretary said that the position was that when lessees had gone away and had paid no rent the Board had no option but to take action. Messrs. Tansey and Company forwarded a copy of a letter from the General Manager of the State Fire and Accident Insurance, reducing the rate payable on quarrymen’s insurance from £lO per cent, to £8 per cent. The letter stated that the absence of accidents in recent years apparently showed that stringent safety measures had been adopted in the quarry. The chairman said that the reduction of 20 per cent, in the premium meant a considerable saving to the Board, and he thought that the Engineer, quarry foreman, and men were to be commended for their good work. It was very commendable that there had been no serious accidents in the quarry. Mr. D. J. Evans, secretary of the Westland Provincial Organisation for the New Zealand Centennial in 1940, wrote advising that the chairman of the Board had been appointed as a member of the Westland Provincial Organisation, and gave an outline of the proposed activities. The chairman said that he had attended the meeting with the secretary. It had been a most enthusiastic meeting and he was sure that members would approve of the Board’s co-oper-ating in the matter. The action of the chairman in attending the meeting at Hokitika was approved. The Australian T. and G. Assurance Society, Ltd., wrote submitting a scheme for group assurance, covering employees of the Board. The chairman said he had discussed the matter with the secretary, and as the Government was likely to bring down a national superannuation scheme, he would move that the letter be received. Mr. Tennent suggested that the secretary should submit a report to the next meeting, as he thought it might be interesting. On the motion of the chairman, it was decided that any member of the staff so desirous should be supplied with information regarding the scheme.

The Harbours Association of New Zealand wrote forwarding a copy of a solicitor’s opinion regarding the Factories Amendment Act insofar as it affected stores etc under the control of Harbour Boards, and also on the Shops and Offices Amendment Act. (2) Advising of matters decided on at a recent meeting of the Executive of the Association. (3) Regarding provisions in the Finance Bill with regard to contracts. The secretary said that the first and second portions of the communication from the Association did not apply to the Board and it was decided to refer the third matter to the Engineer. The Mines Department forwarded particulars of co-operative coat shipped by State mines during May and June, 1936, and also special rate and wharfage due. The Runanga School of Mines wrote applying for a donation. It was decided to make the same donation as last year, namely, £lO. The Greymouth Aero Club wrote thanking the Board for its assistance to further the interests of aviation on the West Coast.

The District Engineer, Public Works Department, forwarding a plan of the proposed deviation through Sections 68, 72, etc., at Brunner, in order to eliminate the Kiwi crossing, and asking if the Board had any objection to the w’ork.

The secretary stated that he had already advised the Department that the Board had no objection. 1

The action of the secretary was approved. Walter Barber applied for a lease of Section 148, Dobson. The chairman said that the section concerned adjoined the Power Board block, and in view of the proposal for a coal distillation plant, he thought that it would be Inadvisable to lease the section in the meantime,

as it might interfere with the block. It was decided that the applicant be advised that Section 148 was not available for leasing, but that there were other sections available in Dobson.

Messrs. Guinness and Kitchingham advised that the leases of Lots 1 and 2, Res. 1485, Blaketown could not be registered until a plan was deposited with the District Land Registrar. The secretary said that the area required surveying, but it was doubtful whether it would be utilised. The matter was left to the secretary. HARBOURMASTER’S REPORT

The Harbourmaster (Captain F. IV. Cox) submitted the following moutlily report:— During July, the bar maintained a good average depth, on 18th and 19th experienced a strong fresh with 9 knots maximum velocity, and during the other portion of the month it was generally favourable for shipping movements. The depths at high water for July, were: —Springs: July s—bar5 —bar 22ft 3in, fiver 23ft 9in; July 19: bar 25ft Gin, river 23ft 6in. Neaps:—July 12: bar—2sft 4in, river 21ft 4in; July 27: bar—2sft, river 21ft. Month’s mean average—Bar 24ft Bin; river 21ft Ilin. Rainfall for July was 7.73 inches and fell on 14 days. July 17, maximum fall: 2.17 inches. The shipping return for July was: —inwards, 33 steamers, 13,904 tons; outwards: 31 steamers, 11,409 tons. (This does not include “Abel Tasman”). Just prior to 5 p.m. on July 18. the Abel Tasman carried away her moorings and drifted over the bar and stranded on the north side of northern breakwater. All hands were brought ashore by the ship’s life-saving gear. The Magisterial inquiry started on Aug. 7, and finished on Aug. 10, when only a partial finding was rendered, so I am not in the position to comment until the full finding conies to hand. There is nothing else of importance to report, the ordinary routine duties having been regularly atended to and satisfactorily carried out. The chairman said that the members of the Board were conversant with the unfortunate mishap which had occurred to the Abel Tasman, through what had appeared in the papers, and he thought that it would be unwise to comment upon it at the present stage. However, as far as he could see the Harbour staff had done their job and had paid the proper attention to their duties. The vessel had been moored in accordance with the practice in the past, but as the matter was still under the consideration of the Court at the present time, he thought that it would be inadvisable to comment. The report was adopted.

