Founding of Wairoa

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 141, 30 May 1933, Page 3

Founding of Wairoa

Reason for Present Site

Building of First Bridge

(From Our Own Correspondent).

If town-planning is considered of so paramount importance in these days to warrant the passing of a TownPlanning Act, then surely town location should have called for the exercise of more foresight and wisdom. On the contrary, we find that haphazard methods have largely prevailed. Town location was governed to a large extent by chance in the early days, and taking the east coast of the North Island from Cape Kidnappers to Poverty Bay we have many examples of such chance. But there was another reason for the mistakes of the early town-builders and that was the promiscuous manner m which the early settlers “squatted” on the lands of the Alaoris and became their “Pakehas” lor trade purposes, so well exemplified, by Judge Maning in his “Old New Zealand”. Thus we find many people at the present time averring that Napier should never have been built where it stands to-day, but should have been at the Kidnappers. But the early settlers settled the location. Then again, many declare that Gisborne harbour should have been at Young Nick’s Head. Here again it was the early settlers who fixed the location of Gisborne. In fact, the early settlers kept to the mouths of rivers or squatted along their banks, and thus these southern and northern towns grew, both devoid of natural harbours and both compelled at great expense, to provide artificial harbours with varyng degrees of success and ever increasng cost. And what of Wairoa? Not a spot was there from Tangoio (the old boundary of the county) to Waikokopu where a harbour could be secured. Mohaka, which once had ambitions when it was the hub of Wairoa proper (then a native territory), was, of course, a hopeless proposition, as all rapidflowing rivers must be. Then at Waikokopu there was no flat land on winch a town could be built and no great territory at the back grading dowu to the littoral embouchment, though the provincial government at one time had visions of a New' Zealand Brighton at Mahia. There then only remained Wairoa and her noble river. Cook passed by in 1779 with a disparaging note as to what seemed to be a harbour. The arrival of the early pioneers settled the location of the future town, and left it for the coming generations to provide the harbour. They “squatted” on the Maori lands on sufferance or by inter-marrying, and had trading stations from the sea coast to Lockwood’s Point, a distance of over three miles. There were then no roads anvwhere, the only routes being but native foot tracks. SQUATTERS SETTLE LOCATION. So the many squatters settled the location, and when the Government purchased the site for the present town it followed this lead, the surveyors so cutting their lines as not to dispossess the squatters and the various traders, and actually laid out a treble line of quarter-acre sections from the Heads to Lockwood’s Point, totalling m all 1700 sections for building purposes. But those who laid out the town did one wise thing: They laid it out very completely around Spooner’s Point, at the first bend of the river. With a main street, Clyde road, one and a half chains wide, the public square in the centre and the business blocks radiating there from, it would have made an ideal and compact town, instead of what it now is—a town of one long street. When the writer first saw Wairoa in 1876 the school, courthouse, police station, etc., were still at the Point. Then instead of laying out the intended road to Poverty Bay, and bridging the Wairoa at the Point, southern influences got to work and a road to Wairoa was started from Napier, one to Waikaremoana from the North and also one to Gisborne via Te Reinga. As it became evident that the Napier road would enter the town at the west end, business to travel in that direction, and the movement has been that way over since. The school left the Point first, then the gaol, then the Courthouse, and the Parade, instead of being a residential site, became Wairoa’s one long street. The Napier road finished where it was expected to finish, and then arose a war between the east and the west end.

So divided in opinion were the early settlers that when the provincial government proposed to build the first wharf, no site was 'decided on, and the schooner bringing the timber lay off the town for days, until finally, in disgust, the master dumped his cargo on the bank opposite Delhi street, half way between she contending parties. Each end of the town had an hotel, hut the cast end had the wharf, so the licensee at the west end built himself one. There was no bridge, of course, and the pakehas used boats and the Maoris canoes, or else they swam across. So then each licensee ran a ferry—honours and profits were even.

Then came the days of the punt, a heavy, clumsy thing, wound over by hand by means of a winch, and as those were the days of the kowhai floods and the “old man floods,’’ the punt urns as often off as on. Thus arose the demand: Give us a bridge. POPULATION INCREASING. At this time the. population was increasing rapijly through the opening up of the country by roads, and the punt revenue had risen from £7 per month to £2O. The demand for a bridge grew so insistent that even the most conservative and unprogressive members of the County Council joined iu the movement. At a special meeting held on October 11, 1882, Cr. W. F. Shaw (now deceased) gave notice to move that steps be taken under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act to oiect a bridge over the Wairoa river at Clyde, but for some reason or other this was withdrawn at. the next meeting, members probably becoming dismayed at the audacity of the proposal. However, at a special meeting on Alay 9, 1883, Mr Shaw again returned to the charge, and backed up by Cr. John Couper, a very progressive settler at Frasertown, secured the carrying of the following motion: “That application be made under the Ronds and Bridges Construction Act for the erection of a bridge over the Wairoa river at Clyde.” On December 3of the same year, on the motion of Cr. Atoloney, it was proposed to apply for a grant of £SOOO, of which £4OOO was to bo earmarked for the Wairoa bridge, but the proposal met defeat.

