THE HARBOR WORKS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 12410, 21 March 1911, Page 7

THE HARBOR WORKS.

(Per favor Kditor of Heraid.) An open letter to the , Qhairman and members of the Harb'br Board. -, GentJemen,-rRe . exte^ipg :of , v the breakwater. Kvery one .l»ivir% ' an. interest iti this .district, whether 'from a property,, business, or a, hope oj residence, v has by. this time become deeply interested, m harbor matters. We have seen that each effort put forth' to ,tdpe with the difficulties of entering this harbor river has been attended with mor'6 or less failure and disappointment. 1 First the 'breakwjtterv then the groyne, and by turns the breakwater ' and , groyne p.-jain ; ( ". and this seemingly ig 1 (hy.pl&n for future flctions. m spite'df %lte f«n»re we haye experienced from the "past programme. I venture to say that if thei board ran the structure half across the bay it would only be a question of time betore the sand would find a convenient shelter m the leeward of. solid wQr,k. / Nafcr'e is beirtg interfered with m her plan of settlement, and millions of tons of sand and acres oi land are being accumulated, where onpe the v "f^c.es > -of the ocean ttsed to keep *it t>a'ck''iii it* 'place. What, then, is the remedy?' I say' "cease your ! solid ■ wbrk^ 1 aha the difficulties— as fa* ks possible with , a river harbor— will be at aii, end. We have such an insidious 'foe m this sand drift that it becomes necessary to attack! him in ' open order. Every yard of solid work that is extended ipt r ,oiily accumulates fand m its immediate vicinity, but raises the level of tlie ' entrance and surToundin'gs. far tieyond the structure. Every fishepnan jknows that they tised to throw their lines put and catch fish where Ihe gateway is on the groyne - f then ft was extended to where the . concrete wdrk begins^ but you cannot fish anywhere alqnsr.here now, arid because thefc js no solid the south, of the present end $ $ie groyne the, sand is swept bctck.to a natural depth according to the bea,t of,, the i waves.; But'jlet another solid sectiqn cover this action, and m five years or less there will be a. clamor going on to, extend the gtoype , agairi, as the .sand will be around It, and taking .shelter under the extended work of the breakwater. ' The practlpali renqed.y, ; thjen f * is to extend from the en'4*.^f, th«C,i)rsakwater about 300 ft of open' ferrorconcrete piling, jsay four •or five rows, 1 eaoh tow of piling intersecting the.- other (the same to bo well, capped and braced), aria by the time the waves had dashed through the fifth row their range W^ul^ pc well smashed tip, but with fiiifficierit foyce left' to scatter -the possibility of sandbar accumulations, and the cost would only be about half or less that of solid work.— l any etc., -■ ■ ■/*. J. EAST.