HARBOUR POLICY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20097, 2 May 1935, Page 10

HARBOUR POLICY

MR RITCHIE OPENS CAMPAIGN ADDRESS AT FAIRVIEW Mr W. T. Ritchie, who is contesting a seat on the Timaru Harbour Board as the representative of the Southern District of the Levels County, opened his campaign in the Fairview Hall last night. Mr F. Smith presided over a small attendance, and introduced Mr R.tchie to the meeting.

Mr Ritchie expressed regret that there were so few present, as the present situation was most Important from the point of view of the harbour and the ratepayers. It was disappointing that there were not more present, for unless the ratepayers heard the ins and outs of what was going on, it would be impossible for them to come to a definite conclusion, no matt:r how much they might have read of the Board’s discussions. Mr Ritchie said that he knew his opponent well, and held him in high regard, but at the election It should not be a matter of personality. There was a very definite policy involved. He thought one way, along with a good many others, but other people thought differently. He had been on the Board for 12 years, and he would be very glad to stand down and let someone else take his place, but as he had said on this occasion a very definite policy was involved, and he felt that the least he could do was to come out and fight. He wanted to prove that the policy he was standing for was right, and not only that, but that he was right in thinking that the ratepayers were with him. He did not want any kudos for being their representative on the Board, but he hoped to be able to prove that it would be to their advantage to put him back. What he wanted was not a personal vote but a definite vote as to whether they agreed with what he had been advocating or not. Spendthrifts and Scaremongers. Mr Ritchie went on to say that he and some other members of the Board h-.d been called spendthrifts and scaremongers. He did not like the word spendthrift, because no one was more Scotch than he when it came to spending other people’s money. He hoped to prove that the time had come when it would be to the advantage of those who had to foot the bill to conserve what they had already built. They had been called scaremongers, but at no time had he mentioned danger so far as the harbour was concerned. They had commented on ships passing Timaru, but he had never said that it was because of danger. What there had been, and what there still was among masters of ships and owners was a certain amount of anxiety, and it was that which they were trying to get out of the minds of the shipping people. If they did not do so, then they would be doing the port harm. There had been talk of the centralisation of shipping; that it would be advantageous, to the producer because the economy of collecting goods would increase the benefits to the producer, but it was very much open to question whether it would reduce freights from England. It certainly would add to the freights for shifting the goods from the locality where they were produced to where they were to be shipped. What they would have to pay in additional freights would be very much greater than what they would have to pay to have carried out the improvements he was advocating.

Mr Ritchie said that ships were altering, not so much in length or depth, but in the beam. Broader ships were being built, and every foot added in breadth added to the difficulties and anxieties of masters of ships coming to Timaru as the harbour was at present built. There was one question he wanted to obliterate completely from their minds. There had been hints that the question of improvements had become more or less a town versus country scheme. In other words, that the town wanted the improvements and the country did not. He represented the country, and he was in favour of improvements, whereas the retiring chairman, a town member, was opposed to them. The town depended entirely on the welfare of the country, and the town people would only be cutting their own throats if they did anything which would be disadvantageous to the country. Scheme Outlined Mr Ritchie then passed on to deal with the proposed improvements. He said that the harbourmaster (Captain H. C. White) was asked on the strength of various incidents, to suggest what he thought should be done, and he (Mr Ritchie) could not think of anyone more competent to make suggestions, seeing he was the man who had to bring the ships in and take them out. The harbourmaster put in his proposals, and they were, compared with previous ones, very modest. He had not aimed at making a prodigious port like Wellington or Auckland; the scheme simply aimed at giving ample berthage room, and providing opportunity for increasing the berthage room when it became necessary. It was really a minimum scheme to give greater service and confidence to ships coming to the port. It had been said that centralisation was coming willy-nilly, and that nothing they could do would stop it. Centralisation was coming from London, but only after they had had advice*and reports from their agents and representatives in New Zealand, and he maintained that if something was not done to relieve the anxiety of the shipping people, and make them feel that they could come to Timaru in perfect freedom and confidence, then there would be grave danger of Timaru being left behind. Mr Ritchie, by means of a chart of the harbour, then explained Captain White’s proposals. He said that originally the harbour comprised the breakwater and the north mole, the end of which bent round to come under the lee of the breakwater. Then the Eastern Extension was put out, and the shingle commenced to build up, giving a good deal of reclaimed land. In time to come Timaru would have a natural harbour, which would have been secured without the slightest expense beyond that of building the f Extension. It might be necessary to go further out to stop the shingle going round, but that was in the very distant future. It seemed a shame that with one of the best artificial harbours in the world, and the possibility of having a fine natural harbour, that there should be any thought of allowing it to into a coastal vessel harbour. When the Extension went out. the need for the bend in the North Mole was done away with, and it should have been lifted 25 years ago. Captain White proposed to lift the mole from where it commenced to bend, and from this point push it out and then bend until it came outside the concrete mole. A 500 foot entrance and a straight run in would be provided for vessels, and at the same time give greater swinging room. The scheme would give ship owners greater confidence and much better facilities. Increased dredging would be necessary, but this would be done as weather and time permitted. At present they were limited so far as depth of water was concerned at the outer end of the channel, which came down to about

