OTAGO HAROUR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17658, 23 June 1919, Page 2

OTAGO HAROUR.

OFFICIAL YISIT OF INSPECTION. SHIPPING IMPROVEMENTS FORESHADOWED. THE BOARD'S DIFFICULTIES. RATING POWERS ESSENTIAL It lias not infrequently been laid to tho chargo oi men in public lito that tliey do not exhibit that iauiiuarity wiUi the many quustjoua wiUi which liiey have to uou.i. 'ihoro ia a largo clement oi. truck m this accusation, but in justice to tho accused it has to bo admitted that opportunities have not .been afforded thorn oi gleaning- information necessary ior an intelligent grasp oi the subject under discussioii. Soinsming oi tlus sort was no doubt in Mr H. L. Taploy's mind when ho arranged for a visit by members of the Otago Harbour Board to the jetties and various other properties of tho Ivoord. This visit took place on Saturday, tiio Peninsula Ferry Company placing tiio steamer Wairoka, at tho disposal oi the Harbour Board for the purpose. That the chairman's idea was appreciated was evidenced by tho fact that every member of tho board was present, and, in addition, the principal executive officers of the board, including the secretary (Mr Bardsley) and the engineer (Mr Wilkie). Tho party was augmented by others to the number of over 100. to whom invitations had boon extended, his Worship the Mayor of Dunedin (Mr \V. Beg-") being among; the number. m The various jetties, including Macanarews, Company's, Broad Bay, and Portobello, wore visited, and an inspection mado by the board members and officials, and and alterations' givsn attention to. At Macandrew's, tho question of providing a safety railing on tiio western side of tho approach to tho jetty was brought under the notice of menuxjrs by the chairman (Mr i lapley). Tho question of increasing tho ! depth of water at some of the other jetties was also looked into. j Port Chalmers was readied shortly after noon, and tho entire party went ashore to view the dry dock, which is at present occupied by the twin-screw ocean liner VV estmoreland, which recently damaged her hull when steaming out of Bluff Harbour. Hers one had an ample opportunity of seeing the extent of tho damage done to the keel of this vessel The thick plates are "scratched," dented, and punctured by the contact with the haTd, flinty substance of which ths Mid-Channel rock in Bluff Harbour is composed. In two places at least the rivets wore torn out, and it was through these that much of tho water which gained admission to the vessel's hold must have coino. The absence, of paint and tho presence of a solid coat of freshly deposited rust indicated, too, that the hugo expanse of plate, forming the bottom of the ship, had received a very severe grazing apart from the other damage referred to. Sights, levels, and paint marks show where tho surveyors have been at work forming an estimate of the damage done and the extent of the repairs which it will be necessary to effect. Quito apart from the loss which the owners will sustain through the vessel lying idle, it h estimated that £10,000 will have beran expended on account of the sliip before she again puts to sea. The sounding of tho Waircka's whistlo reminded tho party that the stay at Port Chalmers was about to terminate, and on re-embarking a course was set for tho Spit, where a much longer spell had been arranged for. On arrival at the Spit, the official members of tho party at once set out for the old quarry, and en route the board's engineer pointed out an area on the southern sidn of the sandhills, which the board contemplated planting as a shelter belt. Mr Tannock's advice had been obtained, and ha recommended, so Mr Wilkio .stated, that' the large area of land to the south of the strip referred to could be advantageously planted in trees possessing a commercial value. Mr Tannock's advice may be perfectly sound, but one, on seeing now luxuriantly phormium tenax has grown where it has been planted on adjoining land, wonders why flax could not be grown with a vi&w to its being utilised commercially. A visit was ■ then paid to the beach between the quarry and the wharf, and to the mole, the chairman and Mr Wilkie pointing out the damago which was being done to the beach through breaches which had been caused by tho action of the sea on the mole. Repairs to this work would appear to be necessary if this monument to the engineering skill of that celebrated engineer, air John Cbode, is to be maintained at its greatest value. Warning blasts from tho Waireka's whistle caused all to reassemble on that vessel's decks, the unofficial members of the party having filled in their tune exploring the sandhills and beach meanwhile. It was 4.50 p.m.' when the Waireka cast off her lines and commenced the return journey to Dunedin, which was reached shortly alter 5.30 p.m On the journey to Dunedin the chairman of tho board (Mr Tapley) entertained the official party in the saloon, a series of toasts being honoured. Alter the toast of "The King" had been drunk, Mr W. Wilkinson proposed tho toast of the " Parliament of New Zealand," ana in doing so relerred to the strenuous time the Government had passed through. All things considered, ho thought that tho National Government had done remarkably well. Probably individual members of the Government had not done so well as was expected of them. Mr J. M. Dickson, in reply, said that at the present time one saw only as through a glass darkly. Newspaper editors and correspondents were predicting what was going to .happen politically, but ne, personally, waa not going to hazard an opinion. This much he would say that there would unquestionably be a general election this year, either in October, November, or December. Mr Wilkinson in his remarks was somewhat tolerant towards the National Government, but he was not sure if many of those present would have blamed him if he had j said something hard about them. Hβ paid ' a tribute to Sir James Allen for his able ' administration of tbo Deience Department ' during the war period. Any trouble that Sir ' James got into was through his subordinate i officers. j Xlie Chairman (Mr H. L. Tapley) proposed tho toast of " Kindred Local Bodies " He regretted the absence of the Mayor of Port Uhalmers (Mr J. M. Stevenson), but he was pleased to see that the borough was represented by the town clerk. He regretted Mr Stevenson's absence because he had been so closely identified with the operations of the Otago Harbour Board. It was pleasing to know also that members of the board whether representative of Port Chalmers or not, did not allow local interests to enter into discussions at the table. It was in hia opinion highly essential that the Harbour Board should work harmoniously with kin dred bodies. In the past it was only too apparent that there had been friction The Harbour Board had many things in common with the Dunedin City Council, and it behoved the , members of both these bodies to remember that they were working not oulv for the good of Dunedin but for' the Rood of Otago as a whole. Tho Mayor of Dunedin (Mr W. Bernr) in responding, said he agreed with the chairman that harmonious working was essential to good government The day after Mr lapley was elected, chairman of the Harbour Board, and three days after he (the speaker) had been installed as Mayor, Mr Taplev called on him and, after the usual formalities, said: You and I have gon to pull together and it us no use our doing otherwise. He could only say that if the Harbour Board had anything to bring before the council it was its duty to come right alone There had been too much unharmonious working m the past between the two bodies and this had not 'been conducive to rood government b Mr, Harman Reeves proposed the toast of the "Otago Harbour Board." It was , he said, an important body, and its members were imbued with the idea of fostering the interests of the district ♦ , Galbraitl V in reply, said their trip that day must have convinced sceptics of the engineering- and other difficulties wmch the board had to encounter He was convinced feat tho engineering difficulties of the Otago Harbour Board were greater than those of any similar bodv in the dominion. Not only had tho cost of their works been great, but difficulties had bc_n met with a considerable amount of engineering skill Mr John McDonald, in proposing the toast of The Visitor?," eaid it gavo them great pleasure to have visitors with them on that ocasion. They must have seen for themselves tne difn-cultjcs tho board'had to contend .w6h. The Otago Harbour was tho key to the future prosperity of the province. nF* °L Ste ?j ießB j [ n /«Ply>'ng, said the Otago Harbour Board had been tho subject of very strong criticism, and that was because the people of Otago were not familiar with what it had done and was doing Ho thought it would pay the board to convey the people from all parts of Ofeyjo

