The Wanganui Chronicle. “NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." MONDAY, JULY 18, 1921. THE HARBOUR.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18232, 18 July 1921, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. “NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." MONDAY, JULY 18, 1921. THE HARBOUR.

An important question o£ policy confronts the Harbour Board. It is one that has to be tackled and a decision arrived at. At the last meeting of the Board, there was some discussion as to what was the best use to which the Board’s available funds could be put, but the debate seems to have petered out. The floating basin is a problem for which the Board must find a solution very quickly. The public, which takes a passing interest in harbour matters, should be informed of the Board’s plan of action. The position at present is unsatisfactory. The Board is dividing its efforts in many directions—extending the moles, working at the basin wall, erecting a training wall in the river and dredging the river channel. If the Board is agreed on this course it should say so, but, judging from the tenour 1 of the discussions, the members hardly know where they are. The only work which is showing beneficial results is the dredging by the Rubi Seddon, and some of the Board members seem to be inclined to the idea that this is too expensive. It has evidently been decided that the

old bucket dredge should be put into commission again. Is she intended for use in the river channel or in the floating basin? Whatever be the intention, it is one of the ironies of fate that that this old dredge, which served Wanganui so well and was turned down by the Board, should now be considered to be better than the Kaione or the Rubi Seddon. That the old bucket dredge should even have ceased work and be practically thrown aside demonstrates again the folly of the Board. It is almost as disgraceful an example of public body management as was the refusal to buy the Rubi Seddon outright for £BOO.O eight y-ears ago and to have to hire her now for £SOOO a year. When one thinks of these things one wonders what achievement during the last few years the Board can claim credit for. If the Board can bring the big ships into the Castlecliff wharf we will be the first to laud the achievement. But can it, in the near future? No dredging can be done until the basin wall is up, and in this connection it is most disconcerting to hear from the Engineer that the construction of a proper stone wall will take years. We do not like to use the expression "We told you so,” but we think we are justified in quoting from some comments which we made on harbour matters long before the Kaione arrived. We then said, and it is just as true now as it was then: "We confess to some anxiety as to how the Kaione is to be used when she arrives. To the lay mind it seems to be useless to dredge out the floating basin until the wall is built, and there are no magicians on the Board who can wave a wand to do the work in a night. The river channel will only be workable at certain tides and even then the work will not take the Kaione very long to perform.” Hopes as to what the Kaione could do have been dashed to a very lowlystate. To all but a few members of the Harbour Board she soon proved her ability. She cannot do what those members expected of her and they will not do with her the only thing that should be done. It costs as much to keep the Kaione idle as it does to hire the useful Rubi Seddon. Yet some people think that the one is a good bargain and that the other is not. The harbour problem is certainly an extraordinary one and the attitude of the members of the Board complicates it still further. To the lay mind, however, the Board’s course now seems to be reduced to “Hobson’s choice," and perhaps Hobson will be proved to be a very good engineer. The Board should devote its main energies to the river channel, both as to dredging there and to erecting the necessary wall. The result may probably be of great benefit to the bar channel. The engineer has himself expressed more faith in the basin wall than in the extension of the moles and the Board should see what the attaining of 17ft. in the river channel will mean to the depth of water on the bar. To get a 17ft channel up to the town wharf for £20,000 will be something for the Board to be proud of. It will be cheap at the price. The floating basin is at present too much in the air.