THE NAPIER HARBOUR

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 182, 19 July 1911, Page 5

THE NAPIER HARBOUR

THE RIVAL SCHEMES. AIR. FERGUSON S ADVICE. The adjourned meeting of the Napier Harbour Board was held this morning for the purpose of meeting Air. Ferguson, C.E., and discussing with him the prospects of harbour improvement, etc. The Board went into committee for half-an-hour’s chat with Mr. Ferguson.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE RE. WHARiE-O-MAIIAENUJ SYNDICATE. Your committee cnsisting of Alessrs. Jull (chairman), Bourke, Lane, McGrath, and Parsons met on the 18th inst. at 7.30 p.m. for the purpose of reporting to the Board upon the question generally of the relations existing between the Board and the Whare-o-Marae.-xiui Syndicate (Messrs. AV. Nelson, ! C. D. Kennedy, and Geo. Latham), i Other matters w’ere referred to ! the committee by the Board at its i meeting held on the 18th inst.,, ' viz., Air. Lane’s four notices of | motion, “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D, I also the Jfapier Borough Council’s ! letter of the 7th inst. with copy of reports by Messrs Kennedy Bros. ! and Morgan and the Borough Eni gineer, Mr. J. Sturrock, regarding ; the suggestion from the Board's ! secretary for diverting the Tutaei kuri river through the second I bridge on the Taradale road.

! Your committee have to recom- [ mend as follows : — i (1) That the Borough Council b& i informed the Board will give it® j assent to a diversion of the Tutae- ! kuri river on the lines suggested by ; its secretary (Mr. J. P. Kenny), i provided the Board’s interests as I between it and the Syndicate are I in no way prejudiced. ! (2) That a committee of the Bfeard I not exceeding three members B'> > Sei fiji lb tile Syndicate i with the idefi of ascertaining if a ' basis of negotiation can be arrived ! at with the object of improving the I condition of the property now ' under the Syndicate’s control. J (3 That Air. Lane’s motions “A,” ! ’ ans “U” be held over until j the result of the negotiations with i the Syndicate and repoi’T of the- [ Central River Board’s engineers ia ; available to the Board. [4) That Air. Lane’s motion. “D” be no lurther proceeded wlttu r On resuming, after being about threequarters of fn hour in committee, the chairman briefly touch ed upon what iii Kad been, decided to ask Air. Fergusson. Firstly, he -spoke of the proposal to dredge a portion of the inner harbour, how tlicy were to do this dredging and Tiandie the spoil. Mr. Fergusson would probably advise them also as ftp whether they should proceed with a. new Bill or chatter a dredge to make tests. He also suggested that Mr. Fergusson should give what information he could with regard to the shoaling outside the heads. There was also the question of the bridge ; should there be a. reconstruction of the bridge oir the building of a- bank to assist in the work of reclamation—and a general scheme of reclamation. Then there was the proposed river diversion, and could rhe dredee suggested deal with the silt in the breakwater harbour. There, was the commercial aspect, and they could ask Air. Ferguson if it was necessary to go on with the constructive work or whether they should delay- until they got suffi-

cient. data. Following upon the Chairm’in'x remarks the members Asked Mr. Fergusson Questions to which tie replied and enlarged upon as follows :— He dil not think there was any apparent necessity for urgency in starting work or rushing through with any- scheme until they had data to form a sound opinion for themselves or with the assistance of experts. It was not as if they meant to expend a small sum; they meant to expend a large sum. He took it in that case that they wished to Go Easily

and wait until all were satisfied as to which was the best scheme, and when satisfied that it was commercially sound they could rush it on. It was, he held, largely' a matter of sentiment. He advised them logo easily-. They need not be niggardly, but they should first get information and then act upon the result of' the tests. He then proceeded to deal with the tests touching first of all upon the Dredging of the Channel. In this work there was no great hurry. They should hire or purchase a dredge and put it to workin the open. They should dredgo ten acres and have soundings made all round that area and fincl out the ; bed of the sea. They should dredge again and then sound again. They might leave it for 12 months and

