HARBOUR BOARD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6734, 14 September 1883, Page 3

HARBOUR BOARD.

The ordinary meeting of the Harbour Board ■was held yesterday afternoon, and was attended by Messrs Ross (chairman), Thomson (mayor), Mill, Paterson, Guthrie, and D. Reid. . CORBEBFONDENCB. ' Alettorwas received from Messrs Haggitt Bros, and Brent (on behalf of W.Jenkins), who applied for a reduction of tho rent of one of theTSoard's leases.—The Board decided they had no power to grant tho request. A letter from the Town Clerk, with reference to connecting the Gasworks with the jetty, was i eferred to the Works Committee.

The Marine Department wrote intimating that in future vessels would bo reported from Cape Saundera by telephone. Captain Macfarlane accepted his appointment aa harbourmaster. _ Letters were received from the Marine Department asking that a return should be prepared of the Board's endowments, and suggesting that the pilot-boat should be provided with lifebelts.

WOBKS COMMITTEE. The Works Committee reported on remits as follows: — - . , . "Mr D. M'lntyre's letter re reclamation bontract • The Chairman and engineer have been instructed to inquire further into the matter • in the meantime the contractor is to continue work* Mr Heren's request re use of Owako powder to be complied with, prices and quality of powder being equal with .imported, article. The Corporation's letter re Jotty street formation has beon referred to the engineer to again form the street, and the Corporation to bo informed through the secretary when such is done. Measures for supplying water to Ravensbourne derrick, repairs to Rattrsy street Wharf, and additional beacons in .Victoria Channel have been authorised. The tenders for strengthening ■ Jetty ttrect Wharf being largely in excess of the engineer's estimate,' he proposes a different mode of carrying out the work. Tenders will be again callod for. The Koputai has been chartered for five weeks ceitain, and longer if required, at a satisfactory rate; the insurance policy has been extended to cover her atLyttelton. Ihe following tenders have been accepted:—Ropairs to dredge 222, Mr Inirle; piles, Mr James Wright, but finding that the sisss he had •were not large enough, he has withdrawn from his contract.. The Chairman having drawn the attention of the Committee to the fact that the Vulcan has on somodaysnot beenkept working more than half her time, there being some want of maaagetiient in keeping up a supply of .punts,"the matter has been referred to him for inquiry and report." . The report was adopted. habbouriiastkr's bkpobt. Captain Thomson reported that his successor (Captain Macfarlane) expected to enter on his duties at the! beginning of next week. Meantime, he had the honour to forward for the information of the Board his last monthly report. Recent soundings taken'by Coxswain Milne showed a good line across the bar with not les3 than 24ft at high water, and a poor tide at that; or, in other words, an ordinary spring tide would have given 25ft siu. It was thprefore a remarkable fact that, interested in tho harbour as he was, it was gratifying for him to know that.he was coiling his official ropes up with the bar better than he found it in September 1835, when he first entered the port in company with the Hon. W. H. Reynolds, the Board's secretary, and others, by the brig Gil Bias, 178 tons register, to the captain of which a public dinner was given for bringing her to an anchorage off Grant's Braes. This year he had seen vessels of from GOO tons to 800 tons berthed at the Dunedin wharves, brought through a- channel which only three years ago was partially dry at low water. This improvement was altogether tho outcome of dredging and other harbour improvements, yet atthesaino timo, in his opinion, nothing short of striking at the cause of the bar—whatever that might be— would give a permanent depth of water across it, and, as suggested before, prison labour Bhould be brought to bear upon it, as it was a work of greater magnitude than the Board in the meantime could financially grapple with, and to that end, if a Colonial central prison could not be established at the Heads, a Provincial District one should. During the years referred to, no shallowing in mid-channel from the Headß to Dunedin Bay had taken place, but, on the contrary, the Board was aware that Nature cleared away the inner bar abreast, of the Maori Kaik from 15Jft to 27ft; and to-day the depth at low water in the Victoria Channel varigd from 12ft to 19ft, the least depth being but a small area close to the black beacon above Burkes.' The s.a. British King, 2278 tons register, drawing 19ft Sin, arrived onthe 9th ult.' from London, and after discharging and loading part cargo, sailed on the 19th ult., drawing 18ft 3in.. The s.s. Te Anau, drawing !15Jft, arrived on the 12th inst. in good time of tide, and could have proceeded direct to Dunedin if all arrangements

