OTAGO HARBOUR BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18198, 19 March 1921, Page 6

OTAGO HARBOUR BOARD

The monthly meeting of the Otago Harbour Board waa held last evening. and was attended by Messrs N. Galbraith (in the chair), A. Cable, H. O. Campbell, W. Wilkinsoh, J. A. Roberts, E. Roberts, T. Sodlay, J. M'Donold, T. H. Bussell, J- Douglas, H. Moller, and D. Larnaoh. FINANCE. The ; bank balance showed a credit of £21,689 17s 7d. NEW BY-LAWS. The first business before the meeting was to give consideration to the board’s general and dock by-laws, which had been amended. The Chairman, in moving the adoption of these by-laws, stated that members were no doubt' aware that the increasing expenditure of the board had made it necessary for them to-increase their revenue in order to carry oh. A special sub-committee and then the Fiqajace Committee had given these matters careful consideration, and they were now submitted for the approval of the board, Mr. 7. A. Roberta moved as an amendment.’that in ail oases sacks of seed should be placed on the same basis and made eight sacks to the ton, instead of 10 sacks to the ton as was proposed, Mr Wilkinson seconded the amendment, which was carried. SHIPS WORKING OVERTIME. Mr J. A-. Roberts moved that the following ■ clause be 'struck out: “Every vessel shall, in addition to all other charges, pay to the board a charge at the rate of Is per ton on'fill cargo landed at or shipped from any wharf at Dunedin before 8 a.m. and after 5, p,m. on any week day other than a Saturday, or before 8 a.m. and after noon on any Saturday, but this extra charge shall not be payable in respect of coal or goods for transhipment.” Mr Roberts said that they might find vessels unloading at Port Chalmers instead .of coming to Dunedin, and this would mean a heavier charge "on consignees. Mr Wilkinson seconded the motion. Mr Moller said he would oppose the motion. It was well known that the ships came here from the north to get quick despatch. When the vessels were worked at night, and got away quickly, they saved harbour dues. The Chairman said that the Finance Committee had compared the charges in Dunedin with those in other ports. Under the proposed new charges the consignees in Dunedin would still, in a great number of cases, be in a more favourable position than they were in Wellington, for instance. In quite a number of cases the charges were lighter in Dunedin. Th© • charge proposed under the new by-law had existed in Wellington for a number of years. He believed the reason for the charge in Wellington was that with cargoes unloaded in the daytime the consignees to a great extent kept the sheds clear. When cargo was received at night the sheds naturally became 2ested. The reason for th© charge being 3 in Wellington applied to a considerable extent to Dunedin. In Wellington they had also made a charge of fid per ton, in addition to port charges and pilotage, as a harbour improvement rate, and recently that charge had beein* increased to Is fid. The ships might probably add this amount on to their freight.

A Member: They do. The Chairman, continuing, said that the fact remained that their increased expenditure necessitated their providing for further revenue. Aftey considering' th© question from all points the committee considered that the new charges represented a fair proportion of- charges as between the ships and the, goods. Mr Roberts, in reply, said that Otago ■was in a position from Wellington. They had two ports in Dunedin. If they were going to encourage the owners of ships to unload! them at Port Chalmers they were going to penalise the consignees. The motion was lost on the voices, and t the draft of the new by-laws (with the exception of the clause regarding sacks of seed) was adopted. _ - It was decided to hold a special meeting on the afternoon of Thursday, March 31, for the purpose of confirming the by-laws. FINANCE COMMITTEE’S REPORT. Mr Scollay moved the adoption of the Finance Committee’s report. Mr Cable said he supposed it was no use again referring to the salaries of the two pilots. Ha presumed that the matter had ,been carefully considered. The Chairman: That is so. Mr M’Donald said he hoped that in due course . their applications for increases in their wages would b© more favourably con- .. sidered. The report was adopted. WORKS COMMITTEE. The Works Committee’s report was adopted with practically no discussion. DEPTHS OF WATER. The Harbourmaster reported as follows regarding the depths of water in the various - channels: —North channel, 40ft,„100£t wide; bend, 32ft, 350 ft wide; Deborah Bay. 27ft, 130 ft wide; Victoria channel —centre 19ft, sides Ifiift, 140 ft wide. ’ SHIPPING RETURNS. Arrivals: Coastal, 17 vessels, 11,087 tons; intercolonial. 7 vessels, 12,140 tons; foreign, 6 vessels, 22,507 tons; —total, 30 vessels; 45,734 tons. ‘ Departures: Coastal, 18 vessels, 13,051 'tons; intercolonial, 9 vessels, 26,289 tons; foreign, 4 vessels, 15,346 tons; —total, 51 ~ ; ENGINEER’S REPORT. The; Engineer (Mr M‘Gregor Wilkie) reSorted os follows for the month ending larch. 10: —- , < , , During the month of February dredge 222 lifted,- eight loads or 6664 cubic yards of material from th© berths at the Victoria wbqrf and' 14 loads or 11,662-cubic yards from .‘.Deborah Bay. Of this material one load or 835 cubic yards was deposited at the Kajk,,. and 21 loads or 17,493 cubic yards et dredge Vulcan. The dredge steamed 299 miles and burned 122 tons of coal. At date of writing a cut 150 ft wide at Deborah Bay has been extended into the deep water beyond- beacon No. 11. This cut requires to-be" widened for a length of 300 ft, and when:'this is accomplished it is anticipated that- the least width in Deborah Bay will be 300 ft, and the least depth 50ft. During -the' - month of February dredge Vulcan pumped into Lake Logan 17,493 cubic yards of spoil received from dredge 222 Kaik Quarry.—For a period of one week ended February 26 , 200 yards of stone were used on the Lower Portobello protection wall, making the total length of the finished wall 365 chains. Lupins were planted at the back of the wall on the face of the sandhills over a distance of five chains. An Examination of the wall was made after the heavy winds and high tides between the dates of February 21 and 26. but the wall had withstood the seas without any appreciable signs of subsidence. Extension of T shed: By the end of the present week this shed will be ready for use. Extension of U shod: As a large majority of the timber for this shed is on hand, the work of erection will be continued as soon as T shed is finished. . South Endowment Wall. —The flood gates have been lifted and repaired, and leaks in the, wall have been stopped up. Wharves and sheds_ and the kerb at the back of the Kitchener street wharf is being altered to withstand the heavy strain imposed upon it by the landing of heavy -baulks of timber.

T.S. Dunedin. —The work of installing the .Babcock and Wilcox watertube 'boiler is now well advanced, the work being in the hands of Messrs John Chambers and Son. The foundations of boiler, back and front supports and headers are in position. The feed water heater and filter have been -installed by our own mechanics, and n start has been made with the fitting of copper pipes for same. Leith Canal. —For a period of two weeks ended March 9 the invert of the canal has been repaired over a length of 105 ft. / Heads Works.—On the sandhills between crib and Aramoana township lupins pave been planted, and several brush near the Snit jetty. Attention has, .been • given to the plantation of ’.'youhjgp' trees, the majority of which are -"growing satisfactorily.