NEED OF A BOAT HARBOUR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22543, 7 October 1936, Page 12

NEED OF A BOAT HARBOUR

A Government that has seen in unfinished railways a reason to find expenditure for their completion should not turn a deaf ear to the request for a subsidy to complete a boat harbour in St. Mary's Bay. This argument has occurred to those asking the Government's assistance for this project, but their case is excellent without so persuasive a point. Fourteen yacht and powerboat clubs, through their association, are putting the request on behalf of more than 6000 yachtsmen. Some years ago St. Mary's Bay was gazetted as a harbour for pleasure craft, and much work has been done toward making the scheme a reality. The Harbour Board will provide £20,000 toward its completion if a subsidy of half that amount be forthcoming from the Government. There should be a sympathetic response to the appeal. Yachting is a pastime worth encouraging. An adequate boat harbour is a necessary adjunct, for ready use in the yachting season and for safe storage of craft in the period when, as experience has sadly proved, a wintry storm may do devastating damage if no such shelter be available. Its absence is a deterrent to building. As most lovers of the sport are young men without affluent means, this factor ought to be taken into account. They can manage, sometimes by grouping their resources, to procure a boat and to meet mooring and other incidental charges in addition to costs of maintenance ; but even their aggregate financial abilities are not equal to making and fully equipping a harbour for their craft. Former natural anchorages have been lost by reason of port developments on the waterfront. This the Harbour Board suitably acknowledges. No doubt the Government will add its recognition, regarding the requested subsidy as a good national investment.