for working' her- cargo had been completed. The railway authorities should how take steps •> to indicate by signal to the steamboat master •while ha is yet a good way off, in approaching the wharves at-Poft Chalmers, what berth his vessel is to occupy, in order that he might have time to; arrange his plan for so doing. For such purpose the berths should be lettered, and the flag representing the letter in the Commercial Code of signals be hoisted at tho flagstaff when the vessel came into the cross channel. .'■ Since 1859 only five wrecks occurred at Otago Heads,/and of these vessels none were in ■ charge of a pilot; and during the same period only nine serious casualties, with a few minor accidents, occurred to vessels in the harbour; and what was worthy of note,-instead of ■ casualties . increasing, as was generally the case where the shipping was on the increase, it was the reverse, three of the wrecks referred to having occurred 22 years ago, and two of them eight years back. In concluding his report' Captain; Thomson said: "During my connection with'this department, now close on 24years,.I have watched its progress with very ' deep interest, and have" done what I could to assist in-it. My actions, however, may not "always haye met with general approval, but this could not, in the nature of things, be expected. At the same time I can humbly say that whatever I believe to be for the good of the harbour I have done, and should I be • spared to Bee the improvements now going on - in the Upper and Lower Harbours completed, it will give me the liveliest satisfaction. And now, in bidding adieu to the members and officers-of the Board, 1 cannot refrain from expressing the debt of gratitude under which you have all placed me for your assistance and sympathy .in carrying out the duties of my ■ office. I trust that my successor will be enabled - to render the Boardfar moreand better service in his day that I have done in mine." ■'• The Chairman said that though thig was Captain Thomson's, last report, he had not yet quite severed his connection with the Harbour Board,-aB he would be engaged for some time initiating the. new harbourmaster into his ■ duties. He thought they should cortainly place on record their appreciation of the manner hi which Captain Thomson had carried out his duties as harbourmaster —[out of the whole of the candidates-who had recently applied for the position thero was, he thought, not one who would have made a superior officer)—but this was not the proper time to do so; it was "a matter they could discuss at a future meeting". '---.-',- • • .\ The report was adopted. • '• • EKOINKEB.'a BEFOHT.

- The Engineer, reporting on the Victoria Channel, stated that 13ft at low water had been adopted as tho standard depth to gauge the dredged portion of the- channel even though the average was not less than 14ft, because that might be considered the ruling depth in the undredged parts where no training-walls had been erected, and therefore where it would be imprudent.to do any dredging at present. - This might seem to be a small depth to take as the limit where the least was 13Jft and the least average. 15;8'10ft; but it was done on -abcoufitfof the fact that owing to the winding character of the deep water it would-be necessary for a long vessel occasionally to cross a point with not over 13ft on it. He might also remark "that in the undredged portions it would be advisable to depart from the pre- : vious course and to take a line nearer j;o the bank on the south-east side of the •. channel opposite St. Leonards. The piling of this bank was included in the contract, •' ' tenders for which were due that day. The last of the cut through the banks of the ■Victoria Channel had been completed in May of last year, and from then to October of that year no-further dredging had been done in the channel. In the latter month the Priestman crane did a little to the shoal opposite Ravensbourne, caused by the current coming round the uncompleted training-wall. The wall waß now being extended, and the hurtful current diverted. From December 1882 to June 1883 ■the Vulcan-and New Era dredged from the channel 122,500 cubic yards, at a cost of £7147. Naturally, tho cost of the first yoar's maintenance would be much greater than would be the case in succeeding years, bemuse the training-walls were not yet comploted, iho carronts were: not thoroughly controlled, and ■ the Blopes were being flattened down to something like a stable slope. They would observe from the statement (attached) that the inclination of the sideslopes was now very favourablo to "stability; but he would also say that in the future, until the channel was widened and the whole of the training-walls constructed, there would still be some maintenance dredging required. Of the above dredg- ■ ing, 54.000 cubic yards had been_used in the reclamation of- the Board's endowment at . ■ Ravensboiirne and Danedin, which at an average depth of Oft would cover about four acres brought into a marketable condition; Tho depths given were all at low water of spring tide, and would show 6ft 6in more at high wator. They might, therefore, calculate that the channol was now equal to the passage of a ; vessel drawing 16ft to 17ft with easo, and even greater than that at favourable tides. As the condition was favourable to tho passage to Dunediri of vessels of a larger draught than had hitherto been customary, he would recommend the early provision of Buitabla berthage. .- He had alroady pointed out that an extension of the Rattray street Wharf in a direction parallel to tho present reclamation would be the best site for these vessels. , The report was received, and it was resolved to authorise tho engineer to prepare planß for the additional wharfage accommodation, said plans to be submitted to the Works Committee. ... THE PRESENT LOAN. Mr PATKBSON moved —" That tho Treasurer lay on the table a statement of money paid on account of the Upper and Lower Harbours out of tho present loan, showing the balance in hand . , ,at date on both accounts." The Treasurer said ho would be happy to r prepare tho statement, but would like to havo instructions from the Board as to which account the dredge No. 222 Bhould be charged to. The Chaibman : To the Lower Harbour.. .Mr Mai'^aid': they knew very well that tho

money for tho dredge had been takon out of the previous loan, £25,000 of which was sent Homo for that purpose, and as the dredge was obtained for the good of tho whole harbour, ho did not see how they would be justified in charging it to tho Lower Harbour account. Mr Patkbson said tho £25,000 mentioned by Mr Mill had been sent Home, not for the big dredge, but for departmental purposes. Th« OhaibMan thought that, from an equitable point of view, Port Chalmers should not object to the big dredge being charged to the Lower account. It had been obtained entirely for the work in tho Lower Harbour, and they might as well charge the cost of tho Vulcan, which had beon purchased for tho Upper Harbour, to'the Lower account as charge the dredge No. 222 to; the Upper Harbour account. ■ j The motion was carried, tho question of to which account the dredge should bo charged being left over till a future meeting.