THE WAIKATO RIVER.

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14776, 15 October 1921, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE WAIKATO RIVER.

ITS POTENTIALITIES. (By A.M.N.Z. Inst. C.E. (Continued from last week.) The Harbour. —The bar at the entrance of the Waikalo River is said to be Hie shortest and safest on the West Coast of. the North island. That outside the Manukau Heads is certainly the longest and most dangerous. Tills is caused by their differing geographical and physical conditions. The south headland at the Waikalo is Ihe projecting one; it is the north headland at the Manukau.- The current alon? the West Coast is from south to north. Hence the sand which if carries with it is projected by the Waikalo southern headland into comparatively deep water, so that most of it passed the river mouth. At Manukau the opposite takes place. The sand is carried past the south headland, and is trapped at the entrance of the 1 arbour by the projecting' north head. It is the popular idea that the Waikato should be brought into, and through, Manukau to the Manukau Heads. To attempt this would he to work against Nature, and that always spells defeat and disaster. Not only is the Manukau bar incapable of improvement, but it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do this. Probably the river would either persist in emptying itself at its present mouth, or, if checked, would !n;:l:e a fresh outlet on the West Coast. At least it is quite certain that its few would be halted by the Manukau Hoc. and that, therefore, the quantity of silt it would deposit in the bay would add vastly to the cost of dridging Hie channel. The result on the lower section of the river would -;lso lie similarly disastrous.

On the other hand, Nature has indicated that the true nutlet for both waters is at the Waikato Meads: —(1) She has placed (here a. projecting south headland, from which a breakwater may be projected at a moderate cost. This will throw all drift sand out into deep water, and it will prelect the entrance from southerly gales. (2) Training walls in the river, and extended over the present bar on the north side, would cause the fresh water current, aided by the tide, to scour out the bar, and make it navigable at all times. (3) The pent-up waters at Waiuku and the southern end of Manukau can lie so controlled and ejected into the Waikato at the light moment, as to aid this freshwater and tidal scourvin sweeping out to sea the last vestige of a bar. With the problem of the entrance solved, there is no difficulty as regards a deep-sea harbour. There is ample room for one. near the heads. 11, and the city which will arise, should be so designed as to meet immediate needs, and yet be capable of unlimited expansion on the latest and most scientific line's. Linking up the Waikato, the Manukau, the Waitemata, and the Kaipara. There is considerable danger in an idea, which may lie advanced, that the scheme for Ihe 'lmprovement of Ihe Waikato and for these canals or any one of them, can be, and should be, regarded as separate entities, and should be undertaken and controlled by different authorities and for different interests. To entertain this idea, and to attempt to put it into practice, will most probably ruin all of I hem. Each will be over capitalized: each will be expensively managed: there will be no co-ordinal ion; they will compete with and injuire each other, and a multiplicity of small dues and vexatious tolls will kill through traffic. Each would lie done in a small way, by small persons, of small minds, and each would he inefficient, and soon hopelessly insolvent. The greatest benefit to the whole community would be utterly lost sighl of in the rivalry of little parties, whose eyes would be out of focus, and, therefore, unable to see the needs and the paramount benefit of the whole. We shall return to this point in dealing with the question of control, but we must now try and see that any work to be undertaken, in furtherance of the canal scheme must be so designed as to foresee, and to advance the interests and trade of a small man at Cambridge, who wants to do business with Dargavillc, as well as of the large ship-owner who wants to lake Ms ocean going liner into Port Waikato, and oul through (lie Rangitoto Channel. These canals, and Iho channels in these three great harbours, must be so designed that they can, at an early dale, carry the small local craft, and yet be capable of such improvement, or wc ought to say development that they may intimately be used by the largest sea-go'ing vessels. To provide at first for the latter would be lo put the cart before the horse, and worse, lo so overload the scheme as lo make it a financial failure from tin; start. But, in efficient professional hands, and under compet- i cnl commercial management the whole scheme can be so co-ordinated that if may grow year by year ijnto a perfect whole, as the country, ils population, ils trad' 1 , and ils necessities also grow. Having I bus cleared our vision and adjusted our focus to the complete scheme, let us look at its wonderful possibilities—possibilities which may well make a New Zcalandcr, and especially an Auckland' 1 !- (in the provincial sense; filled with pride, energy I and determination lo see it carried into effect.

Naturally thn flrsl nbjoct to be souglil will be Hie inlcreliance nf proiluils tilling tlie* whole water-front, at Ill's I bringing! Cambridge into louch with Onehunga, unci Hargavillc with Auckland, and afterwards joining boll) halves by l.lie New Lynn canal. Lhu*s ri nnccling Finrgriville with Cambridge liv 0110 great internal waterway. I'or svhilc there will be a ccrlain amount of traffic along the river bank, trade, properly so called, ne"ls a market md until oilier large towns arise along the river-front and at the harbours, that market must be Auckland. Hence lli.i i (l of looking on Urn whole scheme as i,nr, even Cn Hie interests of Hie river ami harbour trullic. Still with petrol (and later electricity) as a motive power, a great, deal of local traffic, which now goes by rail, will De carried al less cost by waler, and ils volume will increase year by year as electricity is applied lo fanning .irisi inariufaclure. Hut a doi'.p-soa harbour al Port Waikalo and ship canals to the Wailemata will revolutionize trade. They will make Mercer and Hamilton set ports. They will cause numberless industries and manufactures lo be carlaod on successfully all along' the water-fronts and allow their producls intended for overseas markets lo be shipped at convenient points between Mercer and 'Auckland. Hoods from Cambridge ran be brought by wat-jr In Mercer and shipped there, and from Hanravillc to Auckland harbour. Thus the cost of double-handling and 'it' needless land carriage will be savciL