HARBOUR BOARD.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14141, 26 February 1910, Page 3

HARBOUR BOARD.

CHAIRMAN'S ANNUAL REPORT.

The following report was presented by the Chairman, Mr Jas. Craigie, to the members .of the Harbour Board yesterday:— Gentlemen, —I expressed the opinion, in closing my statement last year, that we might safely anticipate that the new year would prove a record one, and 1 am happy to say, that though, generally, as the year proceeded, it was thought that it would not be so good as anticipated, it has actually proved to be in advance of any previous year in the Board's history. The following figures will indicate the improvement over 19G8: —Revenue £26,119—£'29,004; harbour rate, £7,663 £8,063; trade, 156,592 t0n5—173,164 tons; shipping, 434,262 tons —477,561 tons. The figures for the past three decades ('79, : 89, '99 and 'O9) are:— Revenue, £434—£10,882—£19,767 £29,004; trade, 79,019 t0n5—131,317 t0n5—173,164 tons; shipping, 41,846 t0n5—122,015 t0n5—244,548 tons—477,561 tons. In the early part of the year, the Ashburton County Council had before them, the question of joining o ir I rating district, but nothing of a infinite character resulted. The incident suggests the desirability of the Boanl giving consideration to the question of a, readjustment of harbour dues a v.! rates, with a view to enlarging o ir area of trade sources. At the July meeting a Special Committee was sot up, to con ider the | question of a cart wharf. The ComI mittee recommended: —(l) "That representations be made to the Minister for Railways, urging the erection of | two, fir more sheds, r.longsido the Main Wharf, j;o facilitate the handling of cargo, give opportunity for dealing thereat with town and other goods, and to avoid the haulage charge of one shilling per ton." (2) ''That the Minister, of Railways be advised, that the Board will jrrarft the land necessary for the site for sheds; also that the Board will deck the wharf, flush with the rails." As the Minister (Hon J. A. Millar) had made me a promise to visit Timaru, that I might bring under his notice the various requirements of the place, nothing was done in the matter, until he made his visit on August when -I placed the whole position before him, and he ! promised to have the question gone into, thoroughly, by the Department, after which he would place himself in communication with the Board. With the object of encouraging the eTection of cool stores, it was decided to stffer section No. 19, Fraser Street, on exceptionally easy terms, and it is gratifying to know that through the enterprise of ..Mr E. J. Smith, commodious buildings have been erected and an up-to-date plant installed. Direct Imports.—Seven steamers landed 8,462 tons of direct imports. At the February meeting, it was decided to increase the maximum draught which vessels could be guaranteed, from 21ft 6in to 23ft, and I may say that this is much appreciated by shipping owners. The election of members took place on April 14th. The only change in the personnel of the Board being, that Messrs D. C. Turnbull and J. E. Goodwin resume their seats, displacing Messrs'.'.C. Bowker and F. -H. Smith reSDectively. Mr C. E. Stickings was elected, unopposed, to the seat rendered vacant by the removal, of Mr J. Chisholm from the Pleasant Point district. . When the Minister of Railways paid his visit to Timaru, I took the opportunity of bringing under his notice, the necessity of erecting a fog-signal, to assist mariners, in foggy weather, tc locate the port. The Minister very graciously promised to supply one ol the latest type, and as, I have his assurance that the order has gone Home, it is only a question of time when il will be installed. I aril pleased to say that our frozer meat trade shows a slight increase over that for 1908. and that we stil maintain our position as the thirc highest exporting port, in the Do niimdfl. The following return show! our exports, also those for Lytteltoi and Wellington, for the year:—Lyttel ton 1,601,751 carcases, Wellingtoi 926,485, Timaru 652,361 carcases. Foi the previous five years Timaru's ex ports . were:—-575.941—601,427—789,09' —837,997—643,926. We have no desire to encroach oi the trade of our sister port, but witl respect to the frozen meat, w"hich re quires to be shipped by the large steamers, not making Oamaru a por of call, I see no reason why we shoule not attempt to divert it from going t< Port Chalmers. There is an unsatisfae tory position with resnect to the rail age charges. The rate Oamaru t< Port Chalmers—72 miles—is 12s 6d pe ■ ton. While for the less distance, Oaman to Timaru—s3 miles—it is 18s 2d pe; Chnstchurch Mea£ Conraany, who Lav. works at Oamaru, but they were no , prepared to take any action in th. matter. The position was discussed a the March meeting this year, when i was decided to approach -the Ministe: of Railways, -, but the reply receive! brought us no further forward. T wil not. lose sight of the matter, but wil approach the Minister, personally, tn a favourable opportunity , \. :An extension "of 62 feet was madi br the Borough Council, to the Georgt Street sewer, during the year, at £ cost of some ££Bo. Most of the members will be cog : nisant, of the, action taken by th« Board—assistrd bv the directors of tb< I South Canterbury. Dpirv—in 1003 nnc .1.904, the result of which was. that the p,nrt -was "£<isetter! cs a th-pdmg port •o* October-27th, 1904. At tho ti™ nj the Announcement, the Hon. : W. HallJn.nef .-tated that ■'.'.:+,; hid 'l v ->en c!?. eLled. to undertake grading at Timora^,

