OTAGO HARBOUR BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20906, 21 December 1929, Page 19

OTAGO HARBOUR BOARD

- MONTHLY 'MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Otago Harbour Board wag held last night and was attended by Messrs W. Gow (chairman), H- M. Driver, J: M‘C. Dickson, D. Larflach. T, Scollay, W. Begg. D. F. H Sharpe, J. Loudon. -W. G. Love, J. W. Munro, and. Captain Col. M'Donald. FINANCE. ■ Accounts amounting to £86,090 10s 2d Were passed for payment. ’ The secretary reported that there was « net credit. balance in the bank of £OBO6 18a 4d. YACHTING CONTESTS. The secretary of the Otago Yacht and Motor Boat Association wrote asking the bpard to, reconsider the matter of granting a donation to the forthcoming Cornwell ? nd Sanders Cups’ contests, •It was stated that 1 during the past three years £lO 10a had been contributed tp each contest. .The letter. was received and the application again declined. .ALBANY STREET SCHOOL SITE. . -• lit reply to a-letter from the board the secretary of the Otago Education Board wrote stating that the old Albany otreet School site would be vacated in Ijarch or April. 1931. -It was decided to write to the. Education Board asking it to give an explicit reply to. a previous communication requesting the payment of £l4O a year rout until the,oid site waa vacated. = DREDGE: OTAKOU.. Lengthy- -'correspondence was read in T- gard 7 to tbe dredge Otakou from; the - agents Messrs Richardson l.M^m^ Cab |’Tr and the builders, Messrs: •riemtng and Ferguson. .(Mr Bardsleyj reported bad written .to the Minister of - asking that no duty should be * n^ the X? p , ara- P arts brought out ?f- aße ? f to e .Otakou. Thesaparts had been.included:in the contract. No' reply bad yet been received from the Minister. an ? we . r to a question the chairman id ,*b a t about £6OOO had yet to be paid «n the contract price for tho dredge. ; WHARF FOR -FERTILISER COMPANY. A letter was received from - Messrs fe r l^° ore ' a ? d - Nichol stating 'that they had .received instructions from Mr SeToaSlfr 4° f ■ Auckland,, to I„ ps b ° a r d that-at’a meeting of the direcit had Company, it had been decided, to- agree to thetba wharf atNavensiourne wnich he had arranged with-the-board’s t Dg S eer . J. M‘G. Wilkie). ' The j a^i.b een “bed to impress upon agW&’W «' '-** csm. e f ? ta P° r t oh his conference' k \! r „ Fletch r stated tha * a wharf agreed upon which would accommodate vessels 400 ft m length and drawing 24ft, the wharf to be large worked ’ enabl ? tour hatches to fe Worked at ope time, and to enable one v?ss fl per month and-one coastal a week to be accommodated. It was impossible to. donatruct a wharf at ? lg bt angh* from toe shore, and an ' fe eOB a ? reed upon. The original cost could not be reduced apart, from the coet of -t. ' . company wished the by, October. 1930. chairman: The qhestioh ig whether ZLt( 6 Prepared to; pay'£l3,ooo .for the Wharf after promising £SOOO. he would move'that t;^j*v d 4. e i? ct tbo necessary wharf, pro4*— at ! he company gave a satisfactory guarantee . that 20,900 tone' of • stuff' would go oyer it for the first year. He wanted to make itiperfectly dlear that-he had not one copper in the company, and interest in it beyond- that -as a- member ot the general community- He did however,-realjae. the importance, of the venture so, , far ,aA this part of New 'Zealand was concerhcd.' The company' was going to be.; a .producer ,of revenue for the Harbour Board, and ap area of land iWhieh had 'been, practically useless to it’ was now to. J t be. utilised; and the- rental ,fc would reach, in J a year, or two £SOO per annum. -Moreover, the board would, receive. ;,apart from dues, sbipprag and .pilotage charges..-He did ear' that the ranturei'was .-going; to J be:.a . big. thing for Dunedin.. He read a.lengthy article regarding what phosphates had done .for the North Island, and referred to .a, proposal to. start works at Timaru; ij, that, proposal ’hadsbeen .gone .on with, he said, -then the board .would have been only too pleased’to grant concessioias’to pet works erected here.. . The board had agreed to erect the wharfand, he thought it should honour its word.

