Timaru Port Improvement

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20587, 28 November 1936, Page 5

Timaru Port Improvement

Board Adopts Ao. 3 Scheme Unanimous Verdict By unanimous vote, the Timaru Harbour Board yesterday approved No. 3 scheme of harbour improvements, the estimated cost of which is £147,000, provided a random rubble protecting wall is built. If steel sheet piling is used for the protecting wall, the estimated cost is £161,000. The scheme provides for the lifting of the toe of the present North Mole, and the extension of the mole in a north-easterly direction for a distance of 1450 feet. From this point a protecting wall 900 feet long is to be built to protect the harbour entrance. The scheme will increase the present manoeuvring area by 68.8 per cent. Having approved the scheme, the Board decided that the Standing Committee should furnish a report on the details and methods of financing the scheme.

The whole matter was debated at some length at the monthly meeting of the Board yesterday. At the previous meeting, the Board decided to secure the opinion of the marine superintendents of the shipping companies interested, and Captain A. J. Charman, marine superintendent of the Shaw. Savill line, conferred with the other superintendents and he was present at the meeting yesterday to convey to the Board the decisions arrived at.

Captain Charman, who was welcomed by the chairman (Mr T. B. Garrick), said that when he received the secretary’s letter inviting the marine superintendents to come to Timaru, he knew that it would be impossible for the others to come, so he thought that the best thing to do was to go to Wellington and confer with them. He had done this, but unfortunately. Captain Fletcher had been absent in New Plymouth. Those present had studied No. 3 scheme very carefully, and they were unanimously of the opinion that the scheme was actually what was needed. They had framed a letter, and had forwarded it to the Overseas’ Shipowners Allotment Committee. A copy of this letter was forwarded to the Board by the Committee, and read:— Joint Letter “We, the undersigned marine, superintendents, having to-day fully discussed the scheme as set out by the Timaru Harbour Board, herewith beg to submit our duly considered report. Captain Fletcher, of the Blue Star Line, Ltd., was unfortunately out of Wellington.

“From plan No. 291 it will be seen that the existing western mole is to be removed and a new mole to be built in a N.E. direction to a length of 1450 feet, at the end of which a protecting wall approximately 900 feet is to be built to protect the harbour entrance.

"The new construction will increase the manoeuvring area from 24.7 acres to 41.5 acres, which is an Increase of 68.8 per cent, above the present manoeuvring area and will, in our opinion, be of the greatest value for vessels of our respective companies working the port especially in north-west Weather. "Vessels approaching the harbour entrance on the present entrance channel have to do so on a considerable swing, and during or after north-west weather, a considerable set is experienced, setting towards the concrete wall, making navigation difficult. "The proposed new entrance channel to be dredged to suit alignment of north mole should give a straight-in entrance to the harbour proper. This in our opinion is of great advantage, and it is assumed a better depth of water will be obtained in the entrance channel, and should be more easily retained.” A. J. Charman. Marine Superintendent, Shaw. Savill Line. S. E. Gregory, Marine Superintendent, Port Line. W. Olphert. Marine Superintendent. N.Z. Shipping Co. Ideal Scheme Captain Charman went on to say that the scheme was a most ideal one. and it was the very thing he had had at the back of his mind for many years. It;provided the very improvement that was required at the port of Timaru. He had never been able to solve the matter himself without encroaching cn Caroline Bay, and this could not be done because there were people in Timaru who thought that the town existed on the Bay. When No. 3 scheme had been brought forward by the Harbourmaster and the engineer he> felt that it was the very thing he had been wanting, as it solved the dlffficulties existing at the port and provided the improvements that were naded. To go on as they were now. aqd do nothing, was a retrograde step. Other ports were doing nothing, and they would rue it before very many years were over. Captain Charman said that he did not think the No. 3 scheme could be irrTproved on. It would assure the inpnediate future, and would also make provision for years and years to come. He certainly thought that if the scheme was carried out their working expenses after it was completed would be far !es> than they were now. They certainly would not have the same expense Inf dredging the channel to keep it clear when it was a straight run in. whereas now they had to work out aijd round, and the handling of vessels. particularly in nor’-west weather, wjs very difficult and dangerous. At present they had to cut the speed of vessels down at the very moment when tlfty needed speed for navigation, and it; was a wonder there had not been accidents. They could only put it to the good seamanship of thosi handling the ships. 1