It was not until Alay 14, 1883, that the question again came up, Cr. Couper moving for an application for £SOOO for the bridge. This was defeated, on an amendment by Cr. Shaw to ask for £3BOO as a first instalment On Janu ary 7. 1885, Cr. Brown moved the rato of l-30d on the proposed loan, and a motion was carried to ask Air Bold, civil engineer, to prepare plans and specifications and that tenders be called. Air Bold was in the Government service, and as there was not so much Government action in business in those days that proposal did not eventuate, and on February 7, 1883, it was decided on the motion of Crs. J. H. Brown and Aloloney to ask Messrs Goodall and Higgins for their terms for the work, but after a short adjournment this also was dropped. On February 9 it was agreed to ask Air J. T. Carr for his terms. These were one per cent, on the cost of the bridge and three guineas per day for inspection. It was also agreed to accept as correct tho soundings taken by Air E. C. Jones, civil engineer, for Sir John Coode, who was reporting for the Government on the Wairoa harbour works proposal. On Alay 2, 1885, an application was made under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act for £4200, and .n October Air J. T. Carr was authorised to call for tenders. Considerable delay was caused at this time because the engineer had neglected to obtain the permission of tho Alarine Department ?o erect a bridge over the tidal waters (at that time the Alanaia, a paddle-wheel boat, and the S.S. Lily were trading up as far as Frasertown). The necessary permit was applied for, but the Department rvould nut accept Air Jones’ soundings and these had to bo taken again as a cost of £2B 16/8. BRIDGE COMMENCED. Tenders were called and that of Messrs Houlden and Humphries for £10,911 was accepted, subject to 'more acceptable sureties being found within three days. A week later it was decided to send the contract by special messenger to Gisborne to have it duly executed, and offering a bonus of £SOO if the work was carried out to the satisfaction of the engineer and the council. As a result of this Mr Houlden drew out, assigning the contract to Alessrs Humphries, Wear and Sellars (the first-named drew’ out later). On January 5, 1888, it was decided to borrow £SOOO as the council’s share of the cost, flie tolls to be pledged for 12 years, but this was not carried. Air Charles Stewart was appointed clerk of works, and when the material came to hand the work started.

The bridge was about 600 feet long, comprising three curved suspension timber spans of 120 feet each, five spans of 30 feet and a draw span, the southern piers being timber and the latter iron cylinders filled with cement set in the bed of the river to a depth of 60 feet and out of it another 60 feet. The council eventually secured the required money through the Local Bodies Loans Act, but delay followed delay and many extensions were granted. There was one when the Northumberland was wrecked on the Petane beach, and, a cylinder having been lost, another had to be ordered. Then a sad fatality occurred as a result of an explosion in one of the cylinders. Air was

supplied from a stationary engine and suddenly the cage on top was blown into the air and landed in 'he river, an employee, Phillip Beattie, being killed by the concussion and not by drowning. Another man, Joseph Ball, was found drowned at the bottom of the cylinder. It may here be stated that a local resident, Mr George Ebbett, who is still alive and well, had exchanged with Ball for that night and so escaped death. At the inquest there were only two theories set up as to the cause of the disaster. One was that too much air was pumped in from the bank, or that as there was lightning about that night the air pressure on the cylinder was so reduced that the internal pressure was too great and the cage blew off, and the cylinder shattered below the water-line. An open verdict was returned, but it may be that the real cause was the presence of gas in the cylinder. This was not demonstrated at the time, but later when the town authorities, against the advice of Mr Henry Hill, sought to obtain artesian water on the flat they put three bores down a line from about the new bridge in Clyde road, and in all gas was found, one of the pipes giving out so much that it burned for days. It seems possible that this induced the Public Works Department to adopt quite a different form of cylinder sinking to that in the case of the old one. OPENING CEREMONY. There now stands In the Wairoa cemetery a menument in the form of a broken cylinder plate, dflnch for years

bore the following inscription to the memory 0- the two pioneers who lost their lives: “To the memory of Joseph Ball and Philip Beattie, who lost their lives by the explosion of the cylinder of the Wairoa bridge, March 28, 1888. Erected by the contractors, Wear and Sellars. This broken piece of iron is a portion of the cylinder. R.I.P.

But this is a digression, and to skip over the many other difficulties, the bridge was completed and opened in October, 1888, by the then chairman of the Wairoa County Council (Mr William Moloney), as representing the Waikaremoana riding. There was a large crowd present, the natives taking a large part in the proceedings. The name given to the bridge that day was Kaimoana, after that of the paramount chief of Wairoa, whose kainga stood on the bank of the river, not far from the southern approach. A toll was placed on the bridge and as the settlement grew so the annual rentals grew, the tenders rising from £2ot) per annum to £9OO. The council, by a short-sighted policy, placed the whole amount in the general fund instead of creating a bridge fund. Then one day some wiseacres discovered that passengers in a vehicle that paid a toll could not personally be charged tolls. A toll-abolishing league was thus formed, and all foot passengers were taken backwards and forwards free of all tolls. The war was carried on so long and so successfully that the council was forced to abolish the toll, and till February 3, 1931, it served the people well. Then, as is well known, it presented a sorry spectacle, when its back was broken and a swing bridge was temporarily fixed up, while negotiations wore set afoot for the construction of a new bridge. These were long drawn out, and many people feared for a time that the Government, would put them off by making use of the now disused railway bridge at Huramua, and thus side track the town, which would have been a disaster worse than the earthquake. Finally it was decided to rebuild at Paul street, the Highways Board and local bodies contributing to make up the estimated cost of £32,000, of which the Wairoa County Council contributed £2160 and the borough council £2OOO, both loans being free of interest for live years. This estimate was, of course, greatly exceeded by the second disaster of September 16, 1932. But for all that Wai <>a has now a handsome and strongly-built structure, the opening of which will take place to-morrow, May 31, 1933.

