AUCKLAND HARBOUR BOARD

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11605, 20 March 1901, Page 7

AUCKLAND HARBOUR BOARD

■ The ordinary meeting of the Auckland Harboin Board was held yesterday. Mr. A. Kidd , (chairman of the Board) presided, and thero ..•were also present: Messrs. W. J. Napier, r . (J, Cozens, W. Gunson, D. Goldie, W. J. ? $}. Philson, A. R. Harris, A. H. Na.han, ? J. Stiohbury, M. Niccol, J. H. Withefort!, C. v .Grey, and 0. 0. Dacre. : ; :> "*' c - Quarantine: The instruction received Lorn c ■ the chief health officer for the colony, order- v ing 24 hours' quarantine on all vessels arriving from tho Cape, Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, 1 'and Adelaide, was read, together with an r instruction with regard to the tarring of a ■ ■;' hawsers' and- of wharves between low water t and high water marks, and the mooring of r ' vessels 4ft from , wharves to prevent rats s ■ from coming ashore. Lights have also to bo I . kept burning between the vessel and tho c quay during the night. Letters from Dr. c ~'h Sharman, health officer for the Port of Auck- a land, to the same effect were read. " The s letters were received, tho necessary prscau- a tions having been taken. a ' Export Statistics: The Secretary for ;"| (Agriculture (Mr. Ritchie) wrote ask- 1 ing. the Board to undertake to r wire by the ' 4th of each month the e quantity "and value of the frozen meat and q II .dairy produce shipped at the port during tho a preceding month. Mr. Richie pointed out i that this information would be more valuable 1 than the figures supplied by the Customs, v Mr. W. Eady, clerk to the Board, reported a that ho could not supply the information, 1 because (1) manifests for goods exported to i ■plaaes beyond New Zealand were not sup- t : ; plied to him by agents until after tho vessels t had finally left tho colony; (2) he had no i knowledge of the value of frozen meat and r dairy produce shipped ' from Auckland; (3) c .the greater portion of tho butter and cheese I tent from Auckland for foreign ports was I shipped from Onehunga Wharf, over which s the Board had no jurisdiction. The Auck- t land Freezing Company and the New Zea- 1 land, Dairy Association were the only persons £ that could supply the information correctly t and promptly. Mr. Napier said it was very c important to get accurate statistics, and Mr. Niccol said it would be almost'necessary to f have a clerk for the purpose of keeping up x the statistics, as the statistics now prepared o by tho Board -were quite incomplete. The i . letter was referred to the Works and Tariff i Committee. • . , Calliope Dock : At a recent meeting of the * Board i*- was decided to ask the Government 3 to allow their engineei-in-chiof to report on < "-■ tht probable cost ot the foundations' oi 1 sheer-legs at Calliope Dock, -on account of ( the serious difference in the estimate origin- - ally given to the Admiralty, and the more < recent estimate made by Mr. Metcalfe, engi- 1 . neer, at the dock. In reply to this request, J the Minister for Public Works telegraphed that the Public Works engineers were very busy, but he had no objection to Mr. Hales, marine engineer, now in Auckland, visiting the site and advising the Board' on tho • matter. Anything beyond that must bo done < by the Board. The chairman said ho would i arrango to take Mr. Hales over to tho ■' ! dock. ' A letter was read from Messrs. •W. and A. McArthur (Limited), London,' stating that they had called- on the < Admiralty in regard to. the question of a . ! ,: mechanic going from England to; superintend the erection of the sheer-legs at Calliope Dock. The Admiralty people stated that tho < best time for a mechanic to leave England ;" would bo when .the sheer-legs were completed. An official confirmation of this from . the Admiralty was expected, but had not ;■ come to hand. The letter was received, tho i chairman stating that when the Board's last ] letter reached England it would be seen ; that it would not bo necessary to send a- < mechanic from England. The engineer at Calliope Dock reported on the progress of i works at the dock, and referred to the neces- < sity for draining the yard at the dock. The . report was received, and the matter of drain- \ ago referred to' the Works and Tariff Com- ; mittee. i Dredges : Messrs. W. and A. McArthur and Co. (Limited) wrote enclosing a letter from Priestman Bros. (Limited), explaining the delay in.completing the dredger for Auckland Harbour. The work, it was stated, was •• well forward,■ and it was hoped the dredger would bo completed shortly. A letter from the contractor for dredger 121, suggesting the docking of the dredge, was referred to the Works and Tariff Committee. Floating Logs: A letter was read from the Darnell Borough Council, calling attention to logs \ floating outside tho booms in St. George's Bay. The secretary to the Board '.. stated that instructions had been sent to the Waitemata Sawmills Company to remove the ; fogs,' ; and the Waitemata Sawmills Company had replied that