The Port of Bluff.

Southland Times, Issue 19264, 30 January 1904, Page 4

The Port of Bluff.

THE PAST YEAR REVIEWED. , SATISFACTORY WORK. At yesterday's mooting of the Blufl Harbour Board, tho Chairman, Mr A. Bain, read his annual statement, of which the following is the essence A— A NATURAL REDUCTION. J Owing (1) to tho cessation of tbe South J African grain trade ; (2) to tho recovery of Australia from drought ; (3) to the unfavourable harvest ; of last year ; and v_-).tb the- reduced rates for pilotage that came , into force on Ist January, 1903, tho revenue for 1908 showed a decrease jn 'drdihni-y receipts of, £4--oi. This fall-ing-ofl-.was, of. course, * anticipated, and It was7;a«'cotmted - yfprVby ar.'shrinkago in wharfago dues of £2131 and Ih pilotage dtfes"£l93?- /-it indicated no decline in ;trade. .The 7 ehrlnkage of pilotage receipts waft^holiy-a concession made to shipping in- lowering the rates and indirectly to the* producer in cheapening freights. Tho ' decline in wharfage dues reprosonted only a. delay in the receipt of the amount, the fanners laving been deterred by low prices from selling their grain. EXPENDITURE. The total expenditure for 1903 was £19,057 as against £19,905 in 1902* £8603 Bad. been expended on works, an amount equal to the sum. for 1902. liepairs and working expenses in connec- " tion _,witfclb«-'ti^ showed ■'.'_ decrease ♦ of £210, and on, allrlbhe7ite_as of TOftintonance there were, decreases except that cd waterworks, •:^Wch*-7__."7196a -;wiiß' dbnor--molly 10w. 7,- There was some slight inf creases to which allusion was made. Loj gat expenses cost the 1 -Board 5s and in-i j tcrest on overdraft £6 4s, and tho Chair- j man remarked, that tbe Board could | hardly be accused of being either excessively litigious or extravagant. Regarding WORKS tho Chairman said :— -.Upon works the Board has spent £8603 during tho year, nil out of revenue. Of this amount £802 has .been spent in completion of widening main eastern -wharf, £958 in completing new railway approach, £72 on new shed on wharf. ££8 on house for Government tide gauge, £99 in boring operations; ., £159 on . nowly-impprted7Trott«r-Lindberg light, and £6299 "pix - repairs to wharves biy day labour* aiid ', .'ir. purchasing ma-? terial. Finding the. employ— .ent of day ' labour for wharf .repairs to bo more ecouQiriical and . expeditious, the Board bought a contractor's plant, and begari by enlarging ' iim^whfxl at butt of pas^ senger .approach ..by,--- day . labour, and is renewing -gradually all old portions oj - -wharves, some of --which- -were very old and In urgent, need of repair. Tho work is going- on rapidly, and when completed tho_ wharves will have been widened, re-^ newed and strengthened, and as all pile work has for many years been sheathed with yellow metal, a recurrence of any necessity for renewal need not be expected for very many- years. It is intended on completion of present section of wharfrepairs to renew the old railway, approach, and then probably a decision will be come to as to a renewal or extension from the knuckle westwards. It may be remarked that with £8603 in 1903, — £10,000. in 1902, and £7900 in 1901, the Board has spent £26,500 out of revenue on wharves during tbo last three years.; SUMMARY. * To sum up the balance-sheet finally the Board has received during the year £18,---112, ss. sd, expended £19,057* 4s 6d, aud finds itself with a balance of £3255 17s lld remaining out of £4200 17s- brought forward from 1902. The Sinking Fund has increased from £22,772 7s lld in 1902 to £24,246 18s lld at 31st December, 1903. As a large portion of the money was invested in Government securities at 3_ per cent., the Board entertained the request of the East Invorcargill Borough Council to take up their loans of £5500 at 4 per cent. A further request to lend tho Borough of Gladstone £1000 at the .same rate has also been favourably recommended tothe Public Trustee. In all, the Sinking Fund has at present £15,200 . invested in Invercargill suburban debentures, ' eo that ihe Board is not only assisting the prosperity , of the district by providing cheap port dues on the one hand, but is also, on the other, providing cheap money for the neighbouring municipalities. The statement of assets and liabilities shows assets £114,695 ; liabilities, £50,---111, being a balance of £64,584 to the good. The shipping returns show that 243 vessels entered the port during the year 1903, of a nett tonnage of 