WATERFRONT BYWAYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18300, 17 January 1923, Page 11

WATERFRONT BYWAYS.

AROUND AUCKLAND JETTIES.

SOME SMALL QiXA.TNT CRAFT.

LEISURE AND LABOUR.

There is a world of interest in those parts of the waterfront the general public does not see. They have an atmosphere all their own. There are little jetties and odd corners which have no relation at all to the great wharves and the deep-sea liners, which shoqt aloud of the seven seas, and the big world from Senegal to SaM.irw.ng, from Beyrout to Era'bay. These great wharves, almost touching the heart of the city, have a lofty dignity. They are our link with the world. : But for "the coming and going of the liners and the tramps we would feel out of the planet. Other. folk would call us simple islanders.

Within cooee of this nerve centre, on the western side, lies a haven as essential to domestic affairs as Queen's Wharf is to matters national. But it is not v promenade, and th© crowds that prei»s ixi Queen Street, buying and selling and laughing and sighing; .know it not. It is a place where one ought to be able to find one of Jacobs' nightwatchmen and many a quaint bargee. If one xaniembers the wonderful structures of steel and concrete that are pushing themselves out into the harbour, with such rapidity, the jetties hereabouts must be regarded as anachronisms. relics of the past. But provided one keeps one's eyes upon the near view, it is difficult in remember the existence of til.* modern works of the engineers. First on tha far side of Hobson Wharf one finds the vehicular ferry wharf. A. barge-like craft is taking on its load. On its deck stand loaded waggons, the horses, which remain yoked, munching placidly f'i'OSXt their nosebags, find not concernecl about the reach of pale jade water lying ahead, or about the motor-car that drives in beside them. Off moves the vessel, propellers moving at both ends. The calm» content of the horses suggests that they highly approve of this mode of transporting loads. A regular ferry horse would wMcome a moving staircase, m ohortland and Wyndham Streets. He probably would consent to a ride in an aeroplane.

Where The' Fish Do Not Bite. To return to the water we find, ?on a nearby jetty, where the steam trawlers un'oad their catches from the gulf and the distant fishing grounds of the Bay of Plenty and - the west coast, a-.aozen small bovs and an ancient patiently waiting for fish to bite. Vast patience is theirs; but what would one expect, seeing that the first man started fishing when he tired of fruit and had not invented instruments by - which lie could secure the speedy antelope? How happy and care-free are these small boys! They make one sigh for the bright days of former years and the long, long sii.nmers and the : joylui holidays with their explorations and adventures. ' And here we find a truthful angler chubby little chap of about eight. ' , , , "Caught anything?" he is asked. "No." replies the lad. f "What do you generally catch here? "Nothin', " says he. With that he decides to mate anothei cast. Standing on the very edge of the wharf he swings vigorously, and the sinker lands with a thud on the wharf behind him. Next time he throws it in, using both hands, and resumes his solemn task. He has caught nothing, never has caught anything, doubts if he ever will, but he continues to watch and wait. And yet they will tell us that the breed is losing its tenacity. . Why he does not fall into the sea when balancing on the to make his cast is one of the mysteries. If mothers could but know the risks their darlings run!. But the guardian ahsrel is usually watchful, and when he nods there is generally some hero in embryo - among the youthful fraternity to jump in and rescue the luckless one.

An Elderly Comrade. Hie ancient man with his Maori kit and hi« well-ordered fishing paraphernalia smokes a black pipe in silence. He seeont» to enjoy his young company all, the same, but perhaps his spirit at times„communes with the spirit of the hulk of graceful lines now discharging sugar olos» at hand. The hulk had its gallant days, and doubtless so had he. Wow it is the sheltered haven for both. .Youth will find melancholy thoughts in the sight, but will it have the same point of view when it reaches the last stage? Certainly, not! Our old friend seems vastly content. He has the sun and the sea and the open sky to keep hiivj company and a heart to send him fishing. Here is a tiny steamer loading goods' for "up the river." The cargo ranges from empty cream cans to bags of basic slag and wire netting. Three men, no doubt the vessel's craw, are doing the work, and what important work it is ! For the settlers of the upper harbour the boat has the importance of a railway. Now we come to &' basin in wnich there are large floating stages and cargo launches !trom many a distant tidal creek, where hard-working mei>. and women are helping to earn th". country's daily bread -upon the land, . One can picture the farm where the 'y?ok is never done, and the hard battle against nature and. a period of economic : stress. May their reward come soon. A foundry in clanging on one-side of the basin, the roar and clamour being its battle cry in the same fight in which the dis tant farmer is engaged. Passing through a narrow alleyway we come to a . fish depot, further evidence of the day's work, ,and then to the municipal markets looking palatial in such grimy, dingy, "tarred-ropy" surroundings. Then there is a long piece of waterfront, occupied by well-filled bins of sand and shingle brought by scows from beaches of the islands of the gulf, so • that builders may work and great buildings be erected.

A Racial Question. ~At the end of one street there ?s a sloping platform to the water, and here more small boys are fishing. Three of themand incidentally the most successful fishermen —are Chinese lads, who shout to one another in their own tongue and to the European boys in the ordinary slang of the street. No racial rivalry is here beheld. The white boys accept the Chinese, as good comrades. " A 12foot moon fish," shouts a young Celestial as he pulls up a sprat. In a little berthing place alongside Netson Wharf that narrows to a sharp point, lie some fishing boats, and nets are hanging on the rails. One craft is putting out for the gull: and very businesslike she is, and if the N in her name has the middle line running the wrong way tha.fc will not affect her catches. Fiae points ay out printing will not feed the people. Beyond are the timber mills with their saws singing their shrill song as they bite through the logs, and the. planers buzzing like giant bees. Outside on the water float rafts of logs, the harvest of distant hills hauled slowly ..down the, waterways and up the harbour reaches to makE-. habitations for men. And further w.ift runs out the wall of the groat reclamation. where stand facto**** ahd stores a-quarter •. mile distant 'm „ .k A ■ original' beach. . : r ,y ~po® ' Of absorbing interest is tl v, whole of this section of the waterfront. .It ,Van ; tell us more of what our city and oro rus &£ tIM lh ° *>«<*