OTAGO HARBOUR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2861, 13 January 1909, Page 15

OTAGO HARBOUR.

THE mSTORY OF THE PORT. PART II (Continued).— THE HARBOUR BOARD. Mr Simpson recommended that a commencement be made oil the enormous ■works ©numerated in the closing paragraph of the first eeotiooi of this article, "by dredging the main channel to a minimum depth of 12ft at low water, thus allowing access to vessels not dTawing more than 17ft, and th&t ihe erection of the half ikte training wall be carried out simultaneously with dredging; that wharfage accommodation be made on an extensive scale, and that various reclamation works be proceeded with. He suggested that thie ■work wouid take two years, and would cost £135,927, and foe- thought that on its completion the board migJit proceed with the deepening of the maJiai channel to the ukixnate depth of 21ft, and carry out the othe<r works from year to year in the manner most likely to facilitate and best meet the requirements of trade. It -was on these safe lines that tho board decided to work, amd it -was thus it proceeded for some yearjs. A note of jubiiataon runs through the board's second annual report, dated June 30, 1876. It had bean recognised aaxl encouraged by the New Zealand Govcrnm«-nt, and it bad successfully floated a loan on the London mairket which had reaitod £127,313. Its revenue hud increased from £1025 at the end of the first quarter of its existence to £3359 at the end of the fourth quarter, and altpg-aLher the board seemed exceedingly pleased with itself. Out of revenue alone there had been a balance of £5400 avail-able for harbour improvements. The l erection of extensive shed accommodation had b&en commenced wben the addition to the ilaitray street wiharf had been complc'ted; a telegraph station and school had beefn established at the Head-5 ; varicose improvements had been made in marking the channels ; the board had taken over the powder magazine ; it was experimenting with a view to deepening the outer bar ;* proposals for further extending the wharves were being considered ; reclamation was proceeding rapidly in the direction of Peliehet Bay, and tho old jetty the-re was being encrcached on ; and a eide dredgve was doing effective work beside the wharves. Among ihe contracts in hand at that time was one by which John Maeon and Co. wore removing' the old training wall built by tib© Provincial Governmetn.t, and another by which, for the sum of £7657, R. S. Sparrow and Co. were encasing the machinery of the New Era in a new iron hull. The depths on the outer and inner bars at low water at this time were respectively 18ft and 21ft. A return presented to the board in 1877 showed that ite total endowaiants were 577 acres 2 roods 39 poles, this area stretching along the foreshore from Anderson's Bay cliffs to Peliohet Bay. Portion of that was only partly reclaimed. Another return presented at that time gave partioulaj-s of an office proposed to b$ erected for the board, two storeys high and of brick, at a total cost of £1700 — but apparently tbas came Jo nothing. Another return showed the total nounber of torn in the service of the board cc 6i, their total yearly salaries and wages being, roughly, £10,950 pcx annum. In that year (1877) a oommenoeniienit wafi mad© with the dredg-ing of the northerri channel. In February of that year the Works Committee submitted a valuable ropofr to the boaaxi. which ehowed : Works done, works in progress, works contracted for, and %vor£s required. Und«r the first head it was stated that the reclamation to date had already placed acres of land suitable as buildiing sites at the board's disposal, the ea«a so reclaimed being situated between Rattray street ajwi Jetty street wharves and Orawf<>rd street and cross wharves. Under works contracted for the. committee mentioned two important contracts, both of which had been let to Mr David Proudfoo-i— pa gentleman w(ho has leffc his mark indelibly on the later history of th-s province and ihe Dominion, and does not require introduction hsre. The- first of these was the erection of 360 ft of wharf from the line of Castle street, running in tho direction of Jetty street. The feiacoixl ; contract was for the drsdging of the main j or north cha.imei. I The board, bsfore accepting the latter > contraot, had gone very fuily into the I ■whole question. Mr Simpson's schema ■ (already outlined) had been generally approv^ed of, and r.his plan, ia its main features, had obtaikied the sanction of the Government. The engineer a!?o prcpaiod a comprehensive scheme for disposing