HARBOUR HISTORY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22200, 10 December 1946, Page 6

HARBOUR HISTORY

MR. TODD'S BOOK

MISTAKES IN PAST

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE Particularly in view of the recent pressure from an influential section of the business and farming communities for further investigations to be made into the possibility of reconsrueting the Gisborne waterfront into a deep-sea port, the publication of Mr. Thos. Todd's "History of the Gisborne Harbour” should attract a good deal of local interest. It will be recalled that Mr. Todd was a member of the Gisborne Harbour Board during an important phase of the big operations which began in 1922 and that for most of the time he was deputy chairman of the board and also chairman of the works committee. As a result of his active experience as a board member and also for the reason that he has always taken a live part in the general development of the district he has been able to write with an impressive degree of authority. Mr. Todd regrets that work on his book had to be shelved during the war years. Yet it is apparent that it could not have appeared at a better time than the present, when the reminder of the mistakes that were made in the past and the recital of the lessons which can be learnt from them should serve as a valuable guide if the Gisborne Harbour Board, responding to current representations, decides to undertake finally the task of establishing Gisborne as a port which will accommodate overseas freighters. Faith in Expert Opinion Whether or not those people who have vivid recollections of the busy days of harbour construction agree wi.th all the writers remarks, there is not the slightest doubt that Mr. Todd's partiality for the views of experts—engineers of the calibre of Mr. Leslie H. Reynolds and Mr. Robert Campbell —entitle his history to the greatest respect. "I have endeavoured to avoid pushing forward my own opinions," he writes. "Instead of that I have endeavoured to dig out the facts and place them together so that they by themselves tell the story. When the time comes that Gisborne once again tackles the construction of an outer harbour. I hope that this phamplet of mine will be useful to my successors. It will as least show them how much was misunderstood and what srong reasons there arc for hope and faith in the future.” Faith in the future is indeed the keynote of Mr. Todd's work. He maintains that in the second attempt to form a deep-sea harbour (in 1922) the plans were sound and could not have missed success "it we had shown the slightest .trace of that dogged obstinacy so prominent in the first, period.” He recalls the argument, contract versus day labour, culminating in an eight to seven vote for contract, which, he claims, had the effect of scrapping the preparations for an immediate start Pressure for “Modified Scheme” “In reality,” he remarks, “the position was tnat under day la.oour we could not finish the haroour without more money, wnile under contract we could not begin it." Naturally the money question obtruded itself at frequent intervals into the discussions by the board. It is the opinion of Mr. Todd that the pressure by some farmers' representatives on the board for the adoption of the modified scheme, “something cheaper than Mr. Reynold's harbour,” was the real cause of the board’s vacillation and its frequent change of policy. “If, in 1924 the majority of the board had insisted on the inner harbour, they might have obtained a harbour much bigger and better than what v/e have now and at a smaller cost," says the writer. “If, on the other hand, after voting for a return to Mr. Reynold's harbour they had loyally supported it and done their best to make it succeed they could have had file outer harbour for well under the sum of £1,000,000 which the conference in 1919 declared the district could afford to pay.” The difficulties of the undertaking, however, have not been overlooked in Mr. Todd's history. These seems little doubt that .that board lost heavily over the Whareongaonga quarry. Many Problems Already Solved Mr. Todd offers an encouraging note for the future. "The. silt problem has been solved by the river, which takes out to sea all the silt it brings down and as much more as we like to put into it,” he states. “The sand problem is also solved by .the river, which forms an invisible barrier between the beach and the mouth of our harbour. The shipping of stone from Whareongaonga, which worried us so much, proved after all to be of no great difficulty; from our unprotected timber jetty we' were able to ship stone with the loss of only one day in 10 and that was right through the winter. The only question remaining is the stone I am convinced that the stone is there. . . . and that Mr. Campbell’s estimate ot cost, 10s to 12s a yard, can be relied on.”

Mr. Todd also quotes Mr. Morgan as having stated in 1927: “The stone is not of high quality but not far behind the limestone used at Greymouth, where it has .to lace a much heavier sea. Considering the expense already incurred, go or; the stone can be got there.” "History of the Gisborne Harbour” is printed by the Gisborne Herald Company.