421,162 tons. being a decrease compared with 1902 of 18 vessels, but an increase in nett tonnage of 12,406 tons. Many of the largest liners coming to New Zealand havo visited the port, and in every case have been handled, loaded, and despatched without the slightest mishap. The wharfage returns .bear out the statement "that the decline in revenue is largely owing to the . aspect of , tho grain markets, that staple only totalling 35,---117.ipns in 1903 as against 55,892 tons in 1902. and 79,018 tons in 1901. Wool showed an increase of 615 bales, cheese 217 ions, coal 955 tons, and general merchandise, including flax and tow, 3483 tons. The export of flax and tow was .Bl3l tons in 1903. In previous years, the .figures of this commodity were not separated from other merchandise, but a reliable estimate ; piaces the export at 6700 . bales for 1902, and the difference iti the - two years indicates tho rapidity with which this industry is establishing itself in the district. At five bales to tho ton, tho export for -1903 represents about 15,500 bales; Horses increased 179 and carriages 22.,; The principal decreases, be-.. sides tbat in grain, are in. minerals, including. guano, 9443 tons, guano having /been^confessedly; iti: over-supply in 190!? ; frozen. prod'Ko.; 3l3. tons, due, no doubt, - to 7the cohtiauea railing of sheep to .CjMjferbury ; and timber, liTjOOO super feet. Sheep also show a decrease bf 14,418, the export: to Sydney, consequent on ihe drought, having entirely ceased. Altogether, except in grain, the volume of trade has been fairly maintained, and, aa I have stated; I believe the shortage will be recovered when the markets justify the movement of the grain in the country. The .-present harvest promises to be nn" exceptionally abundant one and that the grain- will be harvested in good condition, and 71 trust that the present yvar^willseo- tho deficit mado up and a handsome increase. in the. trade returns. , NOTABLE "EVENTS OF THE YEAR. •:;'■ In -i903 ■ enterprises which lhave years in. the talking stage have ■ ■;-.^terp_l'jnW- ! -^*-''-;^P n ?f?.l"0' a ction - . 0i ; these,: dredging land reclarnation • aro two. : Regarding reclamation, the Board pre- . ; jjared-7pjahs.Voh the; .-lines: agreed-- upon on what was ,upderstood to be a between th_~ " Chairman and the Engineer, of the Board in conference .with the En--glneerrin-Chief to the G ; overhment. ; y .The' plars were iprwarded to theXMarihe De^! partment -for approval, but* after " long delay tho Board was informed that {the Ehglneer-in-Chiof would not sanction the line to which it was understood he had .. agreed, on the ground that the proposed reclamation might interfere with the tidal .currents in the harbour. By tho Board's direction, the Engineer and myself jour- ' neyed. to Wellington to endeavour to secure effect, being given to the Board's Wishes, and in this respect were fortified : with ; Mr Napier Bell's opinion that pro--posed reclamation would not interfere in. qiiy^way^]Ruth_._the scour in the har- :-. boury: .The Marine Engineer, however, i . cpuid not ,be niovedi stating that several harbour- i_d7been. injured by injudicious ' reclamation- As it wa"s essential that tho ' Board should have the matter settled ono J way or. the other, we had to accept the I ' line offered, which - was practically identical 7 with the line of railway reserve, and '■■a promise that "tho Railway Department f would pay the cost of reclamation of t land wßhin the railway reserve. . The settlement of the line of recliwna- j tion enabled the matter of a. dredge"" 7 -.to r

Lie definitely undertaken, and, out of a r largo number of dredges o tiered to the ' Board, it was unanimously agreed to contract for one to ba built and delivered bj tho lirm of W. Simons and Co., Ltd., of 1 ttenfrew, N.8., whoso wide-world reputa- | tion and experience is a guarantee loi I workmanship and efliclenjcy. Tho dredgo ta I to bo a self-propelling combined suction i and bucket dredge, with suction, to hop- ' pers, and Capable of dredging to 40 feet. Tho prico is £28,000 deliverod at Blufl, and tho Board stipulates that the AgentGeneral shall be assured by an export < that tbo price is a fair and reasonablo one.' Delivery is to bo given ir. eleven ' months from signing of contract. In tho meantimo endeavours aro being i made to obtain tho services of the Com* ary dredge to deepen tho inside berthage and do such work, as is immediately required pending the arrival of