of the spoil from the dr-adge into the rcclain - tion area. Briefly, t-hls consisted of four steam barges, each having on deck two lines of rails, on which were Io be placed 10 trucks. Those, when filled, were to 1 c carried to a platform on shor.a, and were so be hauled up an incline by a stationaiy ' engine,- and conveyed to the place of d*->- ; posit by a locomotive. This plan was to c. j great extent novel and experimental, and as it also involved an outlay of some £23 OCO , tiha board viewed it with a good deal of mistrust. It invited Mr Gordon, C.E., acEoes from Victoria, but o« ing to a lamentable misundemandiaig his report contained little useful information on tl'is important point, and the board la/1 there- \ for© to act according io its own jiiid.-me.it i On November 29, 1876, it rtalkd for ten \ de-re for tho work of dredging the niain channel, giving contractors tlie option cf ' tendering under four different ni2thods, and three weeks late-r it accepted Mr Proa'lfcot's tender of £89.250, the nv-diod adoptca being practically Mt Simpson's schew? in its entirety, so far as it went. The boa*, d "vvae at this time on the eve of giving up office, its tarm of appointment having c\pired, aiid it reserved tbs subject of iho erection of the half-tide retailing \\<i)\s for tho consideration of the new board. Mi" Proudfoot being treated with for the na l.---ing of the chaiwol only. The work \>c? to he finished on November 50, 1378, and during the time it was- in progrc.=- the contractor was to have the use of the v. i,o'p of ihe board's plajit, and bear the d-aijj cost of same. ; A good dsal of criticism was levelled : t the board baoamo of its ?crion in Icttjiu ihe v.oi': io a contracicr, it Loire • =J ~~* Ct ' tbot iii€iif*'c'-c ■>" i'mo in- L.\er, for tie reco'pl of i-cr-cLr- r i<( an iip<J i- e hai=ts nuii Ifestcd in makina t ,^ coi:*>-ao{; it hyp sa ; 'i that it tica the j :n:-!c- of t'^3 board, that it gave to liio consia^toj the who!*- of iii° board's pLjit tor 2i inoiit'i'S. and that it might iin - ohe a profit to the eonu'actor ■ that the licard m : ghi fairly liave ta.ej. !

On the other hand, it was urged, it limited the board's responsibility as to the cost of the channel, no matter What the nature of the stuff to be dredged might prove to be; it defined a specific work! to be done within a fixed time at a known cost; a;nd to a certain extent it secured that the main work for which the board was first created should not be unnecessarily interfered with by outside works which . were, comparatively, of sniaJl importance. When the deeds wsre drawn up and signed and the work actually conuaanced by Messrs Proudfoot amd Mackay — ilr Mackay was an unsuccessful tenderer for the work who afterwards joined forces with Mr Proudfoot in carrying it out, — this criticism did not cea63, and it ended only with the cancellation some months later. The channel, whan completed, was to be five miles and a-haif long, ISft cLaen 1 at low water, and 70ft wide at tbe bottom, ! with a slope to the banks of about thie-3 !to one. The canal, which -eras at this tnii3 ! being cut between Amsterdam and the Ger- ' man Ocean, direct through the isthmus, ; was 88jft wide at tba bottom and 25ft in I depth at high water (equal to ISft when ! the tide was low). j At a little later date the new board duly ! entered into a contract with Mr Proudfoot, j for 'the construction of the necessary retain- , ing walls along the line cf the dredging, and, about the sazra© time, the new dredge ! Vulcan, satisfactorily completed by 2\le£er.3 , Kinoaid, il'Queen, and Co., w«>s hau'de-cl ' over to the contractors, and the Xew Era oa the 2nd July, 1877. The engiocor (Mr ; Sinapson) had never favoured the board's , pioposal OrP-d final defter mi nation to do tke work on the channel by ccn'lract. and as it was his adverse reports on the progress of the work that eventually decided the | beard to cancel the contract, this paxa.