THE NEW STItICTERE.

Eliminating al technical terms, and basing this portion of my report on information kindly supplied b v Mr It. 'Trevor-Smith, the engineer in charge of the work, it maybe stated that the new bridge is a steel plate girder through-span bridge 680 feet long, having ten plate girder spans each 60

feet long, with a 40-foot rolled steel joint approach at either end. The deck consists of a reinforced concrete slab with a 22-foot roadway, and of an average depth of nine inches, with a wheel guard of the same material at each side. There is a footway four feet wide on either side of the bridge, having five galvanised piping handrails. These footways are composed of slabs of reinforced concrete covering a concrete chamber, which cad be utilised for running telephone cables across the whole length of the structure.

The decking is carried on eleven piers constructed as follows: Five reinforced concrete piles driven up stream and down stream, the centres between the nests being 25 feet; around these piles reinforced concrete cylinders six feet in diameter are placed, and aie forced down by tho aid of hydraulic pressure under tho river bottom for approximately 20 feet, then filled with concrete to the top (these cylinders were made on the spot, thus avoiding the importation of so much more steel, besides being immensely stronger as concrete appreciates instead of depreciating, as does steel with the passage of time); two piers four feet six inches in diameter are then placed on top of these cylinders. and connected by a diaphragm wall of reinforced concrete 18 inches thick; upon these piers the 60-foot plate girders are resting on steel bedplates, the whole being held in position with bolts 1) inches in diameter. The approaches from Marine Parade on the south side and River Parade on the north side are formed fan-shaped to allow of easy access of wheel traffic from cither side. The visibility is loot, especially as the local authorities do not intend to permit any treeplanting to be done in the vicinity, though a comprehensive plan of beautifying with shrubs and flowers on both approaches is already prepared. These approaches, which are not quite completed, are flanked with reinforced concrete panel fences, and present a verv ornamental apnearance The bridge is to be well lighted the Public Works Department erecting the standards and the lamps, nine, in number, two at each end and five distributed across the structure. The lamps are of 300 candle power, and the local 1 authorities’ share is the laying of tho tires. Provision is also made for lav-

mg the water supply piping under the bridge, but this will not be done till occasion calls for it. DELAYS AND DIFFICULTIES. Work on the construction commenced on October 10, 1931, and at the present date is all but completed and ready for opening. Several delays were occasioned by various causes, the principal being the severe eartnquake on September 16, 1932, which caused a stoppage of four weeks. The work was again commenced on October 10, 1932, and has been carried on until completion with a few stoppages as a result of floods A few of the difficulties met with may be enumerated as follow; —Large timber logs were met with in the bed of the river below tho river bottom, seriously interfering with the piledriving operations, and slowing up cylinder sinking operations considerably, thus involving a good deal of diving work, and necessitating the resetting of cylinders at several stages of the sinking operations; delays were consequently caused until the removal of obstructions such as there. Several floods of varying intensity caused a bending of the reinforced concrete piles, which had to be recovered, straightened and attended to. Serious delay was also experienced after the September earthquake in the straightening up of Wio piers then completed, removing and readjusting the spans and putting the bent piers back into fit condition after the severe strains to which they were subjected as a result of the shake, the piers being in the air and disconnected. The total weight of the structural steel used in the construction of the spans is 360 tons and the total quantity of reinforced concrete 1900 cubic yards. In connection with the concrete used, it may he interesting to learn that all concrete mixtures were of specified strengths, great care being exercised to restrict the water content to the assigned quantity, and to ensure the strength being maintained test specimens were obtained from every day’s concreting and despatched tn the department’s test laboratories, where the 50-ton hydraulic testing machine was used to ensure that the strength actuallv attained was in accordance with the designed requirements. In conc'uding this description vout correspondent desires to acknowledge the courtesy he has at all times received from the engineer, Mr II Trevor-Smith, and his overseer, Mr Weaver, and it says much for their foresight nnd care that during the construction work not a single majoi accident occurred. During the period of interruption ot traffic, and omitting those carried b.'

the boat service, the punt carried the following traffic np to the end of April:—Lorries, 77087 ; cars, 118,131; persons, 685,542; motor cycles, 3,028: horses, 13.063; sheep, 607; cattle II; number of trips made, 82,630, The return is » Govern rar at, tally covering from April 1931 tn April 3l», 1933.