ENGINEER’S REPORT. The Engineer (Mr D. C. Milne) reported as follow, on the ivork carried out during the month of July: — Cobden Quarry:—Quarry operations during the month were confined to the removal of loose stone lying on the upper bench. Although this work was not included in the recommendations made by the Inspector it was considered advisable in, the interests of safety to remove what might even as a remote possibility constitute a source of danger to life and plant in the quarry. This is in conformity with the policy which has been consistently pursued by the Board in the operation of the quarry and which has been so successful in reducing the number of accidents that it not only has been favourably commented on by the Insurance Company, but has resulted in a very substantial reduction in the amount of the premium paid on accident insurance. The stone brought down is chiefly in large blocks and is of excellent quality. On completion of this work the stone will be cut into suitable sizes and used in the construction of the North Breakwater. It is anticipated that approximately 1500 tons of first and second class stone will be available for this purpose and will be deposited during the next few weeks. All plant was removed from the quarry face during the month and the output was limited to a small quantity of spoil amounting to 384 tons.

North Breakwater Extension: — Heavy seas were experienced in the early part of the month and a slight subsidence took place in the stonework at the head. No loss of stone occurred and only minor damage was done to the superstructure of the staging. South Breakwater: Extensive damage was done to the staging as a result of a severe storm which occurred on the 7th July. Pile 578 and the cap at pier 57 were broken by the heavy seas. The four lin. diameter bolts holding the cap to the stringers were broken and the portion of pile and cap weighing 21 tons was thrown a distance of 25 feet against pier 56, damaging the pile and cap of this pier. Both the pile and cap of pier 57 were in excellent condition, and the cap is 18 feet above normal high water mark. The storm therefore must have been of exceptional severity and it is probable that the damage was due to a floating log being caught by the waves and hurled against the structure. Extensive repairs were necessary and these were carried out during the month when sea conditions were favourable. Railway Maintenance: Repairs were carried out to No. 1 bridge on the line to the South Breakwater. One of the ironbark stringers in bay No. 9 was found to be badly decayed and was replaced while a number of sleepers were renewed. Repairs were effected to the approach lines to the head of the South Breakwater. Plant: The plant at the quarry was out of commission during the month and the opportunity was taken to carry out various repairs including minor overhauls to the steam shovel and loco BIT. The annual inspection took place on July 9 and 10, and all plant was found to be in good condition.

The report was adopted. The Chairman said that, as the members knew, the Abel Tasman had been sold. It was thought advisable, in the interests of the Board, to have the eyesore removed as soon as possible, and some of the Board’s plant was being used by the Company engaged in the salvage, on a sound commercial basis. The Engineer had made arrangements to make the plant available to the company. The Engineer said that assistance was being rendered to the company in haulage and by lending them rails and sleepers, etc.

Mr Ryall said that he thought the company was entitled to any assistance that could be given them. The action of the Engineer in making the plant available was approved.

FINANCE COMMITTEE’S REPORT.

The Finance Committee reported that the following accounts had been received since the date of the last meeting:—Shipping Dues £320/3/9;

Rents £299/19/11; Hire and Sale Plant £lB/10/11; Wharfages £1372 10/10; Special Rate on Coal £284/16 10- Royalties £4B/11/4; Deposit Hire Plant £l5. Total £2,359/13/7. The Harbour Fund Account has a credit balance of £2,925/6/8. Fixed deposits amount to £3,000. Your Committee recommends that accounts amounting to £1528/6/- be passed for payment. The report was adopted.