WANGANUI HARBOUR

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 439, 3 December 1930, Page 8

WANGANUI HARBOUR

MEETING AT OKOIA TWO ADDRESSES GIVEN FOR AND AGAINST THE LOAN. Two points of view regarding the Wanganui Harbour were revealed to farmers ot the Okoia district last night. On the one hand was the chairman of the Board (Mr J. T. Hogan, M.P.), who made the optimistic prediction that if the ratepayers sanctioned a loan of £200,000 to be spent piecemeal m raising and extending the moles, and purchasing a new dredge, and thus enabled the Board to carry out its election proposals, Wanganui would be equipped with an up-to-date deep-sea port. On the other hand, Mr Donald Ross definitely advised those present to vote against the loan. He was dubious about the success predicted by his chairman, and said that every board that had been elected had been as equally confident, of achievement, but had not achieved.

Mr J. Brandon presided and said that the policy of the Farmers’ Union was to keep members fully posted on matters of interest to them. With that end in view the meeting had been called and the speakers would give addresses on harbour matters. He added that Mr W. S. Glenn, the other representative of the Wanganui County, had been invited but he had been away at the time.

Mr Hogan intimated that Mr Ross and he were pleased to give information, but they would have done that in any case before inviting votes for a loan on polling day. The speaker Said that he was merely representing Mr Morrison, one of the country members, who was unavoidably absent on Highway Board business-

“I would like to say at once that the Board has not departed from the policy put before the people at the elections, ” Mr Hogan stated. ‘The Board is preparing to ask the ratepayers to sanction a loan of £200,000. We will not tell you to-night when we propose tn take that poll. We have had a lot of trouble with the Local Body Loans’ Board and with the Dairy Board, but we are not here to ask your approval or disapproval as to what we propose to do-”

He maintained that there was no dissention on the Board. Each member was entitled to his own opinion and had a perfect right to express it- He held that the old Board had spent money in the wrong direction, building wharves and completing improvements inside before getting the depth of water. The vital difference between old and pew was that the expenditure inside had been put a stop to and the policy of the present Board was to deepen water at the entrance. To do that, the proposal was to raise the mples, make them water-tight and extend them 500 feet into the sea. The Admiralty’s claim in respect of the Kaione, had to be met also, this amounting to £13,000. It has been reduced from £15,000 by negotiation, but it was expected that it would go back to that figure by the time it was paid. ‘The policy of the present Board is to ignore the basin altogether,” Mr Hogan proceeded, “until we have deep water at the entrance.”. He said that Wanganui was fortunate in that the ocean bed opposite the river mouth, instead of sloping away gradually, dropped fairly steeply anti 500 feet extension to the moles would take them to very deep water. He held that what deep water- He held that what the Board proposed to do was supported by engineers. He put it to his hearers that it was a case of spending £200.000 to get value for the £600,000 sunk in the harbour. Many Delays Mr Hogan very thoroughly stressed the delays the Board had to encounter to get firstly, the necessary legislation thiough the House to ask for a loan, and sfc.-mby, the approval of the Local Bodies Loans Board to take a poll. The latter body had, first of all, offered to allow a poll to be taken on £28,000, which in Mr Hogan’s estimation, would have been absolutely useless to the barhour. By negotiation the figure had been By negotiation the figure had been got up to £187,000 but the Loans Board wanted a tag put on the ballot papers to the effect that, in their opinion, a rate would be necessary even after this amount had been borrowed. A voice: You will never get it.

Proceeding the speaker said that the loan was not to be spent in one sum, but piecemeal and each expenditure had to be justified by results. The interests of the ratepayers would be adequately safeguarded because the Harbour Board would be at the mercy of the Government by Orders-in-Council and at the mercy of the Loans Board.

He quoted figures to show the progress made at the port of WanganuiThese showed increasing revenue and and increasing tonnage of overseas shipping. He considered that bv getting in the roadstead boats a saving of £47,780 would be saved the district. Thirty Feet of Water With thirty feet of water 25 of the 29 boats which loaded in the roadstead last year could be brought in- At this stage the speaker exhibited photographs of large overseas vessels which had berthed at Castlecliff -recentlyThere had been 83 boats ranging, from 4000 to 6000 tons, brought in, he said. He quoted the Welcome and the Antiope, two of the most recent to berth.

A voice: Did the Welcome stick! Mr Hogan: No. The voice: I beg your pardon? Mr Hogan: No, she did not stick. The voice: I tell you she did. I am not wrong. I have her engineer’s statement that she did and she broke fiv? hawsers getting off. Mr Hogan said that he was not aware of it and if she did stick she was out of the channel. It was not fair to point to one isolated mishap when 83 vessels had been berthed quite safely and had gone out again- Nobody would say that Wellington Harbour was dangerous when a boat was wrecked at the Heads.

