THE HARBOUR OF PATEA

Taranaki Daily News, 12 November 1929, Page 12

THE HARBOUR OF PATEA

IMPORTANT TRADE CENTRE THE OUTLET OFF SOUTH TARANAKI I CHEESE THE PRINCIPAL EXPORT. I . i . ' •' For over half a century Patea lias been the sea gateway of South Taranaki. In the early days the pioneers advanced on the fertile plains of the province by way of Patea, either by boat from Wellington or by rail when the line came only to Patea as a terminus. For many years the port was the depot for in-. | ward and outward goods, and in more re--1 cent years it has been the point of departure for millions of pounds worth of butter and cheese en route to the British -market. Fifty-two years ago the Patea Harbour Board was formed, the first meeting being held at Carlyle (then the name of the township) on Alareh 2, 1871. There, were present Capt. C. A. Wray and Alessrs. W. Williams, J. Alilroy and f G. F. Sherwood. ■ Alessrs. H. Williamson | and V. Wilson were other members of the first board. Air. Sherwood was elected chairman. He was also chairman of the Patea County Council and Carlyle Town Board and later first Alayor of the borough of Patea. Air. F. Cowern was appointed secretary at a salary of £3O , per annum. The first revenue of the board was provided by a grant from the Colonial Treasurer of £2IG3, this amount being the proceeds of the sale of portion of a harbour endowment. • No time was lost in commencing work l on a harbour construction scheme, Air. J. Thomson being appointed consulting I engineer and being authorised to make, a survey of the river and to prepare plans for the-erection of a breakwater on the south-eastern side of the river mouth. The following year tenders for the work were called, the contract being let to Air. R. Dickson, Auckland, for £7373. A loan of £lO,OOO was granted by the Government, the amount to be repaid in 15 years without a sinking fund. This was accomplished by a further loan secured by endowments and the port revenue.

Work was commenced in June, 1878, the object being to deflect the channel into its present course, thereby eliminating a sharp bend at the river mouth which was a menace to shipping. The shadow of tragedy fell across the work, the contractor losing his life beneath the wheels of a moving crane. However, his widow, assisted by two nephews as supervisors, completed the contract. Prior to the formation of the harbour board two wharves had been erected on the foreshore by Messrs. J. Milroy and J. Hirst. These structures were taken over by the board in December, 1878, at a valuation of £296. A lighthouse was the next important departure, this being erected in February, 1879, on the present site overlooking the harbour entrance. The work was carried out by Mr. VV. Aitchison, who also built extensions to the wharf in the same year. SIR JOHN COODE’S REPORT. In June, 1879, Sir John Coode reported on the harbour to the Government. He recommended the ejection of new wharves, the straightening of the river above the present bridge, the construction of a half-tide training wall on the eastern side of the channel proper, a guide pier on the western side and the extension of the eastern 'breakwater to 1800 feet. He also recommended the construction of a western wall 760 feet long with a width of 220 feet between the walls at the sea entrance. j In 1880 the eastern breakwater was 1 completed to 850 feet. A sheep and

cattle wharf was also constructed ftt a cost of £1723. The guide pier was erected at a cost of £4OOO. Since then successive administrations have developed the harbour on the lines laid down in Sir John Coode’s schema. To-day the port is well-equipped for -.The handling of large quantities of imports and exports, there being two railway wharves, one of which is devoted to the shipment of butter and cheeso through the West Coast Refrigerating Company’s grading'store. Sand and silt is. a formidable problem, but this is dealt with by means : | of con’stant dredging to keep the fairway j open. Various methods have been sugjgested to cure the trouble, one being jto imprison the tidal waters and release them suddenly so as scour . the channel. The various remedies, how- • ever, were never adopted either on ae- ■ count of-being impracticable or because jthiey were too costly. A novel device - is now being tried to .cut off the sand 'bar at the river mouth. This is in the t form of a large drag scoop which is i hauled backwards and forwards across I the bar by means of an endless’chain and winch. The debris is cither re--1 moved or loosened sufficiently to allow • ‘ !the ebbing tide to carry it away.' | In 1913 the Harbour Board was granted rating powers over an area bounded by Normanby in the north and WaiYotava in the south. The following year a progressive policy of development was 'propounded involving, the raising of a loan of £86.000. The works proposed included the purchase of a dredge, ths building of the western wall and ths raising and extension of the eastem , breakwater. The loan was carried ani the eastern wall is now 1800 feet long and the western wall 1200 feet. Early in 1922 a most remarkable thing happened —the harbour became completely blocked. A cloudburst occurred in the Alangamingi hills east of Elthani, and the .watersheds of the Whenuakura and Patea Rivers were flooded. - Th® I railway, bridge over the Whehuakura River was carried away and masses of driftwood were swept down by the flood. A .southerly^,gale was-blowing at th® time, causing a blockage at the river mouth.. Later the wind dropped and the deliris was released.-Contrary to the usual current the driftwood was carried from south-east to north-west .up th® coast towards Cape Egmont. When opposite Patea the south wind again freshened, driving thousands of logs right into the harbour mouth. The extent of the mass was (jftnoftt

