TURUA WHARF.

Thames Star, Volume LVII, Issue 14726, 3 August 1921, Page 5

TURUA WHARF.

QUESTION OF CONSTRUCTION.

' deputation to the board

Last night the question of erecting a concrete wharf at Turua came before the Thames Harbour Board. A deputation representing the Hauraki Drainage Board and the Hauraki Plains Co-op. Dairy Co., Ltd., waited on the Board to discuss matters connected with the wharf. Mi*. Green said that the deputatoin represented the whole district, and urged upon the Board the erection of .a wharf immediately. Failing that, something serious might happen. They depended upon the exportation of produce, and any break would be serious. A former Board had agregd r to build,, provided the people and firms agreed to pay ■'•certain taxes. They understood that tenders,, had been called,: but consideration had bee.n deferred. They: had come to urge ah early start. They had been patient, and now asked the Board to make a definite start. The tax had been paid for a year. WHARF ESSENTIAL. Mr. Sutton, representing the Huirau Road factory, said that the wharf was essential. The way the cargo was handled now was a disgrace. The structure sagged if any load Avas put ,on it. If the Board could do nothing, then it should exclude Turua, and give the settlers a chance to do something. The present system of handling the cheese often reduced it to second grade. It reduced the price £d per lb, and that was a big thing on a season’s output. Mr. A. H. Rogers, Huirau Road Dairy Co., said that during the past season the company had suffered considerably. The dirty crates meant loss of points, and overheating affected the quality of the cheese. There had been 500 crates of cheese on the wharf at one time. It had to be placed there for loading. A shed would be a great assistance. Ai the present time cheese Avas placed on the Avharf, and hides placed alongside. It was their opinion that the Avhole structure would go. They urged an immediate start. JUSTICE WANTED. Mr. D. G. McMillan contended that the Avharf Avas not in keeping Avith the district. It looked to them as if the present Board Avas not in sympathy Avith the Plains. They asked for justice immediately. Were the Board in earnest or Avere they bamboozling the Plains. The calling of tenders looked To the settlers like a side-step. Either the Board should do something or let them out, afrd they Av'ould !form a river board. The Board must have knoAvn where the money Avas coming from before it called for tenders. The deputation asked for a straight ans Aver. Either the Board should build or let them out to build a Avharf themselves. The reA r enue Avas .ample.

Mr. MacCormick asked Avhat ihc revenue Avas, and the speaker said lie did not knoAV. It might be betAveen £3OO and £4OO. A DEFINITE PROMISE.

Mr. J. A. Mules said that the previous Board h,ad made, a A*ery definite promise, and they asked the Board to honour that promise. Mr. Laughlin said that the promise was made. He regretted Mr. McMillan: We understood that you had the money 12 months ago. We. acted on that. Members : We Avish Ave had.

Mr. Baker: Why did.you call for tenders if the money Avas not available?

Mr. G. Gray (Hauraki Drainage Board) said that his Board found the wharf inadequate for present needs. The Board landed much heavy cargo, and some of it had been damaged in unloading. A loading stage would do away with a lot of handling. The present wharf was very inconvenient. He was present when the old Harbour Board promised to go on with the wharf as soon as. possible. The late chairman gave him to understand that the Board had arranged for an overdraft to build the wharf. They represented all the settlers, and would like a favourable answer. A HEAVY LOSS. Mr. Green said,that the loss to one dairy company had amounted to hundreds of pounds for overheated cheese. The outjimt this season wouhl be one-third more than last year, and the need for a better wharf would be greater than ever. His company’s output would be worth £60,000 The development of the district made a better wharf an absolute necessity. He feared that if 400 or 500 crates of cheese were put on the wharf it would collapse. The loading facdities were very bad. A scow was there now with 150 tons of coal, and L could not be unloaded over the wharf, and that meant loss of revenue to the Board. The comingseason presented the problem. Inward and outward cargo would be very heavy, and in a year or two the structure would pay for itself. CHAIRMAN’S REPLY.' The chairman, In reply, said that the Board recognised the importance of the wharf, and was doing its utmost to push the matter, forward.

The Board had every sympathy Avith the settlers on the Plains, and if it could do anything to assist them it avus out to do it. He read the minute on the Board’s books referring to a Avharf in Avood, and the Board Could luia'C proceeded Avith a Avharf in wood. The dairy companies had agreed to find £SOO for the storage accommodation. A Avooden Avharf Avould have cost £3200, and the Board had arranged for a bank overdraft. The plans Avere delayed a long time in Wellington, and when they came back members Avere of the opinion that the structure should be a permanent one in concrete, proving that' they had the welfare of the district at heart. Plans were prepared, and sent to Wellington, and were pigeon-holed there. They had been returned Avith - in the last tAvo months. There Avas financial , stringency, and the new Aviutrf was estimated to cost over £sooo,i*and the Board had not the moiiev. ril The Board had a credit balance piefeodo, but not for capital ex A penditure on a Avharf. In 1920 the gross revenue at Turua, exclusive of the harbour improvement tax, Avas £305. The harbour improvement rate collected at Turua in the last three months Avas, approximately, £3O. The deposit was money from the harbour improvement tax. It had proi’ided £3593 in three years, and the great bulk of it came from the Burke Street Wharf. Dredging operations had taken £1427, and the balance Avas £2166. Burke Street Wharf had provided practically all that, and dredging must be done again. When finished, the Board Avould have little in hand. He desired to make it quite clear that there Avas no hoarding. The money in hand Avas ear-marked. THE REVENUE.