Mr Hogan again impressed his audience with his optimism- He was quite certain that if they sanctioned the £200,000 they would be making good the money already expended on the harbour.

The Opposite Side

Mr Donald Ross printed a different picture, though he assured the meeting that he was at one with his chairman

on the point that the moles should be raised and made water-tight. He felt that to raise a £200,000 loan would mean far too big a burden to the far iner at the present time. “All the Boards of the past fifty years experimenting at Castlecliff have been confident of success,” he said, “and what have they done? They have lost our money and have got very little benefit to the district at all.”

He remembered, over 40 years ago, before a penny was spent on the harbour that there was 12 feet on the bar and 15 feet of water inside. He did hot believe that they had 24 feet today. The last returns showed 20 to 22 feet at high water and it was not right, in his opinion, to take high water only. The tides should be averaged over a month-

He considered that the Board, in building half tide walls at Castlecliff, after seeing what he termed the useless effect of half tide walls in the river only went to prove that harbour boards refused to bo told what was right and would never learn a lesson. Bar harbours were an expense and a danger to shipping all over the world. They had trouble with them allMr Ross did not consider that extending the moles was going to obtain the results Mr Hogan predicted. As a layman, he was of opinion that the incoming tide would wash the silt back into the channel again. In fact, from observations, made, he held that a lot of the silt would never get out at all, but would be washed backwards and forwards with the tide- He reminded his hearers also of what had happened on the beach as the result of erecting the moles. He had fished about the spot where the Cyrenna was wrecked and now there was a little “farm” of sand, caused by the drift in front of the prevailing winds. Another £200,000 “If you get this £200,000 which Mr Hogan tells you about,” Mr Ross proceeded, “you will want another £200,000 to make loom for these boats to swing in. As somebody said the other night, you had better ‘go the whole hog’ and try for half a million. I put it to you can you afford to go on with this Joan at present?” ,A voice: Not much.

Mr Ross proceeded to deal with criticism levelled at him by the Development League. He applied to that body the remark that empty vessels made the most sound. He invited them to stop talking and work. “I believe that we must keep the port open for local trade,” he said, “and we must raise the moles to do it. The chairman is satisfied that £200,000 will give you a harbour that will bring the big boats in but I am not. We have quite ‘good feeling about our difference of opinion but I am telling you straight that there is not a bigger scandal in New Zealand than the way money has been spent down there- ’ ’

Here the speaker challenged Mr Burgess and also Mr Patterson on their remarks at the last meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. Referring to the cool stores he said that they showed a profit on paper, but it should not be forgotten that £7OO had been transferred to them from the general account. Therefore there was a net loss of £5OO- - defended the action of the Loans Board and again stressed the fact that the time was not ripe to ask farmers to sanction a loan. Replies Air Hogan briefly replied to Mr Ross, pointing out that he had not one engineering authority to back his opinion and that the figures of the Board showed that the harbour was progressing. There was a steady increase 'in revenue, practically all the way thiough. He said that it would be quite two years before the ratepayers would be paying interest and sinking fund on the second £lOO,OOO of the loan. Air S. Strachan wanted to know if anything could be done to widen the rating area. Mr Hogan replied that there was no possibility of that on the present proposals. Mr Ross said that they could imagine what reception a move like that would get iu Rangitike?.

Mr Ross held that the wisest move would be for the Government to define the shipping areas of each port. Mr Stracnan: Have we an assurance, if you get the depth of water, that the big boats will come in? Mr Hogan; Yes, we have.

The questioner said that one ‘captain he knew would not bring his boat in. Air Hogan replied that there was certainly hostility from, shipping interests towards a harbour at Wanganui. They had had evidence of that in connection with the shipment of dairy produce. He held, however, that competition would be the solution of the difficulty. Competition was bringing American boats in to-day. Mr D. McGregor wanted lu know why Professor Hornell had not been asked to report. Air Hogan replied that he was not convinced that Professor Hornell had arrived at a definite line of thought on the harbour. He had wanted a preliminary fee of £lOOO and £2OOO for a complete report. It was estimated his charge would have run to £4OOO, and his ideas were too nebulous to risk the expenditure.

At tins stage there developed a “breeze” about the overdraft of tho Board. A nibmber present wanted to know how Mr Hogan justified his assertion I hat revenue was increasing while the overdraft had risen from £5OOO to £.16,000 to £17,000 in two years.

Mr Hogan replied that an overdraft was temporary finance and at the end of the year the accounts would balance. A Voice: With tho rate. What are

you getting out of the rate, by the way? Mr Hogan replied that the sum collected would be £13,000 odd. A Voice: Exactly. That will balance the books and next year you will want £1’6,000. (Laughter). On the motion of the chairman, both speakers were accorded a vote of thanks. Supper was provided by the branch.