COAL AND TIMBER

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 202, 27 August 1936, Page 6

COAL AND TIMBER

KAITOA FROM GREYMOUTH ARRIVAL AT WANGANUI With 90 tons o£ coal and 30.00 C superficial feet of sawn rimu lumber all for discharge at Wanganui, the Anchor Company’s coastal steamei Kaitoa arrived at the Town Wharl early yesterday afternoon frorr Greymouth direct. The Kaitoa left the west coast port at midnight or Monday and covered the 258 nautica miles in 38 hours. The vessel encountered fine weather and made r good passage. Wet weather at Greymouth considerably delayed the steamer’s departure and she was unable to com plete loading operations until Monday, instead of early on Saturday as was originally intended. The Kaitoa is a twin-screw steamer of 31i tons gross register and is engaged in i the company’s passenger and cargo | services on the New Zealand coast. > She frequently relieves on the Nel- * son-Wellington ferry run and has I accommodation for 20 passengers. The i Kaitoa, incidentally, has called at Wanganui on many previous occasions and is the only vessel trading to this port which carries a stewardess. , Coal and timber cargoes for Wanganui from west coa.-.t ports have increased in quantity during ♦he past ' few months. Only recently the I auxiliary scow Te Aroha brought 38.000 superficial tect of rimu r.imbet from Little Wangiaui, the first from this particular port for ten years. In addition to the Kaitoa's coal cargo, the Anchor Company's collier Rata is due to-morrow f rom Westport and Greymouth with large consignments. About once in six weeks coal arrives from Newcastle also, and when the Kalingo was here last week she delivered over 1500 tons of the New South Wales product. Compared with other years, of course, the amount ol coal consumed in Wanganui has fallen considerably. A few years age colliers w?re much more frequent visitors to this port than they are today, the growing use of electricity for industrial and domestic purposes having curtailed supplies. A revival in the building trade has increased the amount of timber used in the city and district. Much ol Wanganui’s supply comes from King Country mills, National Park alone having a considerable output each year. A small portion of Wanganui’s timber requirements, however, has come by boat from the west coast principally Greymouth, which, by the way. has a large export trade with Australia. The shipment from Little Wanganui was in the nature of s trial and it is considered likely that further consignments will arrive frorr Wanganui’s namesake on the west coast. Rain delayed the Kaitoa’s discharg ing operations yesterday, but she is expected la complete to-day and sai for Motv.eka, thence Nelson, where she will probably load for Onehunga

• After nearly 43 years’ service, Mr. !A. \V. O. Travers, accountant and j cashier to the Wellington Harbour I Board, is retiring on superannuaI tion. He will relinquish his position ! on October 31. his retirement to take ; effect from April 30 next. His re- ’ signation was accepted with regret by : the board at a meeting last night. I Mr. B. L. Robets, assistant accountant j and cashier, has been appointed to fill the vacancy.