HARBOUR INQUIRY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 215, 25 August 1927, Page 5

HARBOUR INQUIRY

TO-DAY’S PROCEEDINGS RECLAIMED LAND VALUES BOARD’S RICH ENDOWMENT. The Commission inquiring into the affairs of the Napier harbour, nort charges and reclamation continueo its sittings at Napier this morning. Mr J. 8. Barton, SM., of Wanganui, presided, and associated with him were Mr A. C. McKenzie, harbour engineer, of Melbourne, and Mr J. B. Waters, merchant, of Dunedin. Mr A, C. Gray. K.C of Wellington, with Mr M. R. Grant, appeared for the Napier Harbour Board, while Mr H. B. Lusk represented the Marine Department. When the Commission resumed this morning, Mr George Lathfl in was recalled. Referring to the valuation he gave yesterday of a property near the Hir 1 ' School at £lOOO per acre, he meant this to mean that that would be its value under habitable conditions, and not in its present state. In a near vicinity. adjoining the railway line, land that had a shingle bottom and no gardening facilities, he recently sold a section for £125. which had since been sold for £2OO. Other sections in that locality had changed hands at greatlv increased prices. A freehold section (one-eighth of an acre) in Napier South had recently been sold for £250. without buildings. For another freehold section in Kennedy road, being the best part of two sections, of rather less than one-sixth of an acre, witness offered £6OO cash, and the offer was refused. This section was in the liest part of Napier South. In a.-iother block, for a leasehold site th- owners were taking £250 for the goodwill, and the lease had only six years to run. When revaluation takes place, it is anticijMited that the rentals for the leasehold lands would be about doubled. Some of the holders were disposing of them and taking up cheaper lands. Witness considered that the harbour board was most moderate in their demands regarding leases. Government valuations were always on the low 4ide. jrhich would not impose hardships in case of depression. Leaseholds had a certain disability in that they offered no security for borrowing but. as there was little or no freehold people have to take np leaseholds When they started reclamation of Napier South the public said that they were fools, and that a house would never be built there. The view of the nublic some 20 years ago was on a par with that held by many to-dav in regard to the reclamation of the ponds He considered that they could not visualise the future of that locality Personally he considered that, when reclaimed it would become a popular locality. The values were certainly extortionate. He would like to see working men get sections for £su each. Mr Barton: How long do vou thinz it will take for the land in the Awatoto scheme, as outlined bv Mr Rocbfort. to be made reasb for building on? Mr Latham: In a month’s time Much of it is higher than Napier South, and once a little is dope to the Awatoto bank it would be perfectly safe. Mr Barton: How long do vou think it would take to road it in accordance with the borough's requirements ? Mr Latham: It ought to be done easily in twelve months Mr Grant: Do the floods occurring now bring down as much silt as those of a few -»ars ago? Mr Latham: No: I don’t think so. The High School block was covered with three feet of water during the recent flood, and when it went down the grass was left quite clean. Mr Barton: Could the 35 acres near the High School be dewatered apart from the remainder of the Awatoto block? Mr Latham: Once the lower area was dewatered the whole area would be dewatered and readv for occupation. I know of a farmer who has made a considerable amount of money off the Awatoto block when it was feet lower than it is to-dav. Mr Barton: Would land reclaimed by spoil from tidal areas be all right for occupation?—Yes. I think it would. The salt will easily te washed out. INNER HARBOUR FACILITIES. At thia stage, Mr. R. W. Holmes, consulting engineer to the board, resumed his evidence, Continuing the statements he was making yesterday when he became indisposed Mr. Holmes stated that the Inner Harbour may be made use of as soon as it could be navigated by one of the large vessels. It would not be necessary to await the completion of a quay, as a vessel could be moored offshore and a temporary stage thrown out sufficient to carry lorries. The vessels would be tied up by moorings as used at Madras, Calcutta and Colombo. In comparing all the estimates with the exception of those furnished prior to those of Bell and Scott, it had to be kept in mind that the engineers’ assumption was that stone in large enough blocks could be obtained. They had already stated that such stones were not available. He wished to confirm the estimates given by Mr. J. B. Holmes, and said that ths detail given by him was sufficient for the enquiry. They had, however, at the request of the commission, prepared further estimates which would later be put in. ESTIMATES COSTS REDUCED.

