Great Potentialities Of Port Whangarei

Northern Advocate, 16 March 1948, Page 4

Great Potentialities Of Port Whangarei

“WHANGAREI is the focal point for the shipping of Northland produce. “It will become a big place if only half the plans for harbour development are carried into effect. “I am quite enthusiastic about Whangarei’ and its future.” These remarks were made in an'interview by Captain H. C. Hunter, of the Cape York, which has been visiting Whangarei to discharge a cargo of phosphate from North Africa.

IDEAL HARBOUR Since coming to Whangarei, said Captain Hunter, he had travelled as far afield as Dargaville and had met people of substance. Facts and figures about the produce which was being railed to Auckland had been given him and he considered that instead it should be shipped through Whangarei. If the bar- at One Tree Point, channel from Onerahi to Port Whangarei, and the swinging basin were dredged, Whangarei would become a great harbour for overseas ships, he said. It was completely landlocked, it had a good rise and fall of tide and it was central for the shipping of produce as well as for handling imports. Everything favoured the development of Port Whangarei. GREAT FUTURE As the focal point for shipping, Port Whangarei had a great future if the plans which the engineer of the Whangarei Harbour Board (Mr W. M. Fraser) had prepared were put into effect. . He had had the opportunity of studying the plans prepared by Mr Fraser and, even if they were only half completed, Whangarei would become a port of importance. 'Of all the smaller ports he had visited Whangarei had the greatest po-

tentialities. It only required the development scheme to be carried out for the port to leap ahead. Of course, shipping was necessary, but he was confident that shipping would use the port when produce was taken to Port Whangarei instead of being railed to Auckland. LARGEST CARGO SHIPS The greater the amount of produce, the greater the amount of shipping and therefore the greater development of the port. Dredging work, such as he had outlined, was necessary, however, as a preliminary step and the provision of at least one tug was also necessary. Two tugs would be advantageous, and eventually they would be needed. Asked about the ability of the harbour to accommodate larger ships than his own 7000-ton vessel, Captain Hunter said that; with the dredging of the channel, where necessary, to a depth of 32ft as provided under the development plan, the port would be able to take any cargo vessel trading to New Zealand.