28 feet, but their idea was to dredge and dredge until they got out to 29ft. or 30ft. contour. Dredging Outside Mr Ritchie went on to say that up till recently it had been considered dangerous to dredge outside the lee of the breakwater. The Board had secured opinions and it had been decided that with the use of two extra moorings, which could easily be slipped, the dredge could work outside, and actually the dredge had been doing that for some time before she went to Oamaru. There were a lot of people who still thought she could not go outside the extension, but this was entirely wrong. It had also been said that as fast as the dredging was done in this area it would fill up again, but this was preposterous, because on account of the action of the sea there would always be scouring. It was not as though the work was under the lee of a wall, where there was calmer water. The cost of the proposed work had been put down at £72.000. and the extra dredging might cost £20,000, making £92.000. He was extremely dubious regarding the estimate, as he thought the work could be done for much less. However, at an outside estimate. £IOO.OOO would cover everything. It sounded stupendous, but it would mean a 6ig saving in the future in the extra freights which would have to be paid if ships went by. Illustrating what ratepayers contributed to the harbour, Mr Ritchie said that on a farm the capital value of which was £SOOO, the rates last year would have been £ls/12/6, and out of this £l/6, - would have gone to the harbour. This year, the harbour rate would be £l/19'-, a slight increase. If the improvements cost £IOO,OOO. all that the man would have to pay extra would be £2/12/- for eight years, and the whole thing would be paid for. It would take very little of their produce to be railed to Lyttelton or Dunedin to mount up to £2/12'-. and that was all that it meant. He did not say that that was how the scheme would be financed. Probably it would be done by loan, spread over a longer term, and in that case they would pay less each year. Not Going Ahead Mr Ritchie said that he was not saying that the scheme would not r ean additional cost to the ratepayers, because it would. He did not think, however, that they realised how little they were contributing to the harbour. They were not paying a very great deal by way of insurance to get their goods sent straight away from Timaru. The vital point to be decided was whether they wanted the harbour improved or not. He had never said that the harbour was going back, but what he had said was that it was not going ahead. They had to conserve what they had. what they had paid for. and what they still owed a lot of money on. In reply to Mr D. T. McPhedran, Mr Ritchie said that he could not say what the rate would be if the scheme went ahead, but the £2/12/- he had mentioned was based on a rate of m l-Bd. Mr McPhedran said that it would be better to pay id and have a good harbour. Mr Ritchie I think there are a great many like you. and I think I am right. Asked if he could give an assurance that centralisation would not come after the improvements had been mad?, Mr Ritchie said that it was impossible to do so. The only assurance that could be given was that if ships could come here in full confidence, there would be created a feeling of safety, and shipowners would be loath to pass the pert by. There was no reason why the port should not be made the central port of the South Island. On the motion of Mr McPhedran, seconded by Mr H. Dale, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr Ritchie.