- --' graph, written by him on the 2nd Apul, j 1878, is interesting : ''• The work of dredging did not progress well in the early ! stages of operations, but Ijattsrly both ! dredges have been more or le^s fully cm- [ ployed, and there is an indication of tho j work being pursued in future with duo . diligence." j It was along to ware's the end of that ' year (1878) that the board beg-an to show signs of uneasiness in connection with the ,pi execution of the channel works. When--1 ever the matter came before the board at | its meetings discussion was taken in camera, j but it seems that, from month to n:o>ivth, , tha engineer's reports made reference to ! the unsatisfactory progress of the ha.rbour , deepening contract. The work was to be finished soon, according to agreement, but l the engineer saw little prospect of so happy a consummation, and presently the board's Works Committee Lagan seriously to con- : sider the advisability of the cancellation ' of the contract. There was little doubt that the contractor was not maintaining th-e fame progress to- . wards tbe completion of his work as he had ; hoped for,— but he had a gocd reason to 1 put forward for thai. The two da-edges, he had found, could not do anything liko the work the board expected they could do, and it was on the board's expectation that he had based hie estimate for his tender. The machines were a great part of L their time laid up undergoing repairs and alterations, and he saw, as plainly as did i the board, that Hie work could not be , finished by the 30th November. It seemed ; indeed, that when the work was decided on , and the contract let, everyone concerned had been optimistic, for from the progress j reports made by the engineer it became apparent to the board that tho confciactor would take, under the meet favourable circumstances, at least five years to complete the work— a delaj which it was though* would prove detrimental to the commercial interests of ta© community, and one which would not be tolerated by the pubLle Ihe board believed that 'by' Sfong ever the work it-elf it would not only complete it ■ much more quickly, with the better facilities ■ commanded and wou]d bu ~ | would also complete it much irioae cheaply ihat, at least, was the opinion held by"a ' J majority of the board, but there was a ' vigorous minority, who viewed the future of the port with extreme pessimism. The bca,d lield a number of special meetings to consider the position, and some warm are- •- meijt* ensued. The following tsken from a . report oi one such discussion, appearing m V i ,£° Dail V Times,, is ci edited io _\1» I «ohn Mill, a gentleman who is a Mir,-. L°hevcr in tho future of the pen-— -'[7 | v. as well known that the present channel ' « would not be dredged «j ?> to gc a b ;n>; ' drawing 1311 of wate,- a« lo:ig a, asj, one i ■of thorn was living. If they would on!v improve the natural chamvl in-=U\i.l of poi >g r^am=t Xituic e<muth;,i_c l.iiuht b-;.ocomplihhc-l. .Som-o of them would jc-i ' admit that the prcseM v.oik va-, n.Ji-io^iic-able."' i tin September 26, 1878, the Harbour Boa;.! I held a special meeting to coL-id-Jr Ih ■ l ! whole matter, and the question of taking <ver the conrraci from Mr Piou'-Tool -.va-s \erv freely discu-y'-ed. pro and con. The board's Works Committee lejvorud at ,-owo , ' length, stating (.hat after maturo co!,-:Uei-a- ' j tion of the whole ber.ii'igs and t^uvourul- . ings of, tlie quesiions imoi\ed it Ltul il'- , luclanlly but unanimoi';ly come to the ton- , ' elusion, in view of thp ioaid'fe w.'-li io _-cc the speedy completion of a doop-waCDi ciiaii- ' re! to Dunedin, I'ij.t it was o \-' <■ > !ingi\ \ ri<?-:wable that the ccn<'aci ivmk-, ho.dd I a • ! 'lei-miucd an<l idi-i^d out uikL-i riji < board's manayenii.'JJi. The cqi: ii"tit>e lv ]. j however. 1-->.mi puzy'id to kimi iiow to alre.---i ihe e\';tii'L; o. i^r of tiling without imo!\- ' ■ ing it "If ii an expciur.o lav, 6UU w';h i!>< , coiuractoi, b.n a a e\pii?-~->ion ol ~ by the latt")' to abandon t!i<~- loiii-aci i r r a.i, and re c o:i 'b'e U-rms ccul 1 i? j>r t - i\cd rt opened the door f." iiCt-o,;, '.^a-. T» ih '•so. t'.e coi.wntlse. sorj"ivba* a.^<:i.-t ihe ronudctai'.- A.i'si.es, in-:«.-[^xl on the i'h'mloiii..o> t al«o of n.- rock-- oiling (O'^r^r . b'i' -■i niiilcflh 1 ' z fanpr.Tnc^'t vr« "ici'7,ir ;u- ' ji>B-i at. "\ i:> rii;a"2-ei):cnt p i o\<c' accsp.r!'!e to ii.° h'.jii «'. The loUil arpount of M»* Piouc'foot".---(.L^d^T-g conti-jci was 582,?50. Ihe ix>aitl pgr.cd to pay him £13 737 10- for the v. or'c ho had ah-ejidy lie it, .aid £.12 227 foi h--p'.cint. It icclo-i^d i. 'cvIJ fi"i-'i "ho ar trr.ct for £43.150. ;■ " • '■ iia c.-Uui ' t;i'in? into aero '.i ." ,^Q ' r o ' of i '"■ opi - la. c-'-). a iid £ V/ 613 L&- 'ah •" ' ■ ' c-.i fciiip'e'ion of wo. M. l J « ~ "s ' «.',■' ! "!>\ ire ''en tr-.c c At 49 P ~j ' ' n-'.---vi!li>itr cc^*:jc> vj. to I•> il-." - '■> '"■ ' 50 '.•he D.-a.-' „"i ■ I 'o i ''<">•. ''i 1 '! L*~ * j f<' 1 loik Jo-"-. J33-'6 "ji- s ;i i _.;».f' .i 1 Oliij- O! .'.5000 <.i It IC'- 1 <»! '*.( .3J IG-. It Obtl'l u> i ''"it t'.'c \O< CL Wt)"ili ! ■ COjII--1 plou^d (• ■ l ..'\."> Cs r.\, i,i A ;.-. ! (,;•' ltr^h\a'ne oi i. c. .' I i>v i i.i U'-fA V^ CJ it . c.\ f :ecicJ <o cfi\.tf a s-awi.R- of £29U 10= 10J. ! On iJiis Ui£i£, then, ihe (.auc- j ilit,.oa of ths