In their estimate of dredging in the Inner Harbour, aaid Mr. Holmes, the sum of 1/- was allowed per cubic yard Further investigation shows that the work could be carried out at 6d, but they did not consider it advisable that their estimates should be reduced to that extent, but to reduce them to Bd, which would leave a margin of 33 1-3 per cent, to work upon, litis would reduce the nett cost of the Inner Harbour by £55,000 They also considered, after hearing Mr. Latham’s evidence, that their values for reclamation were far too low, and now considered that their estimates for reclamation from the Inner Harbour should be increased bv £43,000. This would mean their ' estimate of £268,000 for a two-berth ►lnner Harbour being reduced by £98,000 to £170,000. As the board had £124,000 in hand, he added ,it would only be necessary to raise £46,000, plus the value of the reclaimed land, which would be an extremely valuable asset.

CHANNEL CURRENT TESTED. On Saturday last, said Mr. Holmes, I personally made observations with regard to current velocities between the moles of the Inner Harbour. The observations were carried on between 10.30 a.m. and 3 p.m., the result being plotted in the form of a graph. The maximum velocity observed was some distance out from the eat tern mole, appearing to occupy but a small width of tne channel, diminishing considerably as the western shore was approached. There was couaiderable turbulence due to a mass of stones lying inside the eastern mole. During the ebb tide this disappeared, and tne current flowed uniformly. The maximum velocity observed on the flood tide was 4.4 knots, and on the ebb tide 3.4 knots. There was a period of ten minutes of absolute dead water. There was a period of 36 minutes in which the velocity was 1 knot and less. There was a [.tiiud of 68 minutes in which the velocity was 2 knots and less, and " period of two hours in which the velocity was 3 knots and less. During this time the lighterage service was carried on without difficulty. The lighters turned direct into the Iron Pot without an ytrouble whatever. A THREE-KNOT FLOW. Some reference has been made to the position of a section of the channel where the maximum velocity occurred. The position of the thread of maximum velocity depends upon the shape of the section ano the direction of the channel. Witness gathered from the evidence given by nautical men that they were assuming that the maximum veloc.ty occurred nearly throughout the cross entrance. In a channel such as this, where a vessel would be occupying a space exteqding from the surlare to within a few feet of the channel bed, she would be encountering a velocity that would be 25 per cent, less than that on the surface, which meant that a 4-knot current would, as regards the ship, be reduced to a 3-knot current. The question of the velocity of the current, which had been greatly stressed, was not of any great moment as there was ample time to navigate with the current less than would materially affect the safety of the vessel, KNOWLEDGE OF NAVIGATION. Dealing with the question of navigation, Mr Holmes said that it formed part of the education of a marine engineer, otherwise he would not be in a position to deal with the design of works, in accommodation, and the construction of channels giving ae :ess to harbours. Witness bad had considerable education in regard to this question, having lived within a short distance of the principle dock of the port of London and also at Gravesend. When living at these places he used to take keen interest in all matters connected with shipping because he had the idea of going to soa. Mr. Holmes then referred to his experiences during stormy periods on the coast of England. Greymouth, said Mr. Hounes, was a bar harbour where all vessels had at one time to proceed through a breaking surface, and along a narrow channel which was often diagonally to the running seas. Even at the present day, with the moles confining the channel, a surf ran in but no difficulty was experienced with navigation provided there was a sufficient depth of water. On one occasion when coming out of Nelson on the Patena against a heavy tide current the vesesel took a sheer towards the training wall but no difficulty was experienced by Captain Collins in bringing the vessel hack to the centre of the channel. There was a small steamer trading between Wellington and Nelson commonly known as “The Ghost of Cook Strait” because she was able to navigate the channels in weathers when all others were held up. This vessel at night navigated ■ the French Pass, where the current had a velocity of at least 8 knots. In Victoria Channel, where the velocity was 7 knots vessels navigated it <day and night. At Tauranga vessels up to 18ft or 19ft draught navigated the entrance near slack high water. Small vessels navigated it day and night. Large vessels were not able to navigate it at any time on account of the extremely sharp turn just inside the entrance. Until a few years ago the channel entering Wellington Harbour varied between 31ft and 34ft. It was found that many vessels had ploughed their way through the shoals forming part of the fallen shoal without suffering injury. It was because of this that the Wellington Harbour Board bought the Whakariri and dredged the channel down to 40ft. In 1910 a very heavy storm occurred at Napier. due entirely to an offshore storm, the waves rolling in without any wind. THE 1910 STORM. Mr Holmes said that he was aboard the Tangaroa from Wairoa at the time; the bar was crossed, in calm water but a roll was soon encountered and by the time the entrance to the Inner Harbour was reached it was approaching its maximum, but there was no difficulty in navigating the entrance. In 1887 a heavy northeaster occurred which wrecked the Northumberland on the Petane beach. All the small vessels in the Inner Harbour at the time proceded over the bar which then existed, making an attempt to tow the Northumberland seawards. During these proceedings a tender broke in halves across the bows of the Northumberland This incident was mentioned to show that the navigation of the Inner Harbour by small vessels at least was not affected by storms.

