NEW ZEALAND COAST.

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17221, 3 October 1927, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND COAST.

RE-SURVEY DEFERRED. ESTIMATED COST. The naval authorises have estimated that with a properly equipped vessel and specially trained personnel, the annual cost of making a fresh survey of the coasts of New Zealand would be £50,000, and that the work would require 20 years to complete, says the annual report of the Marine Department.

It is agreed that a re-survey of those portions of the coast which have had no later survey than that of the period 1848-55 is desirable, but it is not considered vital, and "any disabilities that might arise could readily be overcome by careful navigation and the avoidance of corner-cutting." Having regard to the cost of acquiring and maintaining a survey vessel, and also to the existing financial position, it has been decided that the matter should be deferred until circumstances arc more favourable.

The question was taken up with the Admiralty by the Prime Minister when he was at the Imperial Conference, when it was learned that no Admiralty vessel was available for the work, and that it was inadvisable to attempt the undertaking unless with a ship specially designed and equipped for the purpose. Moreover, the Admiralty would not accept for Admiralty chsM purposes any survey data not the work of specially Admiralty-trained perpersonncl. Tenders were invited for a vessel of a type suitable for the work, the prices ranging from £50,000 to £58,000, exclusive of the cost of surveying and other special apparatus. The designs submitted, however, were subjected to considerable criticism by an Admiralty officer.

Consideration has also been given by the Marine Department to the use of a vessel for the dual purpose of attending to lighthouses and the survey, but as the time available for surveying would be very limited under such an arrangement the idea is considered to be impracticable.

The report mentions that drawing up of plans and specifications of a vessel to replace the Tutanekai on the lighthouse service is nearing completion. The Tutanekai is now 31 years old. and is becoming very costly to maintain, while the increasing cost of the annual overhaul is becoming a serious consideration.