' contract was agreed to, and in due course the board took over the work and the entire plant, and, under the supervision of its own engineer, continued the deepening of the channel. In fddition, it prceeeJ^d csury out xhe following works: Kaif-tklo wall along channel (material taken from Maitiand strecc woi-ks, which were carried on by free and prison labo.u. and Logan's Point quariy, t-aken over liom .Mr Proudfooc) ; icclamation (being steatiiiv cairied on between the wharves and Pehchet Bay) ; alterations and additions to pilots' houses at Head-3 ; removal of newlj -discovered boulder in South Channel ; experimental blasting with dynamite at the ba:-; landing-stage at Port Chalmei-s ; survsy of Lower Harbour ; ordinary repairs, etc. Daring 1879 a new jetty was er-eel-sd at Port Chaimere, and the board's side dredge, procured some jeais before, was equipped vith a new hull. Th;s machine was \isea beside the Dunedin whar\ es and inside tho basin, and slowly but surely did a great deal of useful work. 'i'he rock- v. ailing proceeded apaoe, and in February of 1830 the engineer was able to report as follows: — "The half-tide wall has been constructed from the main sand bank below to the upper bank slightly a>bove» Ravensbourne. The cross currents having by its means been destroyed, good effects have resulted from the concentration of the scour. I should recommend tb-e continuation of the wall upwards, in older that any tendency of the tide to '~eour round it masbe a\c:ded." The shipping of the port had c lowly increased during all theso years, and in 12/9 it was often found that insufficient accommodation at the Dunedin wharves caused- some inconvenience. During the jear 84 foreign vessels, 77 intercolonial, 951 coasting, and six wnaievs entered the port, their total tonnage bcin? 266,591 tons Up to the end of IStO the eysrem of disposing of spoil from the two dredges engaged in channel-deepening had been simple in the extreme, las material was simply discharged into punts, and thence direct on to tho foreshore where required. In the vicinity of the wharves another sj-stem was tried— i. o-, that of the crane and box method of lifting the spoil into shoots and running it thus on to the reclamation area,-— but it was found that a waste of power took plac.3 here in lifting the boxes to the necessary height. The engineer had recommended a steam barga system, with trucks and a floating railway, , but this was objected to on the score cf expense. He then advocated the purchase of a number of re-volvu'ng derrick cranes, which would Jift the boxes from the towed barges, swing- tifo&m 185 ft inshore, and empty them; aaid the board fell in with his suggestion. Four of the . cronea were ordered and 10 new barges, at a cost of between £8000 and £9000, and by means of them the work of reclamation went on much more quickly. The first areas treated under the new system were Ravensbourr.© Bay and tha-t portion of the board's emdowment between Lower Rat tray street wharf ' ajid the old dock. The spoil from the i New Era, which wae dredging the channel abreast of the wharves and across the mouth of the basin, and which afterwards attacked the mam channel and worked downwards to meet the Vulcan, waa punted to the reclamation area along the foreshore couth of the wharves. ! The old side dredge, having completed 1 much useful work beside the whpives, was for a time laid aside, and the vessels' 1 bertha.ge accommodation was increased by means of a new Prie-stman crane dredge. Another light steamer wan obtained for towage purposes, and assisted the old Peninsula and the Iron Age and Balclutlia (taken over from Mr Prbudfcot). The half-tide wall was continued up and down practically to where 'its terminal points are to-day. The year 1880 praotioally marks the beginning of a second chapter in the history of the Harbour Board, for it marked the oomm>ancement of many important changes in connection therewith. A new hopper dredge wa3 ordered from Britain at an climated cost of £40.000; ihe long, bitter fight with the Railway Department in respect ol the beards endowments cora- ; nicnoed : the board applied to the Government for additional borrowing pow«r*, and became *eriouslv dietetrbrd when consiJerin.g Us financial position; t.lje new channel was almost completed, giving access lo ships of deeper draught; and Sir John Coock\ t.lv» famous English engineer, rencrtv'd at length on th« qus«tiou of cxlen^.ed w OFks jn the Upper and Lower Harbours.