but I regret to say, tliat there lias been considerable difficulty in getting a fulfilment of that promise, in fact the promise "has been repudiated in a tangible form, by the refusal to send a grader. I was, however, successful in getting a shipment of some 500 boxes, ex s.s. Delphic, graded at the cool stores, and it is my intention to Btill importune the present Minister of the Department. It is grotesque, .that a vessel should be berthed within 'a stone's-throw of the cool stores, at the time the butter is waiting to be placed on board, and yet through the | apathy of the Department, that same butter has to be conveyed by rail to Lyttelton, to be placed on board the i same steamer, a few days later. I The Conference of Harbour Boards I was held in Wellington on September 21st and 22nd, when I had the I honour, in conjunction with Mr D. C. I Turnbull and the Secretary, to repre--1 sent you. The long ' promised Harj hours Amendment Bill was placed before the Conference, but, consequent, [no doubt, on the issue of the Con- | solidated Harbours Act, it turned out ito be of very small proportions. Nevertheless some of its clauses have a very ! vital effect on the special legislation of this Board. With the assistance of the Board's solicitors, we submitted necessary amendments., but were only partially successful. One of the amendments we were successful with," was the one relating to the franchise, as enumerated on page 6 of last year's report. It remains for us to get proper protection, either before the Special Committee of the House, or on the floor of the House itself. I will do all in my power to safeguard the Board's interests, but I recognise that this will be a formidable task. Though the Conference—on our initiative—was convened earlier than the Executive proprosed,' so as to allow the Minister time to assimilate the various Boards' requirements, prior to presenting his Bill, it was not placed before the House at all. Consequent on changed conditions, at Geraldine and Pleasant Point, a readjustment of the Harbour district became necessary, and this was effected by a notice appearing in the "Gazette" on February 25th, 1909.