a 'gale had torn out the , fastenings of the booms. The company also pointed out .that the present site for -booms ■ was altogether unsuitable, and expressed the hope'that the Harbour Board would allow ' them to get into the intake again as soon as possible. Mr. Cozens said the logs had not been removed, and were still doing damage. The letters were referred to the Works and Tariff Committee, with power to take action. , Settlement of a Claim: A letter was received from Mr. T. J. Craig, accepting the Board's offer, of. £300 for damage done to .his property through the collapse of a wall at Breakwater Road. •Renewal of Breastwork : - The foreman of : works-reported that ho had'examined the , breastwork at Custom-street West, and found' that the - whole breastwork from Cus-tom-Street to Nelson-street required to be y renewed. - He estimated the cost at £2800. : The report was referred to the Works and .Tariff Committee. v Mechanics' Bay: Mr. R. Organ wrote stat- ; ing that in his opinion it would bo a great pity to close ..up the wafer frontage at ; Mechanics' Bay. Mr. Cozens spoke in support of the letter, and said a number of people were being shut off from access to Mechanics' Bay on account of sections being r Jet right up to the water.. The matter was referred to tho Works and Tariff Committee, i with Mr. Cozens added. ; Lighting of 'Beacons: Messrs. Frank Henderson, and Co. wrote calling attention to W'J now form of lighting which they had fitted ; into a hall at ,Waihi, and which would be eminently suitable for illuminating lighthouses. Mr. Niccol said he understood Messrs. Henderson and Co. were prepared to light the beacons for 12 months for a trial. :-: He thought they ought to get that .opportunity. The letter was referred to the Works ind Tariff Committee. - " Tenders: The tender of W. H. Brown, £41 Bs. for cargo gratings, was accepted. Fhe following tenders were received for the formation of Hobson-street :—O. Nowsome, E836; A. Watson, £739; Geo. Knight, £670; and Wm. Hendry, £588. The tender of Mr. Hendry, being the lowest, was accepted. A Devonport Improvement: Mr. Niccol said he had been asked by his predecessor representing the Devonport Borough Council, to ask the Board to carry out their agreement to do some dredging near the bridge leading to Lake Road. This work was passed by the Board on condition that tho Devonport Borough Council constructed a hew culvert. The Borough Council had now agreed to construct the culvert. Tho Board agreed that the dredging be done as early , ; as possible. ' Cable to Devonport: Mr. Niccol made a statement with reference to the proposed i cable to Devonport. The Government had Undertaken to lay a cable to Dovonport on condition that the Harbour Board undertake to keen the lino clear from shipping. The Board had agreed to this, and the har- '.. bourmaster, with a representative of the telephono department, had agreed on a spot - from Campbell's Point to the old naval dopot, to the right of Victoria Wharf. This would necessitate some alteration of tho powder ground, and he thought it desirable ' that the powder ground be shifted further down the harbour. Ho moved, "That the -harbourmaster be instructed to submit ' amended boundaries for tho powder ground. -Mr. Napier seconded, stating that tho ; powder ground was far too close to tho town. The motion was agreed to. . Reclamation Area: A special committee appointed to select and submit to the Board a new area to be reclaimed with dredged material, recommended that the new area ; for depositing silt be 1000 ft by 500 ft to the Westward of Hobson-street Wharf, and that the retaining wall be of timber, with blue- ::: Btone backing. The ronort was adopted. f Reports: The reoorts of the Works and f; • Tariff Committee, and the Finance Committee,, which have been already published, : Were adopted, with tho exception of two paragraphs in the Works and Tariff Commit- ; tee's report, with reference to widening of . Hobstm-street Wharf and shelter shed at A : Chelsea Wharf, which were referred back to the committee. Committee Meetings: Mr. Kidd moved, "That the following resolution, adopted at a meeting of the Board held on April 10. }■']:■ 1894, be now rescinded:—'That meetings of the committees of the Harbour Board be © ■: open to tho press where business of public - importance is considered, provided that all .! committee business shall be deemed to be public business unless otherwise ruled by a majority of the committee.'" Mr. Niccol seconded. Mr. Napier opposed the motion, 'irging that the business of the Board should bo conducted in the light of day. Mr. Witheford also opposed the motion. A division resulted in the motion being adopted by seven votes to four, Messrs. Kidd, Niccol,. Nathan, Dacre, Goldie, Gunson, and Cozens |E;V: voting for, and > Messrs. Stiohbury, Harris, Witheford, and Napier against. "-'.'■"■ Pilot Launch : Mr. Napier moved, and it Was agreed, " That the Works and Tariff . Committee report as to provision for working BlStYnew nilot launch." ■ <■ "■ - *