THE H.B. TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1912. HARBOUR MATTERS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 157, 19 June 1912, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1912. HARBOUR MATTERS.

The meeting of the Harbour Board yesterday was one of the -most important which has taken place for a considerable time. Unfortunately the long-expected report from Messrs Cullen and Keele was not presented, but the board did valuable work in clearing the way to proceed upon a definite plan of harbour, improvement as soon as the decision of the engineers comes to hand. The resolution proposed by Mr. Langridge dealing with the lighterage question had an indirect bearing upon the harbour question which gradually manifested itself as the debate proceeded. At first it was thought that the mover desired to have the board embark upon the lightering business, but before discussion closed Mr. Langridge explained his wish that his resolution should be read to, mean that it was high time the | board put the port in such order and 1 efficiency that lightering would not ' be necessary —in fact, so that she j board could, as Mr. Langridge nut I it, “do its own lightering over the j wharf into the ship,” meaning t thereby that the best way to get ’rid lof the lightering was to makes it j possible to bring the vessels intorthc | harbour. Until this is possible it i appears fairly plain that very little . can be accomplished from attempt ; ing alteration in the lightering sys ! tern. The discussion raised, how- ‘ ever, served a good purpose. It brought forward the fact that the ’■ charges consequent upon having no i proper harbour accommodation ir the end came back upon the farmers, j and we hope with Mr. that : this fact will be borne in mi/id when the board makes its prop/bsal for i harbour improvements. Tjhat such improvement must be immediately is amply proveq by passing events. The construction of the railway embankment, the disposal ol , flood water, the proposed construe- ; tion of a tramline to Tara|lale, the development which must fallow the opening of the East Coast railway—all these things, apart from; the gen- ; eral progress of the district and towns, demands that the board ; should hesitate no longer to make a ■ definite move forward. As one oi ' th.e primary steps towards improvement th? trapping of silt must be ; seriously censidcred. and. in view

of the work proposed to be undertaken by the Public Works Department. it is wise for the board to act now. It is not suggested that the operations of the department should be hampered in any way. but the issue which the Harbour Board has at stake will not permit of the all-important subject being dealt with in a slip-shod manner. The silt discharged from the Tutaekuri must be dealt with in tno ways. Firstly it must so far as possible be kept from entering the harbour, and. secondlv. it must be used to perform

natural, valuable reclamation work. The best way to assure both these ends is to follow the scheme suggested by Mr. Nelson and divert the river in a direction wnere it will have a more efficient flood discharge, a greater utility as a reclaiming agent, and a less injurious effect upon the Inner Harbour. Actuated i by strange motives, the River Board is at present inclined to throw obstacles in the way of this work, but we feel sure that in time better councils will prevail. The efficiency of the port is of vital importance to the ratepayers of the JKiver Board district, and it is safe to say they are not so blind to their own interests as some prejudiced people allow themselves to think. It is well to remember, also, that even if the board decides to complete the breakwater scheme it will still be necessary to keep the Inner Harbour open. Such being the case, the diversion of the river is not dependent upon the report of the engineers being favourable to the construction of an improved Inner Harbour. Silt trapping and ’ reclamation can proceed profitably even if the harbour is shifted to Tongcio or Kidnappers. This brings us to the board’s last and most important decision to deal comprehensively with the work of reclamation. At a meeting some time ago a member declared they had been fifteen months in office and had done nothing. The shaping of events lately go to show that the board has worked quietly and steadily in a direction which will ultimately amply prove that the confidence of the ratepayers has been thoroughly justified. An old axiom used for the impatient is that “Rome was not built in a day,” and to those who expected a new harbour to arise out of the ashes of the old breakwater board the saying will particularly apply. The board has fulfilled its pledge to investigate and it is now laying carefully the foundations'of a comprehensive scheme. There can be little doubt that the necessary loan for reclamation work will be made available, and the liability of £30,000 need cause neither the board nor ratepayers uneasiness. The work will bring in handsome repayment. That is, provided the board goes into the work in a proper manner. There must be no tinkering and experimenting. A definite plan should bo laid down and the best possible plant procured to carry it out. If this is done the results cannot fail to be satisfactory to all concerned. Work undertaken in different parts of the world during recent years has proved beyond dispute what can be achieved by dredging. On Saturday last we publisned a letter from an eminent naval architect and dredging expert showing the work of a modern “Fruhling” dredge. The information was given primarily to show what could be done to keep the harbour entrance open, but the facts will apply with equal force to work of reclamation. At a cost of £5OOO per annum a “Fruhling” dredge could be employed day in and day out, lifting from 1000 to 2000 yfirds of silt per hour and pumping it where required for reclamation purposes. It is not difficult to see what this wpuld mean at the end of a year’s work. No Harbour Board in New Zealand has such an excellent opportunity to carry out profitable reclamation and it would be the. height of folly to permit inactivity any longer. Now that the Whare-o-maraenui reserve has been resumed all obstacles are removed and the board should in time build up an asset which would make Napier the freest port in New Zealand. -