WAIUKU CANAL SCHEME

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19512, 16 December 1926, Page 16

WAIUKU CANAL SCHEME

AUCKLAND TO WAIKATO. NO ENGINEERING; DIFFICULTIES. DEVELOPMENT OF PORT. [BY TELEGRAPH.--OWN CORfSESPONDENT. ] HAMILTON, Wednesday. The. Waiuku canal scheme, ,to connect the Waitemata Harbour with the WaiUato River, was outtinsd by Mr. D. Holderness, engineer to the Auckland Harbour Board, in an toi the Hamilton Chamber of Commerca, tc-yiay. Mr. Holderness spoke of the plana the Auckland Harbour Board had in view .for developing the wharfage accommodation in Auckland, and expressed his unofficial view that if full advantage was to be taken of the Auckland wharfage development scheme it was essential that the' Waikato should be connected by water with the Waiteniata Harbour. The speaker said the business of the province all passed through the port of Auckland, and the tonnage handled ,by the Auckland Harbour Board had shown an increase of 30 per cent, every live years since 1904. The .gross tannage of vessels entering the poi;t had shown an increase of 19 per cent, every five years. The board had been able to cope with the increased tonnage by improved unloading facilities. As much as. 2840 tons had been unloaded from a vessel at aa Auckland wharf in one. day. One; of the lirst of the new works to be constructed would be &.• properly-equipped railway wharf so that delays in discharging balk cargo would he greatly reduced. It was also intended tot provide an oxport wharf, equipped with overhead runways, and there would be no reason why an 3000-iton vessel could not be. unloaded in four .or five days and loaded up in an equal iiine, thus effecting immense savings irC, freight costs. A matter of vital interest! to th® Waikato,. and one which was outside the- control of the Harbour Board a\s at present constituted, was the linking i\p of the Aucklaod Harbour, with the Eiver. The only thing preventing carriage of goods by water from Auckland ,to the Waikato were, two narrow strips of land from the Waikato to Waiuku, ajnd from the Mariukau Harbour, via fjhe Tamaki Rfiver, to the Waitemata. Aft alternative scheme was the construction of a canal frc»m the Manukau, via the, Wh&u Creek, to the Waitemata. Compared »vi£h the length of waterway available, five per cent, of canal length would be required! to provide a connection bi&twoen the Auckland Harbour and the Wasikato Rivier. No engineering; difficuHjtesi were presented compared with: canal scheitnes carried out in other countries. In Ids opinion, there should be not financial: difficulty. The cost of the canals would! not. be gireates* than the cost (it Prince's, Wharf, which was returning 10 per feepi. on its cost. To his mind, the canal sfchame w<*ild have to come. There, was. a for the compilation of imi&>rtant data before anything could be done, but, he was very strongly impressed with the necessity for the scheme. The developments being carried out . by the boaird on its wharves fully justified thei construction of the canals, The development of the waterways would open up so much country that it, was s jre to benefit the railway.