DELAYED SHIPPING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 47, 8 February 1944, Page 5

DELAYED SHIPPING

BOARD'S REVENUE THREATENED

SEIUOUS POSITION ARISES

The alleged action of waterside workers in the port of Auckland, who were stated lo give preference to the handling of cargo from larger overseas vessels as a more payable proposition than the unloading of the smaller trading vessels has led to a serious deterioration of the dairy produce from the Bay of Plenty, which was often left on shipboard for many days alongside the wharf befoi e be.ing placed in the freezing chambers). As a result of this, dairy factories in the Eastern Bay are declining to send their produce by boat claiming that the higher rail cost are offset by the more marketable state of the butter and chefese when it arrives in Auckland 1 . The matter is viewed most seriously by the Harbour Boards in the Baj r , which bodies fear a heavy decline in revenue should all the dairy produce be finally diverted to rail. At the last meeting of the Whakatane Harbour Board Mr Mitchell reported that the Opoui'iao Dairy Company a large cheese manufacturing unit had, definitely ceased sending its produce by watei to Auckland because of the. loss in grade. The Waimana Company was considering similar action. The unsatisfactory state of the shipping from the liangitaiki was likely to cause a general transfer to rail unless a definite improvement was affected. The only thing the. Board could do was to bring pressure to bear upon the Northern Steamship Co.. pointing out that the loss of dairying produce from the port would lnr\ e very i'ar-reachjng results. Mr Tiekner observed that the bulk of the Board's revenue was de-j rived l'rom the transport of dairy 1 produce which if diverted would have most drastic repercussions in the face oT the falling wharfages. ; The. chairman (Mr W. li. Boon) said that if the vessels happened to arrive at the week-end. the water-, siders in Auckland refused to handle the boats because of the better rates ruling for the larger ships. The Board decided to write the Northern Steamship Co. stating that it viewed with alarm the cargo which was being lost to YYhakalane, through the unsatisfactory nature of. the company's present service, and desired to know what remedial action the company proposed to adopt.