Regarding the navigation of the Thames, where currents of high velocity occurred, they had no hesitation in carrying on regattas. Mr. Holmes then referred to Greymouth, where there were large lagoons causing a strong current to be maintained at all times. This was easily navigated by vessels and lie could not see any reason why the Inner Harbour should not be nav gated with as much ease. A vessel entering the Inner Harbour would be subject to a beam sea. She would straighten up when there was a con siderable depth of water before entering the channel. Assuming there was a wave eight feet from crest to trough a vessel would not descend more than four feet in a beam sea. SUFFICIENT DEPTH. I Mr Holmes submitted that the depth of 34 feet j n the channel would be sufficient lor all vessels desiring to work the port other than in heavy seas In the case of the Outer Har hour Mr Holmes said it would lie nereis ary to allow for pitching as a vessel entered into head seas. Captain

Chudley had said that he would need eight feet beneath his keel in calm water and double that while a range wa 8 on. Under these conditions very few ports in New Zealand could be worked. Regarding working the channel at night, there was nothing to prevent flood lighting along the channel inside the moles. Another point was the dying down of the north-westerly winds about sundown and not freshening up until about nine o’clock next morning, which meant that still weather would be experienced during navigation at night. Witness said that one witness had stated that it would be necessary to turn a vessel before berthing. It was intended that they should berth head on and then turn with the assistance of a winch as was done ar Timaru, which meant that very little more room than the length of the vessel was necessarv for handling, 4 channel, said Mr. Holmes, could be made 1301) feet ivide for an additional cost of £lOO,OOO. This would be 300 feet wider than the entrance channel to the Wellington bar and should be sufficient to meet the requiremenls of the most nervous navigator. USE OF TUGS. Regarding the stopping of vessels it was said that they would reacli the entrance at half speed, there being 4000 feet in which to stop. 1500 feet being in calm water. It was usual at all important ports to have i tug for at least occasional use and Hiring emergencies. At Sydney and Brisbane tugs were employed n assisting' to turn a vessel either whe«. berthing or when leaving. At Nelson where the navigation was difficult, there was no tug. At Greymouth there was one. but Mr, Holmes had never seen it used. At Wellington a tug was not used when berthing.. At some ports a tug became useful be cause large vessels could not proceed past vessels moored at wharves, on y at a very low rate of speed: or to do otherwise would probably cause the moored vessels to break away. Napier was the most important port between Wellington and Auckland and it would be good policy for the hoard to have a tug in case of emergency. The recent distress of the Awnrua illustrated the need of a tug to be located at Napier. Since'the breakdown of the steamer Perthshire on her way from South Africa the tendency was for the larger vessels to instal twin-screws. There was also a tendency toward the -nternal combustion engines, m which case twinscrews would always be fitted, hi the event of an accident to the stearins gear little difficulty would ho experienced with a twin-screwed vessel, which would be able to steam slowly up to the anchorage. BREAKWATER HARBOUR. Referring to the Breakwater Harhour, Mr. Holmes said it was proposed to leave an entrance 60Oft in width. Such an entrance would not prevent a certain amount of scend inside. In such cases it. was usual to provide wave traps or wave basins. In the case of the Inner Harbour it was proposed to locate the western mole so as to form a wave trap, a further one being provided as the current deflector was approached. Where it was proposed to moor largq ships little or no scend would remain. This would