Canada’s Harbours

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 430, 11 August 1928, Page 11

Canada’s Harbours

Interesting Tour h. R- MACKENZIE WRITES OF EXPERIENCES >rho chairman of the Auckland tr-irbour Board, Mr. H. R- Macfr'le has not been unobservant “f", n g his world tour. °r_ « letter from London to the suA r intendent of the board, Mr. Riirneit, he tells of many mferestins experiences in Canada. If. Mackenzie was particularly interested in the harbour management of the Canadian ports he saw. At Montreal, writes Mr. Mackenzie, there are only two harbour commisjners, and tho appointments are °iltical. The chairman is Senator Dr. L. McDougald, the biggest mine_!_nn In Canada, and the other Dr. y'ilton Hersey. a prominent analytical Themist. Both are millionaires. The Montreal harbourmaster told Mr. Mackenzie that the port was short of facilities and that pilotage up the St Lawrence River was compulsory from Quebec. A vist was paid to the St. Joseph oratory Church, which is being built solid rock, and when finished will are cost 10,000,000 dollars. The altar is built of marble brought from Italy, ,nd the furnishings are gorgeous. The tourists also visited the model city of Mount Royal, which was bought and laid out by two British bankers who ost 8,000,000 dollars over the scheme. Mr. Mackenzie was the guest of Mr. Harvie, general manager and secretary ~f the Montreal Harbour, on a harbour inspection along with guests from all nations visiting the U.S.A. and Canada. CANALS AND LOCKS

“We inspected some of their canals in d locks, which were very busy. Plenty of boats were going through the bridges which act very quickly, as also do the locks, which have only a few ieet to spare on some ships. We were also the invited guests of the Canadian Steamship Company, along with 300 other guests on the maiden voyage of the s.s. Tadoussai, a boat which sleeps over 500 passengers, and trades about 'SO miles toward the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. We went as far as Quebec and tied up there and came hack next day. The boat does 10 knots. “The grain handling, which is their principal output from Montreal, is on a great scale. They could load if necessary over 20 boats at one time with "rain, at the rate of half a million bushels an hour. Their record is four million bushels for one day. Boats can come in. load and leave in the one day. We passed the new bridge, which is being constructed, two miles long, but only 78 feet wide. It has a span of I,looft in the centre, and will land people right in the centre of the town. ' Montreal has a wa» rfront of 32 miles, with 10 miles of it developed. The harbour is Icebound six months in the year. There is a floating dock of 650 ft. in length The boat we went out in was the Sir Hugh Allen, a boat bigger than the Te Awhina.” Afterwards Mr. Mackenzie visited Toronto, where he inspected the harbour and works. He spent a day at the Niagara Falls, and was»entertained by the Governor of Toronto, Sir William Ross.

Montreal was again visited, and then the tourists left for Quebec, where they took the boat for England, calling at Cherbourg on the way.