to tho various Harbour Board works, so that they couid sec for themselves what was l>eing done by tho board. The improvonuinb of tho liiirbour meant a great deal for Utago as a wlwlo. If tho country peoplo would only agreo to the establishment of a i-itiu-r uitvn their greatest difficulty would Ui overcome. i«i^ r MoLta" proposed tlie toast of -I no Prose," which was responded to liy ii C - llVasl ' r («litor of tho Otago Witness). «<VV " -Larnadi proposed the toast of ■bx-nwmbors, , . , and in doing so expressed tiio hope that tho rating proposal would becoirio an accomplished fact. In tho past merchants had not given them a fair deal. Oaptaui Sundstrum, in replying, said the policy of tho board should bo to improve tho harbour with a viow to attracting tho iargest steamers to Port Chalmers. Ho recognised that ifc was largely a question of hnanco, but tho settlers of Otago should bo prepared to nssist in defraying thw cost by agreeing to tho establishment of a rating area. With regard to tho upper harbour* , , the channel should bo unproved from Deborah Bay upwards :-,¥ X - ft? I * 3^ 3 Proposed tho toast of tho Peninsula Ferry Company," and in doing so said tho company must have had a very uphill fight. It was tho duty of the Ear bour Board to do all that lay in its power to tho company to keep its vessels running. Mr 11. C. Campbell, in replying, said that if the oompany only took cognisance of the earnings of its steamers, it would have shut up shop long ago. Those who had their capital invested in the company were publicspirited men, and recognised that those living down the Bay must of necessity have an outlet. The toast of "The Staff" was proposed by tlie chairman, who said tho board could congratulate itself on the efficiency of its staff llio secretary (Mr Bardsley) was indefatigable m the interests of the harbour With regard to Mr Wilkie, tho board's engineer, ho had the confidence of every member of the board, and when tho time came for the board to carry out a comprehensive works policy, Mr Willcie could be depended on to carry it out successfully. The question of improving tho channel from the Heads to Port Chalmers would have to bo considered at the board's next meeting. Their idea was to mako Port Chalmers tiio. first port of call and final port of departure of overseas steamers. Mr W. J. Bardsley (secretary), in reply, said he had a most. capable colleasnie in Mr Wilkie. Mr Wilkio (engineer) said that in addition to improving th e channel it would also be necessary to deepen tho berthage at Port Chalmers. This would be an expensive work, as they had to deal with a rock bottom. It would also be necessary for the board to at once the width and depth of the channel. This was an important preliminary step.