be further reduced by the placing of large stones along the inside of the moles. The present vertical timber works rather facilitated waves travelling up the Inner Harbour. Mention had been made of the fetch over which the waves were generated. The length of the fetch would depend upon the diameter of the storm and not the distance from land- The harbour master had said that where the soundings showed a depth of 16ft he had berthed a vessel drawing 18ft. This had since been checked and was found to be correct, the sounding being taken against the wharf. On the plan the dot marking the sounding was shown to be a little out. Taking into account the rounding of the bilge a sufficient depth would be given but there would be very little margin. The dredge Kaione. which had already been partly described, was fitted with two 16inch gravel pumps operated by 250 h.p. engines, while the propeller engines could be coupled up with the engine pumps. A power of 1000 h.p. could be used in dredging. For the work in the Inner Harbour on!?; 250 h.p. would lie applied to each pump while a larger pump would be applied to the booster pump. At Wanganui the Kaione was pumping through 3000 ft of piping under bad conditions, the spoil being chiefly iron sand, which had double the specific capacity of the sand ob this coast. Mr. Holmes anticipated that the J.D.O. would be able to deal with all the boulder work. Although it was becoming obsolete it would nrobably last out the work to be done. In connection with the obtaining of stone from the Bluff it was necessary that the Commission should appreciate the cost of sorting out the material for the stone, being work that could not be done by mechanical means. He was not sure as to whether the unit rate for that work was sufficient, MANTENANCE OF BREAKWATER He had already mentioned that the Breakwater was by no means a monclithic mass and was liable in its present condition in the event of heavy storm to suffer damage. To maintain it at its present height in a safe condition would require 40 30-ton blocks being deposited on the outside per annum at a cost of £l6OO or £l7OO. which might be taken as the annual cost of maintaining the Breakwater. The silting up that had taken place inside would add to its strength if that accumulation was left undisturbed. Mention was made of soundings on the Whakauru patch. Soundings had been taken occasionally, not showing any material change in the depth beyond what was expected that would occur after the sides were flattened out. They had estimated for two berths in case because thev considered that the board would not be justified in the construction of any more at the present time. Two berths along a quay at the Inner Harbour offered greater facilitv than that which could lie offered by berths at a wharf at the Breakwater. Continuing his evidence after lunch Mr. Holmes said that Napier had in the Marine Parade an asset which was an assured attraction to visitors end school children. It was most valuable and present traffic conditions enabled safe access to the beach by children. In the event of the Outer Harbour being adopted the whole of the southbound traffic would have o be borne along the Parade, having the effect of increasing the traffic which nt times might become enn-

gested. Should that happen it would entirely change th© character bearing upon the Parade. Tins was a matter that should be taken into serious consideration. In connection with the dispersal of land that might be reclaimed it had to be borne in mind that the reclamation would continue over a fair period which would enable the dispersal of the land to be gradual and considerably neutralize the possibility of a glut on the market of land to be made available for occupation. The plans of the Glasgow wharf provided for a depth alongside of 25 feet at low water. From a plan handed in was a record of the depth that each pile was driven. The least of these depths was about six feet, which was the least that they could be driven to ensure stability.