Great Possibilities Captain Charman went on to say that they had very carefully studied the scheme and they were in complete agreement with it. He certainly hoped to see it put into operation as soon as possible for the benefit of all concerned. South Canterbury was a wealthy district, and to his mind it had a great future. “You have a port here with possibilities far beyond any port south of here. Look at Dunedin. You can't get the depth there that you can here, and the difficulty now is the length of modem ships and the swinging room they require. In Timaru there is difficulty and danger in turning ships, especially in windy weather. You can get any ship that is coming to the Dominion in here if the scheme is carried out.”

Mr Campbell: You don’t consider it necessary to deepen outside? Captain Charman: “That does not trouble us one little bit. You have a good depth in the harbour now, but if the scheme is undertaken, it will be much easier maintained, and also the depth in the channel.” He went on to say that the sea swept on to Dashing Rocks, and it had to find an outlet. It swept round the Bay and across the present channel and that was why constant dredging had to be done. With the new scheme the water would not sweep across the channel, but would be diverted back to the open sea, and would probably be pushed past Dashing Rocks. No Better Scheme "Really I know of no better scheme,” said Captain Charman,” and I hope you will go on with the improvements.” He said that he would not go so far as to say that shipping would increase a great deal, but the improvements were necessary to accommodate the shipping which was now coming to New Zealand. Nothing would please him better than to bring the Akaroa into Timaru, but he dare not think about it at present. They talked about getting the big ships into Lyttelton, but they never would because they had not got the swinging

room. If the suggested scheme was carried out in Timaru, they would be able to accommodate the biggest ships coming to the Dominion. There was no port in the South Island better adapted as a jumping off place for the tourist liners than Timaru. “You take Dunedin,” he said. “You could not get those ships in there, and Bluff is not a port at all.” Referring to the Eastern Extension Captain Charman said that any attention needed could be given after the scheme was carried out. The chairman: Don’t you consider it is the key to the harbour?

Captain Charman: Undoubtedly it is. You would not have a harbour but for that. The chairman: You don’t consider it necessary to build it up all the way out?

Captain Charman: That can be dene later, but it is not immediately necessary. It will be many years before the shingle reaches the end. If necessary you could run a mole out in a south-easterly direction to trap the shingle. Mr W. T. Ritchie: You favour the scheme being done before doing anything to the extension. Captain Charman: Exactly.

Mr A. F. Campbell: You have castigated us for waiting, but don’t you thing it has paid us to wait, seeing we have such a good scheme at last? Captain Charman: In a way. I always wanted something, but I could not see how to do it without interfering with Caroline Bay. Mr F. R. Flatman: Will this scheme meet all the requirements of the shipping companies, or have you something else in mind? Will the scheme enable the biggest ships to come here? Captain Charman: Exactly, but there are other things which are needed to facilitate the handling of modern ships. One of the most essential things are cranes. I have a ship coming here next week with 1400 tons to discharge. She is due in Wellington to meet a wool sale, and I am up against time. She will lose a day in Dunedin waiting for tides, and by the time she reaches Timaru I will have lost two days, and time is vital when the ship has to get the wool to London on time. We would never have a ship coming here but what we will need a crane for her.

Mr Ritchie: It has been suggested that modern ships have so many cranes, that cranes on wharves will not be necessary. Captain Charman: Bless my soul, Lyttelton has cranes on every wharf. No Cranes in Sydney. Mr Flatman: In Sydney they do not use cranes. That is the argument we have heard.

Captain Charman: I don’t care what they do in Sydney. There they work 24 hours in three eight hour shifts. We want cranes in New Zealand. The ship has cranes, but we can’t double up with the ship’s gear, and that is what we want. The time would not be cut in half, but it would be very near to it. As I say, they can get away with it in Sydney because they work the whole day through. Mr J. Scott: When they don’t get a strike. Captain Charman: We have had them here, too. Mr Flatman: If* we had the cranes and th 2 harbour as suggested, it would overcome any objections on the part of the shipping companies.