Mr. Green: What is the total revenue on the Turua Avharf? Does any Turua wharf revenue go into the general fund? _ / The chairman replied that it went into the Board’s general fund. Mr. Green: So, if there Avas, say, a surplus of £4OO, it would, go into the funds?

Mr. McMillan: Is the improvement tax only.spent at Burke Street? The chairman: Oh, no, but the bulk of it is collected there. Turua’s total was £3O.

Mr. McMillan: Why has the improvement tax been struck before the Avharf Avas erected? Mr. Green: If Ave’re going to pay. Avharf age it is , hard that it should be spent elsewhere. The chairman: It hasn’t been. The net revenue at Turua was £274, and the Board had spent nearly that on plans. The Board had not behefitted. The Board had called for alternative tenders, 'and those received Avere for concrete. The Board had tried to meet the case, and had used every effort to find the money. The Board’s revenue Avas pledged as security, years ago. A member had interviewed the authorities at Wellington, and had asked if they Avould release debentures to finance the undertaking. Only that day the Board had been advised that the Post Office Depart-' ment Avould release debentures, but the Treasury had no money, available. The Avould try to place the debentures. It had tried, and there was a possibility of getting it. Mr. Green stated that the deputation Avould like the work to be started out of the revenue available for a modern wharf, and in the next six months the Board could find the balance. / A MISUNDERSTANDING. Mr. Donaldson said that a misunderstanding had occurred. Turua yas under the misapprehension that the Board had funds, and Avas Avilfully delaying matters. Red tape methods in Wellington had delayed matters. The Board had no intention of trifling, and recognised the importance of Turua and district. The heated remarks Avere not deserved, as the members Avere doing their best. He had a suggestion to make. The authorities Avere releasing debentures, carrying 6 per cent. The people of Turua had asked for a chance to build a wharf if the Board Avould not. Could not the dairy companies and the district take up the debentures, and then there Avould be no excuse for the Board not going right ahead. He Avas glad that they had chosen concrete, and the debentures spread over all the people Avould not come to much. The Government departments Avould not do anything. If Turua Avould help Avith the finance, tne Board cotild provide the wharf. Mi*. Green remarked that if the delay could only be aA-oided by buildin wood, then wood it should be. Delay Avas the difficulty. A NEW BOARD. M:. Coulter replied that the Board had been accused of not doing this or that, Avhen it should .be patent to all that it avUs a new board: He was a new member, and was sorry to learn that lie had come among, “bamboozlers” and “side-steppers,” and he strongly resented any member of the deputation making such remains.. Thei* should have been AvithdraAvn. The majority. of the speakers had made out a good case. The Board Avas up against a difficulty that confronted most local bodies at present. If the Turua people would take up tne debentures, then the Board could act. It would be ‘hopeless to go to any Government department 'for

some months. Unless they could raise the money here they had no possible chance of getting it in Wellington —the Avork could not go on. It was purely a matter of finance. Mr: McMillan said that he had only been expressing the A'ieAvs of. the settlers. They Avere not his own personal vieAvs. ■ '• f 'Mr. Bruce: We’re up against it, financially. The deputation then Avithdreiv. WHARF TO BE ERECTED. Mr. Bruce moved, and Mr. Laughlin seconded* that the Avharf should be erected in concrete. The motion Avas carried unanimously.

Mr. Bruce said that the next thing avus to float the debentures. He recommended trying the Public Trust, State Fire Office, and .the Auckland Savings Bank, and pthers. It might take a little time, and the dairy companies might take them up, in order to prevent delay Avith the Avork.

It Avas decided to endeaA r our to place the debentures. Mr. Danby asked if the Board was :of the opinion that nothing should be done until the loan Avas floated. The chairman said it Avould not be wise to go ahead until finance was assured.

Mr. Danby said that he did not share any fear on that account.

Mr. Hetherington said that the first thing to do Avas to provide -a shed. It Avas the lack of storage that had caused the loss. , AN URGENT WORK. Mr. Danby urged that the work should be started at once. It avus a matter of urgency, because of the development of the district, the .need for storage, and the dangerous condition of the present Avharf. . The wharf Avould take months to complete. The Board decided that the chairman should visit Auckland, and endeavour to place the debentures. Mr. Donaldson moved tliat A\hen the money Avas in flight, the chairman should call together the Thames members, and accent a contract.. On the deputation returning, the chairman com’eyed to them the decision of the Board.

In reply to Mr. Green, the chairman said that if the money could not be raised, the Board must re-cou.-sider the matter. The Board desired a representative of the settlers to accompany him to Auckland.