THE HARBOUR

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 72, 9 October 1939, Page 5

THE HARBOUR

."BETTER THAN EVER" RECLAMATION NOT DANGEROUS Fears for the Mature of the har'jbour if further reclamation were carried cut were expressed by Mr G. A. Brabant at Friday's meeting of the Whakatanc Harbour Board. It was generally agreed that • caution should he shown, and that the posi- ' tion should be watched closely, hut 'it was also stated that the harbour ""was in a better state than ii• past ; years. Mr Brabant said that he- had favoured a special meeting of th ? board ito discuss this matter. If the main 1 highway crossed the reclamation, ' quite a !.?e\v people in Whakatanc thought this would be dangerous to '-the port, as a further area for ponclp 'as*e of water would be cut out. He y 'thought there was a certain amount: ■of proof that the reclamation. jhaci not been to the best advantage of "the port in the fact that the eastern had been blocked for months i Mr A. iF. McGougan said that they would need an engineer's report on the matter. , DEPTHS OF WATER. V "The board was working on the reports of Mr Metcalfe and Mr BlairMason. said Mr J • W. Sumner, ■ chairman. He contested the statement that the harbour was getting

shallower. The Toa draw in-; 7ft *in and 7ft Bin, had been .able to lie at •4he wharf, as had the Clansman, •which was a larger boat. The harbourmaster had told him that the least depth on the bar at high water iSor the past six months hail been "6ft 7in and in rome cases it had been : 10ft. "There had been only one case in the last two years when a boat, had been delayed owing to the shallowness of the bar, He could go back 25 years to the time when the Tasman, had to lie - off the bar and goods had to be lightered to her. That showed the harbour had not shallowed.. Certainly they had had some difficulty through the narrowness of the channel near the Flat Rock but the first " heavy flood fixed that. As for the ' eastern channel he found that when ever the western channel was blocked the eastern was open, a.rjcl ):,ice versa. They never seemed to be able -to use the two channels. Recently, •] le said, several Jaunche:- had come " in at dead low water over the western channel. The only thing troubling him at "the present time was th" depth at « j.: i Cumiinv

the wharf continued Mr Sumner. ' They could fix that cither by a ' drag line or a rotary harrow which - could be' pulled along the bottom •and cut the ,sand away. The engineer favoured the first course. It would probably be time enough to bring the matter forward when thej- got some adv'fe which way \the road was going, said Mr Brabant JHARBOUR improved. TMr R. Ruddlclc said that be cnalil 'see Mr Brabant's point but in his "opinion it was all nonsense to say the harbour was shallower than formerly. Boats now came in regularly whereas 30 years ago they constantly had to go to Ohiwa and unload • goods there. The harbour was better '-than it had ever been 'Boats drawing ten feet used to get' in, said Mr Brabant. A little warship drawing 15 feet once came inciriQ tViA harlmnr. Vessels were ccr-

side tne narijuiu. v csav-w * tainly able to work the port toilay, but the Northern Company had had vto build special ships for the purpose Members said that apart from rc--clamation the drainage of the Rangitaiki had meant tliot mucii less water flowed down the river. There was also the loss of the Orini water. Mr Sumner said that some years ago they proposed setting aside a "large area and reclaiming it for an aerodrome. There had been no oppo- • sition expressed then. MUDFLATS MAKING UP. Mr Brabant persisted with his view that they were running into . danger. When the idea of reclaiming the land first came up the danger might have been overlooked. Ht pointed out that the mudflats on the seaward side of the river were making up all the time, and that thi.< reduced the pondage urea and sc meant that there was less water ir the channel and less scour. He did not see the _m-ccssity foi a public meeting said Mr Sumner. The matter was allowed to enc •-there.