POET OF LONDON

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 94, 19 March 1940, Page 2

POET OF LONDON

HUGE RAMIFiCATIO.Vo

development traced

; An insight into the colossal ramifica i tions of the Port of Loudon Authority - was given Palmerston North Kotari ians at their weekly luncheon, yes - i dav, hv Mr W. lfi. Toovey of , London, who is in charge ot the 1 ort - of London Authority’s pavilion at tn i Centennial Exhibition. Mr Toovey pointed out that the i' Port of London was situated some 4P i miles irom the sea, being vastly d.nei--1 ent from the site of most New Zealand i ports. The port was referred to by a | Roman writer some 1800 years ago as a great home of commerce, and the Venerable Bede . referred to it as a ■ mart of many nations. During the i Middle Ages the port grew in lmport- - ance. Prior to that Alfred the (treat, i when he defeated the Danes, encour--1 aged shipbuilding to the benefit or London. Many subsequent monarchs encouraged aliens to settle in • in order to increase trade. In the loth : century the Alerchant Adventurers sailed the seas and were given great - encouragement hy the idtate and their voyages increased the port’s influence ■ and business. Its progress, however, ■ was somewhat hindered in the 18th century through extreme congestion ot ■ shipping (as there were then no docks), and b.y pilfering and banditry. The London merchants discussed the problem and the result was the construction, in 1802, of the West India. Docks. Dock development from then onwards became rapid. '| All the docks were owned by separate private companies and. there was great uneconomic competition until, at the end of the 19th cejitury, they comd not. maintain the efficiency so necessary then through the invention of steamships and the great growth of traffic. 'Parliament appointed a Royal Coni- ' mission tn investigate the matter a.nd 1 recommended that the companies he 1 amalgamated in a public body for the promotion of the public welfare. However, it was not until 1909 that the Port of London Authority was formed and took control of five companies and 1 69 miles of the River Thames. The Authority consisted of 2S mem-j hers, 18 of whom were elected by the payers of port dues and the remaining j ten by various local and public bodies, I the speaker added. These members j were unpaid. 1 Over £4,000,000 had been spent in | improving the channels and there was. now a channel 30ft deep at low water I j from the sea to near Tilbury Docks. | i The Authority had constructed the King George Dock, costing £40.000.000 and accommodation for ships had been increased hy some 60 per cent, j EXTENSIVE ACTIVITIES. I Mr Toovey said that when the Au- ; thority was formed the tonnage of shipping using the port was 38,000,1000. compared with 61.000.000 tons today. Alorcovcr, 1 59,678 ships a year j used the port, making an average of over 1000 ships weekly. Goods to and i from foreign countries handled at the : port totalled £605,250.000 a year representing 37.3 of Great Britain'6 I total foreign trade. The Port Author- ! itv provided not only shipping accom- | modation but cold storage, vaults and i warehouses, in fact, everything the [ merchant required for the care of his goods. Over 10,000 men were directly , employed by the Authority. Extensive , plant was necessary for dealing with wreckages, grain loading, etc. Over 60.000 000 tons of silt had been taken from the river. “One could spend a week there and not sec all the Authority’s premises, and it does,” he added. As an ! instance. he mentioned that in one vault alone it would ho possible to find tobacco valued at £60,000.000. Air Toovey gave further striking figures of the great quantities of goods handled. Ever since the Authority was established the port had advanced by leaps and hounds, the reason being, of course, that Lonuop was not only the financial centre of the world, hut was ; one of the world’s largest cities, while jibe great markets and re-exporting [facilities had all contributed to the [ port’s progress. The speaker also re- [ ferred to a proposal under consideration to spend £12,000.000 tn modernj ise the Authority’s equipment. On the motion of ATr H. Christmas, :a vote of thank« was accorded Mr Toovey for his address. Alessrs C. E. Kay. Banks Peninsula. and A. H. Bayliss, Palmerston North, were visitors welcomed.