would be gonean with.. He,thought the hoard should have a guarantee, and Mr Fletcher had indicated that he would give feme such undertakiift. 1 ' r Captain- M'Donaltf stated’ that by ; tho time the dredging had been carried-out the cost of the wharf wQuld be in the vicinity of £23,0.00. Efe-was .not?: going to vote for the-motibirunlese it was made clear that the guarantee that 20,000 tons, at 3s a ton, would go over the wharf in the first year* applied whether that amountwent over" the wnarf or hot, and, further, that there would be a guarantee that the ,13000 would be paid whether work ceased or not. If the .work . stopped the board would still have’the wharf, and who was going. toiipay l <or it?, ,He, was -also not going .to vote in favour of the motion ,if it meant'that'the board was "going. to spend “ £22,00.0 •if - there was merely a guarantee that 20,000 tens .would go over the-wharf ..the first year.' Mr ;Dicksob: Make it fire.years. By the wharf.will he paid for.' Mr: Hickson added' that the. braid was. expending a large amount: of-.money, apart ijprrrthe cost of .the wharf and the-dredg-ing. and it was providing 1 it itself. ' . ; gOChe -chairman said flat, the, .company ,«t’_first wanted-to build its.'own wharf,. Mr Dicl^n:-You •afe^vb'ong.. .The chairman said that the' board would not agree, to the company—having a private wharf, and there was no doubt that the.-company was prepared to built the whatf. The board- was-at that time given io understand by Mr-Fletcher-that the wharf could he erected for £5000.. A conference had been held, and Mr Wilkie had considered that the wjharf spoken about by Mr Fletcher would cost £7500. The original intention of the board was that it was prepared to build a wharf that cost £SOOO. Mr Dickson; No.

The chairman said that the ideas of the company • regarding the size of the ships had changed, and it remained for the board to say whether it was now prepared to spend £13,500 on the wharf. As regarded the guarantee, the,board had to consider how it would.'be 'backed. He certainly thought the board ahrould ndt go on with the work unless it had a guarantee of- £3OOO per-annum- for- a period of five years. An other'thing was; Where was the money to come from for the paying of the wharf. There was £oooo available, but where was the re-, mainder to come from?

Mr Dickson claimed that there was no intention by the company to erect the wharf itself.

•The chairman: Well,'.here’s the-letter,. - Mr Dickson said that- Mr Fletcher had simply, stated, a rough .figure of £SOOO m the cost of the wharf, and 'now the board wanted to hold him to it. Tho question was whether the board was going to erect a suitable wharf for the company. The board was honour bound to do this. The chairman read the letter from the company in which it was stated that it would erect the wharf at its own expense. The wharf was to have a T head of 150 feet and an approach of about 300 feet. 3Cow the_ company was asking for a wharf twice the size.

Mr Sharpe said that the situation was based on guarantees.-.. The new company had been treated on very favourable terms and it was very unfair to consider the new. company to the extent they were doing against established firms. The board from "which in the past they had received much revenue, wasted a very substantial _ guarantee. He had been tinder the impression from the beginning, that tho wharf was to cost £SOOO, w Mr_Scollay moved an amendment— That in view of the chairman’s statement this matter stand over for more information as regards guarantees, and also • r \ re P ort from the treasurer regarding the board’s financing the construction °f the wharf.” If these points were cleared up, a great deal of argument would be cut Out, and the board would be *ble to get straight to business. Mr Larnach mentioned that they had to protect the interests of- the Harbour Board, and that was their first duty. He, however,, would be only too pleased to nee the work go on. Mr Loudon said he thought they were very lucky to have the works here, and that the board should not throw any unnecessary obstacles in the way of the company.

, . Driver stated that he was a farther himself, and nobody wanted to see the workj go on more than he did. At the same time he had to look after the in- " Tests of the board. He had no objection to Mr /Dickson's motion provided there' were 'sufficient guarantees. They must look after their own finances. They would be there until the nest, night if they went on as they were going. He thought that Mr Scollay’s amendment was on the right lines. Mr Love supported the remarks of Messrs Loudon and Dickson. He stated that the board was bound to provide a wharf.

Mr Dickson' stressed the' need of an arrangement being come to as early as possible.

Mr Scollay’s amendment was carried by seven votes to three.

ST. LEONARDS WHARF,

Mr Wilkie reported that plans bad been completed for a wharf at St. Leonards. •

ELECTION EXPENSES

.It was decided- to support a suggestion from the Lyttelton Harbour Board that the question of- the expenses of the election of members of boards should be referred to the executive of the Harbours Association for a report ..to next conference.

DIAPHONE FOG SIGNAL.

Mr Sharpe said he was very pleased to learn that the -Marine Department was installing a diaphone fog. signal at Taiaroa Heads. The old fog signal had hot proved very successful. The speaker also referred to-. the need for a wireless installation being placed on the Dunedin. ’ - The chairman said-that Captain MasLean was bringing up a report regarding a wireless installation for the.- Dunedin, ■ DOCKING OF MOEOIA.