It was with feelings of extreme regret that wo learned of the demise of I our esteemed Harbour Master, Captain I T. N. Clarkson, on September 27th. For 23 years, he had, with unswerving I loyalty and masterly ability, in season and out of season, safeguarded the shipping interests of the port. His j skill, in tjie handling of vessels, was such as to enlist the complete confi- • denee of ship-owners, and though a' man of a retiring disposition, he was popular with all sections of the public, who held him in high regard. The following motion was unanimously adopted, at the meeting on October Ist:—'"That this Board records its sincere regret, at the death of Captain Clarkson and places on receord, its warm appreciation, of the prolonged, faithful, and valuable services, rendered by the deceased officer, and desires to express its sympathy with his widow and family in their irreparable loss." On October Ist, Captain .Tas. Tnit was unanimously appointed to the position of Harbour Master, and I venture to think that he will make a : worthy successor to Cat-pain Clarkson. Captain O. N. Lindsay .was appointed Deputy Harbour Master, and Sniline; IVT-stor of dredge No. 850, on November 28th. The harbour valuations increased from £9,808,372 in 1908 to £10,320,534 in 1909, producing at 3-16ths of a penny in the £, £8,0G2 ISs 3d, or an increase of £4OO 2s sd, for 1909. The total interest charges were £15,270 If.-?, the difference £7,208, being provided by the surplus in harbour revenue. In forming Hayes Street, provision was made to allow an access, between sections 3 and 4, to the station goods shed, but the Railway Department has fenced it off. The position was brought under the notice of the Hon. J. A. Millar, on the occasion of hi? visit, and while agreeing that there seemed to be no particular object in closing the thoroughfare, and" as it would, obviously, be of benefit to the public to have "the use of it, he would see that it was open for traffic. So far the fence remains intact. A further deputation from the Oamaru Harbour Board, consisting of Messrs Milligan (chairman), Paterson and La Roche (engineer), visited Timaru on May Bth, to endeavour to arrange terms for the hire of dredge No. 350, but the visit proved abortive. ' In April we were cited before the Conciliation Council, in connection with the General Labourers' dispute, i and again in August, in connection with the Quarry Workers' dispute, but in both cases we secured an exemp- ; tion. ! As the outcome of a communication from the Borough Council, relative to ' the lease of an area, on the foreshore, \ it was decided to offer section No. 55 ' (la. lr. 24p.) for lease, for a term of seven years, at the upset rental of £IOO, per acre, but no offer was received. ; ,- The'lease held by Messrs J. Mill and ] Co. of section No. 1 (rental £45 per . annum), falling in on September 19th, j was put up for tender, as from Febru- i ary Ist, J. Mill and Co., i continuing their rental to that date— ! ( at the upset price of £IOO, per annum. ' j Messrs J. Mill and Co. were the sue- : [ cessful tenderers, at the upset price, j I We have repeated assurances, from ' I visiting masters of the benefit of the ; j light at Jack'is Point, since it has j been made an occulting one, but there | are constant complaints of the ineffi- ; ciency of the red light at our own ] lighthouse, and I think that we should j take some steps to improve it. I Mr .Clarke has prepared a very ! comprehensive and valuable plan of the ! harbour and foreshore, on a large scale, and as the copies are being distributed to masters, they are much apj predated. In connection with the sur- : vey for the plan, it will be just as well for •nie to repeat what the Resident Engineer reported to the June meeting:—"The soundings in the roadstead have been extended to the six fathom contour. Comparing the soundings just completed with those token in 1895y it is very satisfactory to find that , the depths have been wefl maintained, , and generally speaking tho present poundings are very favourable. ImmeI diately under the shelter of the E.E. I mole, the depths are from 1 to 1J feet less; and in Caroline Bay for about 2000 , feet from the shore the depths average | about 12 inches less than* the sound■ings taken 14 years ago. The balance of the soundings outside the areas rej ferred to, : show equal or better water, ~ and the Entrance channel as now dej fined "gives about 24 feet at L.W.O.S.T. i along ■ the centre line. In Caroline . Bay the beach has advanced about 260 . feet; since '1895, this gives a yearly adI vance of about 18£ feet. On the south j beacl) the .high water contour is now , about'2lo feet further out, than in , 1895, and dividing this over the ini tarval of 14 yeare, the annual forward movement' is about 16 feet. In the i future .1 anticipate that .'.the. growth of ! this beach will be at a slower rate. . .." I -. Tho prdinary harbour revenue, interest, resits,, etc., (but not including ■ harbour ratesj. totalled £29,004 3s i and for the purpose of comparison, I i. submit the totals of the five'preeediu°' .Venre:—l9o4, JE25.723; 1905, £27.362° ;-i?06.. i g26:.687; 1907, £25,676; 1908, ! £26,119. ih addition to the above ) £8*0.62..-18s. 3d was received . .for harbour rate, making a total of £37,087 ]is Bd, ,v.: ■■': '"'■■ , i Thb>'■■.-■■ expenditure (apart I from'worts carried on under the loan accounts) "totalled-'£1.8,805 lis 7d, to (this -has to bo added £15,870 Ins for j interest, making a. total of £34,076 11 s l 7d. In addition to the above, ;£f>.o93 , i. J4s 73: wes expanded, under., the-, loon 1 accounts, \on the new wharf, Etuttarn I

