MONTHLY MEETING

Southland Times, Issue 22489, 25 January 1935, Page 5

MONTHLY MEETING

BLUFF HARBOUR BOARD g OFFICERS’ REPORTS. ' The ordinary monthly meeting of tht , Bluff Harbour Board was held yesterday, Mr W. A. Ott presiding ove; Messrs W. Hinchey, A. H. Aitken, J A. McGregor, G. Wraytt, W. M. Norman, T. F. Doyle and P. Reid. The engineer (Mr D. E. S. Mason} j reported (inter alia) as follows regard- ? ing works carried out and in progress 11 during December, 1934: Dredge Murihiku.—For the threeweekly period ended December 22, the dredge lifted from the tail of the bant 8 in the vicinity of the Single Pile ’■ Beacon, 16 loads equal to 4964 cubic ’• yards of material, the whole of whiet “ was pumped into the tankage area ref- clamation. During the period the r - dredge steamed 39 miles and consumed r fifty-three and a-half tons of coal. Nc abnormal difficulty was experienced in pumping the loads ashore. At the time of writing the dredge has been some--1 what hampered by the presence in the s dredgings of large quantities of seaB weed which tends to block the suction ■ inlets. However, the weed is now !> dying and an improvement in this 1 respect is anticipated. Western Approach Re-constructed.— - The re-construction of the western apI. proach was commenced from the wharf 8 end and when the staff ceased work s for the Christmas holidays, four and a- - half bays, or approximately 135 ft, had - been completed. The work is being . pushed ahead with all possible de--3 spatch as it is essential that the job r be completed prior to the arrival of s.s 5 Opawa on the 21st instant. Tankage Area. —In order to protect ; the Railway Embankment, sheet piling was driven into the toe of the bank for a length of 365 ft. One hundred and eighty-four cubic yards of clay were ’ rammed between the sheet piling and the embankment and as a further pro- ’ tection sand was shovelled against the reclamation side of the piling. A patrol ! of the wall was made daily by a mem- ; ber of the board’s staff and there is no ■ evidence of any trouble having occurred. Oyster Wharf.—As some settlement had taken place of the approach em- ! bankment to the oyster wharf, 16 yards of stone facing and six yards of clay filling were put in and the railway tracks adjusted. Dredge Wharf.—Piles and timber were prepared for the construction of the temporary dredge wharf. Main Wharf.—General repairs were effected to the main wharf where required. Water Services.—A new service was laid on the ferry wharf for the con. venience of fishermen. Several small repairs were effected to the reticulation on both the main and ferry wharves. Works Proposed for January-Febru-ary.—Completion of re-construction of the western approach; completion of erection of temporary dredge wharf and the necessary pipe line; laying of new sin main from Slaney street to wharves; dredging as per programme; reclamation of tankage area as per programme; repairs to main wharf; routine duties. Harbourmaster’s Report. The harbourmaster (Captain N. Haszard) forwarded the following summary of the arrivals and departures (exclusive of fishing craft etc.) during December, 1934:— Inwards—2 overseas vessels of 10,251 tons net, 4 intercolonial vessels of 12,333 tons net, 28 coastal vessels of 5,415 tons net; total, 34 vessels of 27,999 tons net. Outwards—3 overseas vessels of 17,061 tons net, 4 intercolonial vessels of 12,333 tons net, 33 coastal vessels of 5,506 tons net; total, 40 vessels of 34,900 tons net. The figures in comparison with the corresponding month of last year show inwards a decrease of 11 vessels of a total of 17,566 net tons and outwards a decrease of 5 vessels of a total of 10,703 net tons. Finance and Trade. The acting secretary (Mr R. N. Porter) reported (inter alia) as follows regarding the board’s finance and the operation and trade of the port for December, 1934: Finance—The total receipts from all sources credited to the harbour fund account were £3479 10/2 as against £2Bll 14/4 collected for the corresponding month of last year, thus showing an increase of £667 15/10. The expenditure for the month was £4992 8/8 as against £4804 2/1 for November 1933. For the first three months of this financial year, expenditure has exceeded receipts by £5035 7/1. Trade —Imports and Exports: Cargo tonnage totals show an increase of 331 tons when compared with the corresponding month of last year. Exported lines comprised: Cheese, 2016 tons; butter, 140 tons; hemp, 148 tons; frozen meat and rabbits, 156 tons; milk products, 285 tons; oats arid oat poducts, 1858 tons; pelts, 185 tons; seeds, 169 tons; wool and skins, 122 tons; tallow, 102 tons; timber, 159 tons; wheat, 61 tons; general cargo, 632 tons; total, 6033 tons. All the above reports were adopted. General. The board’s engineer was appointed joint honorary ranger with the Town Clerk of Bluff in connection with the fire district that is being instituted on Bluff Hill for the prevention of fires and the preservation of the native bush. The board donated £5 to the Bluff Watersiders’ Union picnic and £2 2/each to the Southland Provincial Yacht and Motor Boat Association and the Stewart Island Yacht Club in connection with the Sanders Cup contest. . The Southland Cool Stores Ltd. wrote expressing their thanks and gratification for the arrangements that had been made in connection with the

been made in connection with me farmers’ day at Bluff on January 19. The tender of Messrs Thomas Waddell and Sons, Ltd. (Christchurch) was accepted for the supply of one cast iron winch barrel for the Lobnitz rock breaker. Advice was received from the Marine Department approving of the erection of the temporary dredge wharf in connection with the tankage reclamation.