, incredible and it was possible to walk I across the river entrance at the mouth. • I Alongside the wharves timber and silt i' accumulated to such an extent that | where previously there had been 8 and > '9 feet of water at low tide the depth • j was- barely two and three feet. It , I looked at the time as if no shipping i 1 could use the port for some considerable i' period, but with the aid of the dredge and the crane on the wall the accumulation w r as loosened and the current swept the channel clear. Within four • days shipping was able to work the • 1 port. , i Altogether £129,600 has been borrowI cd for harbour works. The two earliest loans were £lO,OOO and £25,000 respectively. Then came the £86,000 loan and !in 1920 a further £B6OO was borrowed. .' Less sinking funds the amount outstanding is £104,265, against which there are assets, valued at £141,530. I Patea port statistics make interest- | ing reading. The imports’ of ordinary I cargo in' five-yearly periods exhibit a 'great expansion within the. last 40 years. In 1889 the figures were 2214 tons; 1894, 5076 tons; 1899, 6850 tons; 1904,. 8874 tons; 1909, 10,472 tons; 1914,10,392 tons; ■1919, 11,578 tons; 1924, 4543 tons; 1929,' 4013 tons. The record year was 1920, when 13,865 tons were handled. | The growth of the export trade from Patea is well demonstrated by the ton--1 nage of cheese consigned annually. Th® J dairy' companies practically commenced ■ shipping from Patea in 190,1. In 190® 11500I1500 tons of butter and no cheese was shipped. To-day the butter exports rej main about the same, but cheese, which

is now the principal export, has grown to 23,000 tons. The value of the total exports from Patea is now estimated at .£2,500,000 per annum. In the very' early days the port of of Patea was exceptionally busy, there often being as many as 10 vessels in port at one time. As the result of the advent of the railway only 62 ships visited the harbour in 1888. By 1894 the number had increased to 179, falling to 149 in 1899.- T’ e year 1904 showed 204, and 1909 was the peak year in the history of the port the number being 275. In 1914 there was a decline to 228, and in 1919 to 212. The following years showed a progressive decline to 170 in 1924,. while this year there were only 131.

There is at present a move to inaugurate direct shipping with thd South Island. The advocates state that there is a considerable amount of grain and bulk produce imported each year and if a direct trade could be fostered regularly once a month or fortnight great savings would bo effected in charges.

The harbour board is composed of seven members, the basis of representation being constituted by special Act of Parliament shortly after its forma ; tion. The Harbour Board representation is as follows: Hawera Borqpgh, Otoia Riding, Waverley Riding, Hawera County (part), .Government nomination of one member each for the combined districts of Patea Borough and Waverley town. The names of members and officials are;— CHAIRMEN. G. F. Sherwojod, ../. 1877-81 D. Coutts ...7 1881-82 J. Gibson 1882-86 C. Finnerty 1886-94 H. E. Deane 1894-01 J. A. McKenna 1901-08 G. V. Pearce 1908-12 A. T. Christensen 1912-29 Members.—Capt. C, A. Wray, Messrs. W. Williams, J. Milroy, G.' F. Sherwood, H. Williamson, W, Wilson (first members), G. S. Bridge, J. Gibson, T. Taplin, W. A. G. Winehcombe, R. Horner, W. Balmforth, J. Southcombe, R. A. Adams, T. W. Fisher, G. Newland, J. Gane, H. S. Peacock, W. Aitchison, D. Coutts, J. Richards, W. C. Symes, J. Sheild, T. H. Quinlan, M. D. King, C. Finnerty, Walter Symes, J. W. Bright, H. E. Deane, C. E. Major, G. Johnston, J. Davidson, W. Brown, Bayley, Walter 1 Wilson, J. A. McKenna, Wm. Wilson, A. Paterson, W. Rossiter, G. V. Pearce, H. W. Sutton, T. Thompson, W. Baker, A. T. Christensen; W. Bennett, J. R. Corrigan, E. L. Barton, G. Williams, J. E. Death, F, W. Grainger, H. G. Dickie, E. A. Pacey, C. D. Dickie, A. Pearce, J. H. Verry, J. Walker, A. N. Williams, A. H. Hodge, W. H. Watkins, S. Blake. Secretaries.—F. Cowern (1877-78), E. Greenway (1878-79), T. Eyton (187987), D. M. Harris (1887-92), E. C. Horner (1892-1921), E. 0, Horner (1921 to date). Harbourmasters. —Captain A. Wood , (1877-82), Captain J. Flowerday (188210(H), .Captain J. Petersen (1904.-Q6), ’ ; jChp’tain.W. Tinney (19(XI-t.o t dat.e);,