A fetter was received from the,Union’ ■Steam, Ship .Company, - Ltd.,' stating that the dismantling’ of the Mokoiahad almostbeen • completed. and- that it would soon be ready.lfor handing over to the board,, It,. Was, intended to. dock the - vessel- to remove the propellers and as it would be necessary : to pump' only, half of the water' out of the' dock a reduction of the' usual fee was requested. ,Tho matter was left in the hands of the chairman with power to act.

SEWERAGE INTO THE' HARBOUR. Correspondence was read between-the board and the Drainage Board in regard to sewerage running into the harbour. The existing arrangement between the boards ends; this month. The reply from the Drainage Board stated that it was gradually.^extending its system and was diminishing ' the - discharge into the harbour. -Until the separate system was completed in the city the-city engineer stated- that It .Would pot be possible to prevent, a discharge.-"'• ’ Members v complained of the, ,smell caused by' the discharge _of sewage into the harbour. , '"

The engineer (Mr Wilkie) -stated that as a result ,of tho precautions taken by the .pity engineer the nuisance had been very much diminished.-

It. was decided tq leave matters as they are, for "the present. WIRELESS FOR TUG,

The harbour master ■ (Captain MacLean) reported on taking the tug Dunedin to. the .wreck of the Manuka, and advised the .'installation' of wireless on the'vessel. >

Mr. Sharpe said.-that unless a wireless was installed on the Dunedin ehe could hot be called a salvage tug. The speaker also referred to the fact tfiat the Ota'koii been, allowed to leave England by th: Boarft of. Trade’without a wireless installation. . Mr. Sharpe-said he thought the ■ providing of an operator could be overcome. - r .. . . ''• ; It was decided; to TUstfuct the harbour •in aster and "the 'engineer, to -dtaw up a report; on the: matter. : .’ • ’ . The, chairman said that ..the Telegraph Department was prepared to :snpply an operator whenever -they ■ wanted one;— (“Hear, hear.”) TENDERS. \ The .tender of ; the ' Vacuum ’ Oil. Compariy for the ’supply of fuel oil '(internal use) was accepted at lid-per gallon, and that of the Shell, Company at'lo2s per ton ■ for’ fuel\ for. firing under' boilers. : ’ .The tender .of the. Westport Coal Company: for 2000 tons of coal'was accepted at-39s Od per ton. members op staff and Outside Messrs-Swanson and Charmon, members of the board’s staff,-wrote applying for permission.. ]to undertake outside work in their .own time. : Permission .was granted. -' DEEPENING THE BOAi-T. HARBOUR. The engite'er reported that while a reasonable offer bad been received from Messrs.-Stewart Hydro-Pneumatic Excavator . Company, with respect to the deepening of the boat harbour, he thought that a lesser amount of dredging, chiefly confined to the portion just inside the entrance,, would suffice. The work would Be started-by the -hoard, using - a 'grab excavator,,‘as -booh as rthe steel pontoon ■was;constructed.. .’ ”

... Mr Sharpe Stated that he thought 'that the Otago Yaehf snd Motor-Boat Association might be prepared to pay part of the cost. The engineer’s report was adopted, the engineer to consult with the association with'regard to cost.

, - WHARF DUES. >■ - ‘lt was decided that the -secretary Tie asked to -furnisha statement-showing the amount of flat'rate (to-cover Dunedin and Port Chalmers) required to yield an income equal to that, received prior to the purchase of, the Port Chalmers wharves. The outgoings contingent on such purchase, to be assumed .to he 14000. Mr Sharpe'said that the Wellington Harbour Board had reduced, its dues, and that-he-hoped they, would '.be able to also m&ke.a small reduction.

MR DICKSON -WANTS. TO KNOW. ' It has to .be ~ explained that all the business’ dond- ky- the boards was itf eoin'foot?'» meeting bf'tbe: Standing Committee only. The-pressman, therefore, .in order tv be' able to give’ the public some idea’of took place-had to exercise their; discretion as to what they would report, and take the risk of divulging something they should not At 10 minutes , past 11 the Standing y°rnmittee concluded its deliberations, and it was then moved and carried that-tlie business done in committee be confirmed. . It was then agreed to adjourn the meeting to a date to be fixed. Mr Dickson said that iu regard to the matter of adjourning the meeting, he took it that it would be held as early as possible. He also wanted an assurance that the business would be taken in open board, otherwise he intended to say somethmg’.tbatnight about the.Fertiliser Company's works at Eavensboiirne. He held that the public had a right to know the ,attitud e taken up by board members. ■ ihe- chairman -replied- that the next meeting of the board would be an open meeting, but he could not say if members .would agree to discuss the Fertilser Company s business in open board Mr Dickson: If it is not going to be an open meeting, I am going to discuss the business matter now.