Get Reliable Data to show if the action of the sea was *s stated by the three engineers who had reported. It the shoal continued to silt up it would dispose of the question pretty well ; it not they would know what it would cost to keep open the channel to the inner harbour. An element to be considered in this deposit was that it might come from the Tutaekuri river and with this in view ♦.hey should deal with the River Silt Question as soon as possible and trap all silt as high up as possible. This matter, however, largely depended upon the Rivers Board and it might be that the Harbour Board would "be pleased to help in any scheme for diversion. They should act speedily in this as it might affect the dredging at sea. He wanted it made quite clear that he was not there to give an engineering opinion. He was only There to Advise them as to what preliminary steps ■bon ld be taken before obtaining qualified engineering advice. He merely proposed to point out. to them how to obtain information to lay before an engineer. They should employ a man all the time to take soundings and keep watch upon all changes. It was probable that the dredge procured would not be required to dredge outside all the time, and it could be used to clean up the present berths in the harbour and at the Breakwater, and could also be utilised to run a narrow cut through the boulder bank. He did not advocate a wide cut. but it should be deep, so as to test the bottom. He suggested they should charter the Wellington dredge. As regards

The Depths Required, He said he had recommended 31: feet in Melbourne at low water. There was sufficient Merit in Mr. Nelson’s Scheme to warrant investigation : it deserv- ; ed most careful consideration. So far as Reclamation > was concerned, he thought they 1 should start at the top end of the; lagoon, but he would not like to say definitely. They’ should consult an engineer acquainted with reclamation work. He could not see any’ reason why they should not carry on their trade in Two Harbours, . , though figures may- show it was, better to have only one harbour., He could not say straight away if; it were wise to pay for a dredge to ; work on the ‘ Reclamation Inside the pridge, but it was purely a matter of £ s. d. on which they could *judge for themselves. The question of; extending a groyne in the inner harbour was for the engineers. Mr. Niven asked a question re the Breakwater harbour. H? wanted to know if the plan of th? breakwater was designed to accommodate vessels of say. Bnoft. length. Mr. Ferguson: That question would be practically answered by themselves. The breakwater had been designed in by Mr. Goodall, and he knew the position. It was not designed for the vessels of the future. He would not like to say whether if th& inner harbour was not a sue '

cess and they were forced back on the Breakwater harbour, it was possible to take large steamers, but it could not do so as at present designed. Personally, he did not think they would construct very; many berths as outlined in the Engineers' report. Replying to other questions, he said that nor being a resident of Napier, he did not know the value of a reclamation work, that was for the members to say. The Wellington dredge, which he suggested they should hire, was a compound one. both bucket and suction, and drew 13ft, when loaded. She could not cut her way through shallows. t As to whether they should at once get an engineer or make tests first, he held that they should njake the tests; satisfy themselves as to the feasibility of the scheme, and then get advice as to which was = best and how to carry it out. It was not possible for an engineer to advise on a different scheme in four or five days—at least that was his opinion. He adviser! that the present silt being brought down should be prevented fwwn. entering the harbour, and in giving this advice he natur ally with it to get the advice of to engineer as to how this wps fo be done. If they carried out Mr. Geo. NelsonS scheme it, would involve a lowering <>f the boulder bank t ’) to 33ft. and probably the widening of the entrance. If this were done more water would go in and out • the lagoon, and thus increase the rise and fall of the tide. That ; could be dealt with by raising the'

> badks of the lagoon, or, as Mr. I Reynolds suggested, by sluice gates! to prevent an extra rise, but tliisj was mor*- a matter for the eti- i ! giiu-ers. / Asked if th? Inner Harbour was completely ■■dammed.” would it be advisable to go on with the Breakwater Harbour. Mr. Ferguson : it was a matter of commerce. They wanted to see what the increase of trade would be ami find what money they had got to play with in the construction or the alteration of a breakwater scheme and see what they could risk. If it- was a question of risk of life and danger of loss it was another element, but so far it appeared to be a matter of £. s. d. Mr. Jull said as he understood it Mr. Ferguson advised them not to engage an engineer until they had made extensive tests and got data. ( Did that also apply to the Break- ; water Harbour 1 J Mr. Ferguson : lam inclined to j think the Inner Harbour was in--1 tended to take, all ’steamers and if they tried to carry out this there would be no j object in maintaining the Breakwater harbour. They need not i spend vast sums on the upkeep of the Breakwater, but he pointed out that they’ would never have i been able to consider the Inner ' Harbour but for the Breakwater. If they got the Inner Harbour ' they would find that a very large portion of the money expended on the Breakwater had been well . spent. Beyond having heard of j the Kidnappers, he knew notldng of the harbour there. : The Chairman (Mr. Jull) then • expressed gratification at the inter- : view with Mr. Ferguson. ! Mr. Carnell moved and Mr. ! Ellison seconded a hearty vote of | thanks to Mr. Ferguson for his in- * formation. | The meeting adjourned, and the i Chairman entertained the mem-