PATEA HARBOR BOARD.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVII, Issue LVII, 15 March 1910, Page 4

PATEA HARBOR BOARD.

Tha chief note- in the annual report cf the Chairman to< the< Patea Harbor Board, for the yeiar emded December L 31, 1909, is, ocnei of cangratulaition. ; During IDOL) tliarei was a gemeiraJ. shrinkage! of import** to the< Doaninio.n and Pa tea's gross revenue stowed a / falling oft" of cto-il. But against tins there was a decreasei in ordinary expenditure from £3480" in 1908 to £250 iin 1909, leaving (as the repoa-t states) a. balance of £lO'Z\l of ordinary revenue* which has beten expended o<n< the extension of the eastern breakwater. The revenue last year -was £3420. The tide of .exports and imports is shown in the following ; — ' Increases. Pelts, 50 casks. Cheese 1 , 13,975 cases. Pigs, 33. Frozen meat, 2000 qmrters. Decreases. Wool, 283 bales. Butter, 14,439 boxes. Hides, 1700. Meat, 3511 cases. Cattle, 381. Sheep, 1046. . Bonedust, 500 bags. The decrease, in imports was 863 tons. Compared with other provincial ports* the value of Patea's €Kports was £500,588/ New Plymouth's was £437,865, and Wanganui's, £368,770. Adds tha Chairman in his report: "And as the Patea Meat Freezing Co. are largely increasing their capital, I haive no doubt thisi amount of exports will be largely increased in the neiar future." Concerning the improvements at the port it is- shown that during the year the eastern wall had becln. completed 200 foot at a cost of £4077, about £20 10s per foot (the engineer's estimate was £22 a foot). The total ( amount expended on the breakwaters) at the mouth of "the river was £39,- \ 513, as against the Board's total net ] loan owing o-f £28,300, so that a sum - of £11,213 had been expanded out of tho ordinary revenue. Five steamers } and a scow trade regularly to the port j and during the season no difficulty was experienced in getting wool, etc., j away. r