THE NELSON HARBOR.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIX, Issue 58, 9 March 1906, Page 1

THE NELSON HARBOR.

DEVELOPMENT AND POSSI-

BILITIES

AN INTERESTING REPORT BY

THE ENGINEER

An interesting report on tlie prospects of the Nelson Harbor was presented to the Board at its annual meeting this week by Mr Barrowman, engineer-in-charge of the works. Inter alia, he says: "Let us try and gather a forecast of Nelson's future from some example of another prototype, and no place within my experience and knowledge fits this purpose so well as Hobart, in Tasmania, does. It is in the main a shopkeeping city, with rather over twice the inhabitants of Nelson, and in age -is nearly forty years older. It has few native industries that Nelson has not got. There are two breweries, three or four sawmills, an engineer shop, besides the railway shops, several tanworks, and a jam factory. It exports wool and hops, in all of which Nelson is proportionally Hobart's equal, though to a casual observer Hobart is beyond comparison. Her buildings are all of dressed stone, and of course, her industry of skilled stone masons, that greatly adds to her appearance, and the number of Governmental public buildings puts her in thatj'espect out of comparison; but what I want to exemplify with Hobart is her irutt export trade. The year I was able to take notes of this industry they shipped over 300,000 cases of fruit to the London market, which returned over £100,000 to the shippers and growers, besides Hobart's share of tlie general fruit trade, which amounted for the Colony to £331,000. This is surely an example worth aiming at, and to my thinking easily within the reach of Nelson. Nelson has a degree and a half the advantage in latitude. Hobart has 19 to 20 inches of rainfall, while Nelson has about 4Q inches ;this means more growing power. The growing area within easy reach of Nelson is, I believe, greater than surrounds Hobart. The fruit, particularly the apples, I have seen at Karamea, Motueka, Stoke, and from the North are quite equal to those grown at or around Hobart. The only apparent difference being that little effort seems to liave been made here to ecadicate the moth as compared with that on the other side. I speak of what I have seen, even in show apples. And what strikes a visitor here who has sojourned around Hobart is the number of neglected fruit trees, even contiguous to thriving orchards. I mention this as something standing between Nelson and the successful exportation of fruit to the Home market." i

The Engineer also points out that additional wharfage and storage accommodation is required, and he suggests that the authorities cut a channel or dock from about three hundred yards north from the Government wharf, that would leave room for the proposed extension of that wharf, which channel or dock should be in a straight line from there towai'^s ie city, about 300 feet wide, terminating at Trafalgar Park, and shotskt not be less than six feet deep at low water. The top end and sides of the dock should be sheet piled, and the top. of the piles tied back in the ground. The reclamation at each side should be wide enough to afford rooms for quays and sheds, with probably room for stores. And when, a Home steamer called lighters could carry the goods between the sheds and the steamer. This would enable a big steamer lying at the wharf to be dealt with from both sides, which is often done in other places. Qf course, the cost of such a dopk will be an important question. Yet not only one dock, but several parallel to each other looms clear in my vision of the future of Nelson Harbor as a centre of trade. And one important phase of this scheme is that it is all in the way of extending the area of low water and reducing the expanse of full tide, which is very important. The cost of cutting such a. channel or dock may not be more, than £20,000 if a' proper suction dredge is used, there being no boulders to contend with. But"it;would have to be sheet piled where the sides were to be used as quays,, and. that' would probably cost a^ ni'uch as cutting out the ground. It may be urged that- a jetty wharf would cost less, which I very much doubt. Besides, all wharf additions to the present wharfage must necessarily intensify the present crowding, and would in no way improve the Harbor, but would rather reduce the low water area, He acids: " There are several other points of view in the comparison of Nelson and Hobart that may be well to instance. It is often said that the harbor at Hobart is one of the finest harbors in the world, because it is said the whole British fleet could a,nejior in it. In thj.s, respeqt tj|e, anchorage is not better than'that afforded in Tasman Bay, where there is even wider space.' It is in the wharfage and berthage that Hobart has the advantage. She has six long timber pier wharfs that take shipping on both sides, and a good length of stone quays. This is where the is great, but with i ; lw proposed docks in the mud-bank" thai difference would be much lessened. Still, Hobart will always have the advantage of being the first and last port of call in the Hpme trade. Still, we have' the promis.^ of Mr Clock's letter that s^an\er§ would call liere for a thousand/ ions of cargo of ordinary merchandise; but if a fruittrade" was added to half that it would make Nelson a very b.u,sy geas>ort tcAvn."" ■-•■•■ ' ■•--'-. The je^ttjey referred to by the, Engineer having been received from Cock and Co. was one in which that firm, as the agents oi the company, enclosed an important letter from the Shaw, Sevill and Albion Company, Ltd. The company pointed out that irt consequence of the sale and loss (without replacement) of ina.ny smiling vessels formerly trading to New Zealand, it. tfas now impossible to ensure regular sailing vessel communication between London and Nelson, and the. tion now was to O?rr^ on the trade with the Colony t*y steamers only. Unless, however, Nelson hurried Up and made its entrance to thQ £?rt available at neap, as we}! as spiring; tides, it would never do. to send, deepdraught ocean steamers there. The company's lettev to its agents added: "The minimum of about 1000 tons cargo which you mention is small erjongh inducement for which to send a steamer, but with a view to. fciieoiiraging the trade, we wo.\M not stand out for a large* quantity." In forwarding this letter, the Nelson agents of the company said: "While it is to be hoped that, your Board will s^e to1 th<: efficient dredging of tlv* channel and basin, wf> t-Uu»k' the* time is ripe to urge upon the, Government the prompt provision of increased wharf and shed accommodation, tha,t being as necessary ahnqst a_s depth of water to the satisfactory working of this port by foreign steamers." In the course of the- Harbor Board's discussion of the Engineer's report and the shipping company's letter, it was pointed out that the cut now being made in the Boulder Bank for the improvement of the harbor wo^lti be completed in about v^v:^ months; but in the meantime, tlie Board should bestir yt&eif.' iii['the matter of obtaining increased wharfage accommodation. It was proposed that £23 O'JO should be borrowed for .the dock suggested by the Engineer, and also, that a strong deputation wait o,u tne. Government. Mr H'a^'tiiy said that if the Goyany<rte,nt dicl not keep pace with the growth of the pljace by providing increased wharf accommpdafciou, the Board would b,ave to consider the question of owning their own wharves;. Finally., it wa,s resolved that tlie Government be again written to urging increased wharf accommodation, so that berthage and wharfage may be provided for ocean-going steamers which are promised on completion of the increased harbor facilities, and which are. r.oTv approaching conmW tioii. ?r •*"*"■•'