OAMARU BREAKWATER,

West Coast Times, Issue 2479, 10 March 1877, Page 2

OAMARU BRE AK WATER,

The following interesting description of the Oamaru Breakwater has been supplied to the Lyttelton Times : — " The great feature of the town is the breakwater, now being constructed as the first part of the harbor works for the protection of vessels. Work of this kind is highly necessary, as the bay is very open, and at times the southeast swell is exceedingly heavy. The plan as designed by Mr McGregor, of Dunedin, is to construct a sort of dock under the headland of the southern end of the bay, three-quarters of a mile distant from the railway station, so as to give from seven to ten acres of enclosed water area, with a depth of about nineteen feet. The breakwater runs out from the headland due north for a distance of 735 ft. which will be increased to 1,200 ft. when a sea wall will be constructed from the outermost end in a westerly direction ; then, at a distance of 500 ft. from the breakwater, on the town side, another wall is to be built parallel with the breakwater, thus enclosing the area of water already stated, excepting a space to be left open as an entrance way for vessels. The breakwater, which is feet wide, was commenced iv 1871, and is

now constructed fora distance of 735 ft. with a wharf on the inside, alongside which such steamers aa. the « Wellington' ' Wanaka' can discharge with safety. The cost of the works up to the present time is £90,000. The foundation of the breakwater, reaching down to the solid rook, is built of concrete blocks, each of from 25 to 30 tons weight, which are launched by a steam crane capable of lifting 40 tons. The upper part of the work is built on to these blocks in sections of concrete, weighing from 80 to 100 tons each. The concrete is mixed by machinery, and carried to the spot by trucks on iron rails. On the wharf inside the breakwater there are two steam cranes for discharging vessels, each capable of lifting three tons,. The contractors for the breakwater so far are Messrs Walkem and Peyman, late of Dunedin. Their contract is nearly completed. Tenders for 200 feet more of the breakwater, and 150 ft. more wharfage, are tp be .galled for at ouce. A line pf rails rqns from the railway station to the wharf at the break* • water ; the last half mile of it, formed by the Harbor Board, runs upder the face of the headland, and necessitates some heavy cutting, the cost being £4,000. The funds of" the Harbor Board are derived from various sources. At the comineocemest, the Otago Provincial Government made a grant in aid of £20,000, payable at the rate of £6,000 per year. When the work appeared likely to be a success, tiie General Assembly authorised a Provincial loan for North Otago of £70,000, from which the Board received" £24,000 without bavjnjj to pay any interest, which was made a Provincial charge. Subsequently the General Assembly authorised » harbor works Joan of £100.000. £35,000 of this has been received, and tbe balance is in course of ■ negotiation. Twelve months ago the Board bad no revenue ; now it has annually £2,000 from leases pf building sites on the Reserve, £5,000 from warfage and boat service, the latter of which they bought up a year ago' and £700 from an endowment hf 65,000 acres of land obtained last session from tlie Assembly. It is expected that £100,000 wijl pomplete the hajrbor works, when the landing charges will be reduced fully o.ne-fonrth, and perfect safety for v«Bsels ensured, Thp harbor woriks can be extended from time to tjme after the completion of tbe present scheme ; but the greatest depth of water obtainable in the bay is about 19ft. The work, as carried out up to the present time, has a most substantial appearance, and was done under the supervision of Mr T- Forrester, engineer to the Harbor Board."