BLUFF HARBOUR BOARD

Southland Times, Issue 19248, 11 June 1921, Page 5

BLUFF HARBOUR BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Bluff Harbour Board was held yesterday. Present— Messrs Bain (chairman! W. B. Dixon, E. A. Nichol, T. A. Buckingham, A. H. Aitken, C. S. Longuet, P. Reed, M. Thompson and Jas. Fleming and the Hon. A. F. Hawke. Leave of absence was granted to Messrs R. A. Anderson and John Fraser. J. E. Cunningham, Sydney, wrote re carbo ferido process of treating piles. The British Engineering Standards Association wrote offering specifications for particular works. Hutcheson, Wilson and Co. wrote re supply of paint. The Town Clerk, Invercargill, wrote re loans at call. Mr W. Hinchey wrote returning thanks for recognition of his services on the Board. The Bank of New Zealand notified an increase to 7 per cent, on overdraft. A letter from the Timaru A. and P. Association on the advisability of effecting improvement in waterside employment by permruntly employing such labourers was referred to the Standing Committee, as was a request from Mr W. Fanning for sympathetic consideration of the loss of a horse which he had sustained while carting a load of sand to the flagstaff for the Board. Applications from Bluff Borough Council for a supply of water to prospective conveniences, and a request from J. E. Watson that wharfage on grass-seed be charged at weight instead of measurement were referred to the Standing Committe. The resignation of Mr . Garrick, a member of the tug staff and an employee of the Board for many years was received and referred to the Standing Committee with a recommendation from the harbourmaster for favourable consideration of long and faithful service.

The ordinary revenue for May amounted to £2969 4s 9d, and showed an increase of £213 3s 5d over corresponding period of last year. The harbourmaster reported the tonnage for May as follows:—lnwards 23,343 tons, outward 23.566 tons. Increase over May, 1920—Inward 5045 tons, outward 5795 tons. The report of the Standing Committee furnished a reply to an inquiry from the Leape Explosive Works, of South Africa, as to the handling and storage of explosives and recommended that a remit be sent to the Harbour Boards Association requesting that support of local bodies paying rates being granted the right to exercise a vote at the municipal elections and that, the charge for hire of the tug for conveying a body from Stewart Island be refunded, and that the recommendation of the Harbourmaster to place a stationary light at the mid channel rock instead of the oscillating light be approved. The report was adopted in its entirety. The bank books showed credit balances as follows:—Bluff £2,097 6/6. Invercargill £3.710 7/11; total £5,807 14/5. The Cool Store report showed that there were 19,000 odd crates of cheese in store at present as against 36,000 at this time last year. Mr Horace W. Newman, of Invercargill, was appointed mechanical engineer to the Board. An application from the Bluff Borough Council for a refund of wharfage on a field gun, amounting to £1 16/- was granted. The Standing Committe’s reply to the Bluff and Invercargill War Memorial Committee’s and Pipe Band that the Board could not legally contribute to the funds was approved,