TIMARU HARBOUR BOARD ELECTION

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20098, 3 May 1935, Page 14

TIMARU HARBOUR BOARD ELECTION

To tile Editor of ** The Timaru Herald ” Sir, —Now that there is a reasonable prospect of a change in the personnel and policy of the Timaru Harbour Board, also in view of the approaching elections, it would be wise on the part of the electors, to exercise a fair amount of caution in the selection of candidates to represent this town during the next three years. The question of harbour improvements Is of such vital importance to this town and district, that it would be little short of disaster to take risks at this critical moment in the history of the harbour, At present there are five aspirants seeking to represent the town. Now, in the interests of progress and efficiency regarding our harbour, it may not be out of place to discuss the qualifications of these prospective candidates. Two of these candidates, Messrs Goodman and Bradley, have just concluded a term of office. During that time, these two gentlemen have commended themselves to the community by their persistent efforts for progress and improvement, even in the face of strong opposition. In their efforts they have proved themselves thoughtful, reliable, progressive and worthy of the confidence, and support for a further term of office. Mr D. C. Turnbull is well known by his past activities as a worthy and useful member of the board. He stands solid for progress and improvement. He is a free lance and therefore unencumbered by any form of dictation from those whose chief object is to bring about centralisation - and its consequent stagnation to our port. Further, all Mr Turnbull’s interests are in the town and harbour and not in some other harbour, therefore Mr Turnbull can be relied upon to do all in his power in a reasonable manner to keep Timaru's harbour on the map. Next we have Mr Isaac, also a past member of the board, but just where does Mr Isaac stand in the furtherance of the interests of the port? Mr Isaac is not a free lance, but is the servant of a large shipping company, and rumour has it that this company favours centralisation. If this is so, the position arises how would Mr Isaac act upon a vote being taken on harbour improvements, such as were ably suggested by our worthy harbourmaster, Captain White? Would he act upon his own responsibility, or, -would he vote according to instructions? The answer seems obvious. So unless Mr Isaac can give an assurance of his real position to the electors, all those whose aim is progress and improvement must treat his candidature with a certain amount of concern. Mr Foster, although a personal friend of mine, and held in high esteem amongst his friends, is an untried and inexperienced man in harbour matters, and -,t this critical and all-important juncture in the history of our harbour, the great qualification required is experience. Serious problems confront the boafd to be. This is not a time for training, but a time for immediate action, and only men who understand the position will be competent to deal with the problem. The first and foremost thing required is concerted action upon _ one definite scheme. If this is done wisely, unanimously and earnestly, then no Royal Commission can deny us our right as citizens to develop our own destiny. How could Royal Commissions of the past sanction our requests when those requests were presented in such a half-hearted manner? The board itself hardly knew its own mind. There was a total lack of concerted effort, and the lamentable presentation of several pet schemes instead of something concrete and definite. The Royal Commission which sensed the position, rightly postponed the request until something convincing could be produced with the hope that the members of the board would by 1936 agree and concentrate upon something definite. Now, sir, with the town s complement consisting of Messrs Turnbull, , Goodman and Bradley, as our members the realisation of something definite is within the bounds of possibility. The knowledge we have of these gentlemen, and the evidence before us of their past actions regarding harbour matters, warrant us in trusting them with our confidence on election day. So there is hope that this change in the personnel and policy of the Timaru Harbour Board, will remove the cloud of doubt and uncertainty which is most undesirable and which tends to hamper the progress, delay prosperity, handicap business, and postpone our hopes of becoming in the near future a city of which we can be proud.—l am, etc., J. E. CHILES. Timaru, May 2.