Mr Darnack: You'll get it in open board ail right.- - . •••••. ’ Mr Dickson: .Well, if I have. Mr. Larnaeks assurance it will he all right. The public will -then know bur attitude in regard to the encouragement of the works at Ravensbourne.

HARBOUR MASTER’S REPORT,

The harbour master (Captain J. Ma* Lean) reported as follows under date December 12;—

Channel Soundings.—-Jsorth channel on lii36 of Ic&ds 38ft at /ow width vanes from 700 ft to 400 ft approx Harrington Point bend—33ft. width’3softcross channel—4oft, least 500 ft approx : Hamilton Bav—3oft, 600 ft approx : Deborah Bay—3oft, SOOft approx Upper Harbour.—From Halfway Island to Kilgour Point the least water is 22ft and the width varies. From Kilgour Point to Dunedin through Victoria channel the' leist depth at low water is

SHIPPING RETURNS

, Armais.—Duned m: Coastal. 25 vessels. 16,040 tons; intercolonial, 5 vessels, 11 724 tons; overseas, 6 vessels, 19,752 tonstotals. 35 vessels, 48.016 tons. Port Ch’al-

JherV: Coastal, r 2 vesiels, '654 tons”; -intercolonial, 1 vessel, 3548 tons; overseas 4 vessels, 21,259 tons;—totals, 7. vessels, 2a.461 tons.

Departures.—Dunedin: Coastal, 25,vea--15,308 tons; intercolonial, 5 vessels, 11,724 tons; overseas, 8 vessels, 31,368 tons;—totals, 38 vessels, 58,400 tons. Port Chalmers: Coastal, 1 vessel, 1832 tons; intercolonial, ,2 vessels, 4787 ‘tons; overseas. 1 vessel, 7623 tons;—totals, 4 vessels, 13,792 tons. «7,? ug n n D i llledi . , i-—'Total steaming time, 74hr SOmin; distance, 3G5 iriilcs; coal consumed. 40 tons. lOcwt. ENGINEER'S REPORT.

Mr J. M'G. Wilkie reported as follows under date December Dredge .222.—During the month of November. dredge 222 carried out the collowmg. operations:—Bank off- Victoria whart,.4i loads. 39,151 cubic yards. AH this material was deposited at the dredee Vulcan. During the month the dredge steamed 40 miles and consumed 119 tons ot coal.

_Pr®dge ptakou.—The dredge Otakou, after being docked for Government survey, refitting, and , paint, mg, was taken over from the builders, Messrs ITeming and Ferguson, on December 6. .After landing .spares and stores ,at Dunedin, the, dredge proceeded to Port Chalmers, where, on completion or compass adjustment, dredging operations were commenced'off the Port Chalmers wharves.

material received from dredge \>22 into the Logan Point reclamation area During the month of November-, three vessels were docked at the Otago dock .Mole Reconstruction.—For the period’of Deceml >er 14,. 4855 cubic Mole and nsn u- Were d€ P°sited on the £? rdßof debris on the root of the Mole. No 9 tunnel was fired successfully qn Monday, December 9 Preparations are being made to start another tunnel in the old quarry. The threebee° d ' sm aotlcd-. and sent to Dunedin on punts. Victoria Wharf Extensioh.-r-Eight sets and *O4 i^ tted and bojted in position, be x P re P ar ed for erection. stre s Pier —| > ort Chalmers.—A commencement was made to construct the wW? T 6 £ nder a .t the end of this bS Ssgr 5 p, " s P t^ ed -' Pa ttra> Street.—The floor 9snf* of f b,S B n ed ba ? been completed, and JSOtt. ot wall reinforcement, comprising columns and-panels, has been erected ready for concreting. B t reet .Wharf.—A considerable amount of repair work was effected to tne deck of this structure, and two ap-proach-ramps were regraded. Priestman Pontoon.— The main frames and floor plates are now in position, and almost completely riveted. The side and A in position; and-one side completely riveted. .; - - Leith Estuary.—The reclamation of this area- is proceeding'rapidly and a large amount of clay, walling is necessary to retain the dredgings and protect the mam railway line. . . The Taiaroa was slipped for cleaning, £ee?fitted aDd e - Dgl ” e ove rhaul, and a neVv Two red piles, one of! the export wharf and to® other above - Observation Point. Port Chalmers which were knocked down have been, replaced. . . , ■■ The report wan adopted.