VALUE OF CRANES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20639, 30 January 1937, Page 10

VALUE OF CRANES

POSITION IN SYDNEY LETTER TO TIMARU BOARD Following a discussion at a recent meeting of the Timaru Harbour Board relative to the installation of electric cranes, it was decided to write to Sydney to ascertain the reason why no such cranes were in use at that port. At yesterday’ meeting of the Board, a letter was received from the secretary of the Maritime Services Board of New South Wales stating that three electric cranes were in use in Sydney for the purpose of loading and unloading cargo. The Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners were averse to providing cranes on the wharves, as they considered they were not required for general cargo purposes under the existing conditions. The action of the Commissioners had been criticised, and the overseas shipping companies were approached on one occasion with a view to obtaining an expression of opinion on the matter and they agreed that, providing one berth at the port was equipped with cranes, there would be no justification for installing cranes at a number of berths. The letter concluded: “You will, of course, appreciate that conditions at a terminal port differ from those obtaining at intermediate ports.” Mr F. R. Flatman said that he had discussed the matter with a Sydney business man, and his explanation as to why there were not more cranes on the wharves in Sydney was that the wharves were leased to the shipping companies, and as the leases were of short duration the shipping companies did not feel disposed to go in for the expense of electric cranes. Reply Non-Committal Mr H. M. Whatman said that the reply was non-committal, and they could take out of it what they wanted. There was more shipping into the port of Sydney than the whole of New Zealand, and It was strange that they were not going in for cranes. Mr Ritchie said that there was a good deal in what Mr Flatman had said, and the big point in the letter was that Sydney was a terminal port. In such places ships had to put in a certain amount of time, and expedition in handling cargo was no object. In Wellington, for instance, there were no cranes on the Queen’s Wharf and a good many overseas vesesls berthed there. Mr Whatman said he considered that Mr Ritchie’s remarks were weak. It was the first time he had ever heard that there was no object in the handling of a vessel. For the cranes to be a payable proposition they would have to receive £lO a day. The chairman: We have called for tenders now anyway. Mr R. S. Goodman: It is a strange thing that Lyttelton and Dimedin are putting in more cranes, and New Plymouth, which has had one for years is going in for another one. Mr A. R. Guild: They are packing them in. Mr Goodman: Yes. During the last 10 years the Board has put in a number of capstans on the wharves, and to put them in to-day would cost up to £lO,OOO. Nothing has been said, however about the revenue received from them, because there has not been any. There was no further discussion.