the new dredgo from Home. The necessity foi deepening and extending tho bortnage and ! enlarging the swinging room ' bos been j brought before the Board by tho harbourmaster and emphasised by tho size of tho vessels visiting, and desiring to visit, the port and the ordering of the dredge raarku tho Board's disposition to improve thoso facilities and make the harbour capablo to -receive tho very largest vessels coming j to tho colony. Another important matter which has been brought to a hoad if* that of dealing with what is known as " tho mid-chau-nel rock" and tho western reof. This rock is certainly not in mid-channel, being 160 feet from the lino of mid-cbannsi, and has 18 feet 6 inches of water on It at low water. Still, tho presence of the rock eooms to bo a bugbear to masters of largo vessels trading to tho port, and tho Board has determined to removo it. Through the agency of Sir Joseph Ward the Minister of Defence (tho lit. Hon. R. Seddon) granted the necessary guncotton to the Board for tho purpose oi harbour improvements. It is hoped that within the next two months the rocks will have been removed and the channel freed from every obstacle and placed above suspicion In this respect. During the year complete boring operations wero conducted in tho basin lying between tho wharf and tho freezing works. Depths varying from 12 feet to 39 feet were "met with, enabling the engineer to arrive at tho conclusion that a uniform depth of 23 feet G inches could bo obtained within tho baßln. It is proposed to put a concrete quay wall alongside tho freezing works and dredgo out tho basin and approaches and, if this can bo successfully, done, a considerabfe accession will bo mado to the berthage accommodation, and when the inside of the wharf is" dredged to the possible depth, tho question of further wharfage accommodation should not be a pressing ono foi years to come. THE WATERWORKS CASE. The . much-vexed waterworks que-^i-on. wherein tho Campbelltown Borough Coun. cil sought to take tho waterworks, under the provisions of the Public Works Act; was brought to au issue by tho applica-; tion of the Board to the Supremo Court for an injunction to restrain the Council and the verdict cf Mr Justice Williams was who'lly In the Board's favour. CONCLUSION. I cannot refrain from saying a few words regarding the future financial obligations of the Board. We have at prosent a cash balance of £3255. It is expected that tho erection of the new fish shed, and the wharfage renewals now in progress will absorb the usual surplus revenue of tho year, say. £7000 or £8000, though it is hoped theso renewals will be completed by the end of this year: The cost of removal of rocks will also have to be defrayed. In tbe meantimo tho progress payments on tbe dredge will have tc bo provided for, and the whole amount, say, £30,000, cannot bo avoided, and the yearly interest on this amount will about equalise tho Board's income andi expenditure, as at the present rate and allowing for ordinary repairs only, I believe the money will be well spent, and, no doubt, we may reasonably hope for a larger yearly revenue, but I wish at this stage to make the financial position clearly known to members, so that tho Board's future operations may be conducted with tho same prudence and economy which has hitherto characterised them. I have now to thank the (members of tho Board for their loyalty and assistance extended to me while occupying the chair during the past year. It has been of material help to me tbat, in endeavouring to bring to a consummation the different largo projects which have been dealt with during tho year, that I have received the unfailing assistance of every member, and this I have truly appreciated. In conclusion, I wish to aay a few words n,bout the stafl. The harbourmaster. Captain Macdonald, and the staff under him have carried out their respective duties in a very satisfactory manner. The engineer, Mr Sharp, and the inspector of works, Mr Johnson, havo had to do a great deal of work during the year, and thoy have carried it out in the best Interest of the Board and to my entire satisfaction. As secretary and treasurer, Mr George is the right man in the right place, as the whole of Iris energy is devoted to tho best interests of tho Board, and I take this opportunity of thanking him for the able assistance ho has rendered me during my chairmanship of tho Board. Consideration of the statement was deferred till a future meeting.