HARBOUR BOARD.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXI, Issue 13452, 31 May 1904, Page 4

HARBOUR BOARD.

TIMAPJJ. The monthly meeting oftho Timaru Harbour Board -was held on Friday. Mr J. Fraser, chairman, welcomed Mr 0. Bowker as a new member. A vote of condolence with the widow and family of tho late Hon J B. A. Acland, of Mount Peel, was proposed by Mr It. Thcw and recorded. The chairman stated that the month had boon a quiet one, but the revenue had been fairly satisfactory ; ordinary receipts were £2176. Tho trade returns for the March quarter showed exports £72,000, compared with £46,000 for tho same quarter last year, and for the year £348,000,. compared with £267,000. Among the correspondence was a. letter from the Westport Coal Company regarding terms for supplying n coal hulk, and the Board adopted specifications for tenders for supplying a hulk of 200 to 400 tons capacity. A hulk is particularly required to facilitate a. trade in store sheep from the Chatham Islands. A deputation of directors of the South Canterbury Dairy Company asked if the Board would erect cool stores provided southern factories undertook to have their dairy produce stored and graded at Timaru and the Government Grading Department agreed to that. After n long interview and further consideration the Board decided that it could make no euch promise without further data, hut tho Board would endorse any recommendations, of tho dairy companies to have Timaru made a grading port. The Standing Committee recommended that five sections of reclaimed ground, each of 66ft frontage and 132 ft deep, should be offered for lease by tender at 10s per foot frontage, and this was agreed to. The engineer reported the eastern mole staging to be 1950 ft out, and that stone was showing to 1925 ft. To date 258,480 tons had been deposited in the mole. The quarry now showed a better face of stone. Piles had been driven for 130 ft of the 250 ft extension of the Moody Wharf, and driving was now stopped for want of piles, the contractors being behindhand in deliveries. Tl;e dredges lifted for tho month 10,900 tons of spoil, A discussion took place on tho dredging work, Mr Young expressing strong dissatisfaction with the results, as except alongside the wharf tho depths showed no increase for all tho work done. The engineer said it was impossible to get deeper water outside the entrance, os the first heavy sea filled up any channel they might make. Possibly something might bo done when the ©astern mole was completed with a bucket dredge, but pending, completion of the mole ho would not recommend getting one, and even then a training wall might bo found necessary. Other members of the Board considered that the dredges had done very good work in maintaining the depths. But for them the harbour would probably have been silted up. The tender of tho New Zealand Hardware Company was accepted for ironmongery supplies, and accounts amounting to £2707 were passed for payment. The chairman then, raised the question of introducing a Bill nest session to authorise an additional loan to complete the eastern extension and provide additional wharfage. It was stated that about £20,000 would bo required to complete the mole, and at the end the Board would have plant on hand that had cost that sum. The engineer wo a instructed to report at next meeting on works most required, with estimates of cost, to guide the Board in fixing the amount of loan to be asked for.