Captain Charman: That is so. Mr Ritchie: The improvements will fill the bill for half a century? Captain Charman: They will. Mr W. H. Orbell asked Captain Charman how many cranes he would suggest for No. 1 wharf. Should they consider having two cranes?

Captain Charman: Most decidedly. If you are going to buy two single cranes it will cost you far more than buying two at once. The permanent way has to be altered. Why do they

have cranes? They had only to go to other ports and see. If they did not use the cranes, why would the Lyttelton'Harbour Board spend thousands just to see the cranes standing idle. The chairman: What size crane would you recommend? Captain Charman: Five tons, because that is the most useful type for working. Mr Campbell asked if Captain Charman considered that the sand from the Bay would be a menace after the scheme was completed. Captain Charman said that he did not think the sand would be the trouble that it was now. Mr Orbell said that Captain Charman had previously said that they should have at least 32 feet in the harbour and in the channel out to the end of the extension, and he wanted to know if he was still of the same opinion. Captain Charman: Yes I am. Mr Orbell said that some people had argued before that Captain Charman had not made the statement, and he wanted it on record. Mr Flatman moved a hearty vote of thanks to Captain Charman and the other superintendents for the interest they had taken in the port. The chairman also thanked Captain Charman and said that he felt sure that what he had told them that day would bear fruit.

At this stage Captain Charman retired.

Board Discussion The chairman said that they could take to heart what the captain had said. They had to make some arrangements about the cranes, and decide whether they were going in for one big loan or a piecemeal loan. Mr Flatman suggested that they should hold a special meeting to discuss the whole thing. The chairman said that he was now in favour of two cranes. They would have to put their finances in order. Mr D. C. Turnbull: We won’t get a crane for a year. The chairman: It doesn’t matter if it is two years. How are we going to finance the thing? We have to do it properly. I would rather walk out and leave the whole thing than not do it properly. Mr Turnbull: Before you have to pay for one crane the whole scheme will be before the ratepayers, and we might as well take a loan for the whole lot.

Mr Whatman said that they had decided at the last meeting to purchase a crane and that would have to be rescinded.

Mr R. S. Goodman said that he was sorry the cranes had been mentioned. They were discussing the harbour improvement scheme. They had been discussing the matter for three years, and they were no further ahead. He considered that the matter should be referred to the Standing Committee to go into during the next few weeks and consider ways of financing the scheme. He moved:— “That the Board adopt plan No. 3 and the details and methods of financing the scheme be referred to the Standing Committee to furnish a report.” The motion was seconded by Mr Guild.

Mr Campbell said that the cranes would have to be purchased, and to his mind one big loan should be for the lot.

Mr Turnbull: That is Mr Goodman’s motion. Mr Ritchie said that befoie *hey received tenders for cranes and decided on one, he hoped they would have the Whole scheme in train. Even if the loan was turned down they still had the way to pay for the crane, and that was by rating. If they carried the motion things would be put in train right away, and they wou’d oe ready by the time Parliament met next year to put everything before the rate payers. He did not think another meeting was necessary, for he was sure they were all agreed on the princip-.e of No. 3 scheme.

Mr A. G. Foster supported Mr Ritchie, and said he was convinced that No. 3 scheme was the best that could be got. By passing the motion they would be saving a lot of time. Mr Orbell said that why he had favoured the method of purchasing a crane at the last meeting was because they had to place their order a long way ahead. It was an easy matter to rescind that resolution and push the whole thing through as one big job Mr Turnbull said that the enginee r was asking for tenders for two cranes and the Board could decide next April. It seemed to him that the whole thing had come up as a result of two agitators who had been buttonholing members of the Board. Mr A. R. Guild said that a special meeting cost in the vicinity of £l5, and they should not hold special meetings for this and that. He did not want to hear the eternal cry of “a special meeting.” They came in on a Friday to do the work, and they should do it. even if they stayed till 4 o’clock. Friday was the late night and they had plenty of time to buy a toothbrush or a clean collar. Mr Flatman asked if members were permitted to attend meetings of the Standing Committee and listen, so that they could be conversant with everything.

The chairman: The committee would have no objection whatever. The trouble with Mr Guild is that he has an economy fit, and does not think the members of the Board are worth £l5. Mr Guild: I don’t think they are, either. The motion was then put to the meeting and carried unanimously.