MAKING A GREAT PORT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21117, 26 February 1932, Page 10

MAKING A GREAT PORT.

AUCKLAND'S FINE WHARVES.

FAR-SIGHTED BUILDING. DEBT TO EARLY PLANNERS. There is a tendency on the part of tho people of Auckland City and Province to take for grunted tlie splendid facilities for tho handling of exports and imports provided at tho port of Auckland. It is not always realised that the creation of the unsurpassed wharfage accommodation and the provision of up-to-date cargohandling facilities is the result of farsighted planning by men who, from the first, have realised the immense future of the province and have set themselves to anticipate the requirements of the steadily developing farming areas. Tlio port is their natural outlet to the markets of the world and the front door of a centre that is destined to become ono of the great commercial cities of the Southern Hemisphere.

The wonderful results already achieved in the making of a thoroughly modern port have not escaped the notice of visitors whoso intimate knowledge of tho great ports of the world has given them the right to express an opinion. Almost without exception they havo mentioned their surprise at finding such progress in so young a country. Port's Wonderful Equipment. One of these visitors, the representative of a laigo shipping ceutie, who had gone thoroughly into tho question of shipping accommodation and the facilities lor handling cargo in Auckland, expressed th<> opinion that tlio city had been more liberal in the installation of cargo-hand-ling equipment than any other part of the world he had visited. Tho Auckland dock system generally held its own on population basis with anything he had observed elsewhere and the Auckland electric cranes, for instance, were the last word in handling cargo he had seen in any port. When credit for the foresight that has all along governed the actions of the Auckland Harbour Board is being considered, the vision of the first chairman of tho board, Captain W. C. Daldy, who assumed oflice in 1871, must be recognised, for it was he who had tho fee simple of the bod of the harbour vested in the board. This made possible the reclamation of large areas on the foreshore, tho rentals from the "new land" giving the board a substantial revenue, which will increase considerably as tho present leases expiro and new ones are issued in their stead. Since its inception in 1871 a total of 331 acres of the sea bed have been reclaimed and about a quarter of this work was carried out, or has since been taken over, by the Railways Department. Valuable Endowments. The Auckland Harbour Board has now approximately 230 acres of reclaimed endowment land. Indirectly, the action of Captain Daldy has given Auckland the fine wharves and equipment of to-day, for the interest on tho cost of these improvements is being partly guaranteed by the revenue from the reclaimed lands. The leases of these endowments will commenco to fall in eight years hence and the remainder of the very early leases will expiro by 1960. The bulk of the first reclamations are now in the heart of the waterfront business area, so that when thij new leases are granted they should show a considerably higher return and swell the revenues of the board proportionately. For over 30 years after its inception the board's policy was to build its wharves of hardwood, but in 1904 it decided, on account of the ravages of marine insects, to abandon that form of construction and to adopt reinforced concrete for all its works. A scheme of improvements was at that time drawn up for a series of wharves covering about two miles of tho city frontage and enclosed within tide deflectors on the oast and west. Men Who Looked to the Future.

This scheme involved the deepening of ihe berths to make them available for the largest cargo and passenger steamers visiting the Dominion, using the spoil thus secured to make the city reclamations. The project has been the basis of all the board's work since, although it has been modified to some extent in accordance with the recommendations made in 1925 by the present engineer, Sir. D. Holderness.

The decision of the board to build its wharves in concrete has been thoroughly justified by results. The concrete wharves constructed between 1905 and 1931 have a total surface area of 38 acres and cost, without slipd accommodation, £1,100,000 to build. The cost of maintenance foi these structures during the entire period has been only £24.148. The 24 sheds on these wharves, arranged and equipped to meet modqrn demands, have n total net floor-space of over 18 acres and a capacity for 125.500 tons. These sheds arc valued at £310,000. Berths for Largest Vessels.

As showing that tho board has provided for the largest vessels likely to visit Dominion ports for the next few years, the berths at the main wharves for overseas vessels have a depth of 36ft. at low water, spring tides. Tho piles have been so driven that this can be increased to 40ft. or more when necessary by further dredging, while several of the berths arc capable of taking vessels up to 1000 ft. in length.

H.M.S. Hood, which visited Auckland in 1924 and berthed at Prime's Wharf, is 861 ft. long, with a tonnage of 41,200. She was drawing 33ft. 6in. when a'u Auckland, It is generally recognised among shipping men that the 500 ft. ship with ;i loaded draught of 30ft. is the economical ship for tho New Zealand trade, so that if this view comes to bo accepted Auckland will have an ample margin of water. Tho Matson liner Mariposa drew but 27ft.. when at Auckland last week and even when loaded she will have a mean draught of only 28ft. The experience of (ho port officers is that the larger ships when fully loaded rarely exceed 32ft. in draught. Cost of Port Facilities. It is interesting to note that the amount spent on port development since 1871 is close on £4,500,000, made up of £3,500,000 of loan money and £900,000 obtained from revenue. Tho board's loan indebtedness is £2,876.500. The assets are valued at £5,500.000. the surplus of assets over liabilities being £2,600,000. In view of tho sound management of the port and the wealth of the province behind it, it, is not surprising that tho latest available figures show that Auckland was tho premier port of the Dominion last year, as she had been the previous year. The total trade of Auckland last, year aggregated £19,700,000, as against Wellington's £17.258.000. Hero again the rapid growth and development of the port is shown by the fact that in 1856 the total value of Auckland's exports and imports was only £354,600, while in 1906 tho total was £6,760,000.