Extension, and dredge No. 350 (capital account). The following is the harbour expenditure for the past five years: —1904, £18,421; 1905, £23,302; 1906, £15,010; 1907, £31,594; 1908, £15,293. The imports and exports amounted to 173,164 tons, a record for the port. The value of that portion going foreign and intercolonial, amounted to £l,485,138, but to this has to be added the coastal trade (the value of which H.M. Customs, does not keep), amounting, approximately, to some £765,440, or a grand .total of £2,250,578. Three hundred and thirty vessels, totalling 477,561 tons, arrived during the year, as against 356 vessels of a tonnage of 434,262 tons for 1908, the whole being handled expeditiously, and without the slightest mishap. In compliance with the "request of the Borough Council, to construct an intercepting sewer, along the southern foreshore, and an outfall at Patiti Point for the Borough underground drainage, permission was granted, subject to the work being carried out to the satisfaction of our Resident Engineer. Mr Clarke renorted that thee intercepting sewer was to be laid down in Hayes Street extension, and that it will not interfere, in any way, with any of the sections to be marked out in the future. The extraordinary progress which South Canterbury has made, since the sturdy pioneers landed in the 50's and 60's, was fittingly evidenced, on the occasion of the functions in connection i with Jubilee Day (January 14th). The total tonnage of the vessels occupying berths on that day amounted to 21,431 jtons, apart from H.M.S. Pioneer, I which was at the north-west buoy, and this in itself was striking proof of the success which has attended the indomit--1 able efforts of successive Boards to make tho port worthy of the magnificient district it serves. It will probably be as well, for record purposes, to repeat the statistics of the" port, used on that occasion for the years 1859 and 1909: —Nett registered tonnage (in and out) 2,500 tons —865,014 tons; imports and exports, 1,400 t0n5—156,892 tons; value of imports and exports, £25,000 —£2.000,000"; frozen meat, ni1—643,926 carcases; wool, 1,500 ba1e5—37,651 bales.

H.M.S. Pioneer (Captain Millar) arrived in the port on January 13th, in connection. with the Jubilee celebrations, and again on November 19th, being under the command of Captain Blunt on this occasion. In accordance with your decision, the various Boards of the - Dominion, were requested to supply particulars of the exemptions which the Government were receiving. The amounts for Lyttelton, Westport, Greymouth, and Nelson were not available, "but the other ports totalled some £IO,OOO for the year 1908. The matter was passed on to the Executive of the Harbours' Association, and at the Conference they submitted a return which indicated that if the matter was pressed, the Government might retaliate, and if they did the Boards would become liable for a much larger amount for various taxes. Your delegates did not press the matter, in view of these particulars, nevertheless the Conference, by seventeen votes to eleven votes, carried a resolution, that in tho ' opinion of the Conference, the Government should pay dues on all Government goods, passed over tho wharves, but, strange to say, on the following day, the Conference stultified its decision, by throwing out our remit, that Section 116 of tho principal Act be amended, the effect of which would be, that tho Government would require to pay dues, like everyone else.

In conclusion, I cmi again congratulate the members of the Board and the people of South Canterbury on tho continued prosperity of our 'harbour and district. Our harbour works have safely stood tho test of storms. The volume of our productions in the district has increased, and prices have hern well ni' ; in; im-d. The prospects for 1010 are bright and very encouraging. I desire to thank members for the courtesy they hare shown to me as chairman of the Board; also for their valuable co-operation and the earnest attention given to the affairs of the Board. I have, also, to thank the members of the staff, for the care and , attention that they have manifested, in the discharge of their various duties. RESIDENT'S ENGINEER'S REPORT. I Following; _ the Chairman's report, ' and hound with it, arc the Resident Engineer's report, and the usual statements of accounts and statistics, i The Engineer, Mr F. Clarke, reports on the progress made with the new . wharf contract; preparations for re- ; decking parts of the Main and Moody ! Wharves (most of the timber being now j 011 hand); repairs to the Eastern Mole, which during the year cost '£lßsß 12s 9d; work done at the quarry (400 D tons of stone ready for lifting, 20,000 stripped ready for blastand output fast twelve months 8995 tons); alteration of harbour i lights, including electric beacon at end , of Eastern Mole (cost £152 10s); cou- . struction of slinway for motor I launches; erection" of" office for sliip- | ping firms on Moody Wharf; work clone jby dredges (268,900 tons by 350, at a I cost of 6.84 d per ton exclusive of in- ■ terest and depreciation, including these . 9.7 d per ton, and 14,570 tons .by Tanijwha, _at 11.97 d per ton). An automatic tide gauge has been ordered; and ' the Government have ordered a fog signal for the port. A new plan of the harbour and roadstead, with soundings and bearings, had been prepared and approved by the Marine Department. The matter of roadway jto Moody and new wharf will require 1 attention during the year, and also the question of shed accommodation at one or other of the wharves, the Main i Wharf appearing to he the most suitable. Tho whole of the nlant had been maintained in good order, and finally Mr Clarke expressed his thanks to the . staff for their loyal sunnort.