ARGUMENTS FOR RETENTION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 47, 9 February 1945, Page 5

ARGUMENTS FOR RETENTION

Local body speakers from Whakatane andl Opotiki joined forces with other interested parties in "emphasising the need to retain : 'at all costs the existing rail and "shipping' services to the two 'towns j when the special comt:miission appointed by the Government to go into the question of the inter-relation of the railways and the coastal shipping facilities sat at Whakaiane lasit Tuesday. From the forceful nature of the state*nents by all speakers it wasi apparent that any attempt to curtail the existing lines of transport would meet with the strongfc&t resentment and opposition in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

The. Commission consisted of Mr H. B. Smith (Assistant Commission«er of Transport) Mr H. 'C. Longford (Commercial Manager N.Z.R.), Captain S. Holme (N.Z. Ship-Owners' Federation) Messrs.. I. Thomas and K. Walton* (N.Z.R.),, Captain Hammond and Mr Caistens (Northern Steamship Company) and Mr E.' C. Hale (Secretary). Speakers from this territory represented the Whakatane and Opotiki Harbour Boards, Chambers of Commerce Borough Councils, County Councils., the Carriers' "Association and the Dairy Companies..

The atmosphere of the whole sitting was one of extreme friendliness ■which was no doubt due, in large measure to the courtesy and tactful handling of all evidence by the Chairman, who explained in his opening remarks that the Commission had been appointed by the Minister of. Transport, at the request of the shipowners who complained that their coastal shipping services, were lieing adversely affected as a result -of rail opposition.

Mr W. Sullivan i M.P., who introduced the local b®dy representatives -spoke at some length on the basic importance of shipping to the development and settlement of the East Coast where road transport had for many years played only a minor part in the establishment of towns and farm centres. Any curtailment -of. the shipping would be a most serious thing as the Railway Department was totally incapablc of catering for all the transport needed for proper development. It would be a disastrous thing to throw any further load on the already overburdened rail service.

Developing Back Country If the Government was desirous of developing the country that lay inland from our parts it was necessary to bring regular quantities of fertilisers, stock and seed. He was one who firmly believed in the completion of the. East Coast railway but at the same time he considered that it was necessary to develop the settlements from the sea as. an initial step. In any case, he Avas equally certain that both services could foe developed without serious injury to each other. He would urge upon the Commission the need to buhd up all the natural assets at our disposal as well as to give the best possible service by introducing the Kill. Viewpoint For the Whakatane Chamber of Commerce, Mr R- W. Schoficul said that the area served by the Whakatane Harbour had all the natural endowments which should make lor commercial success. He. spoke also of an anchorage at Otirawairere Bay which could cater for vessels of several thousand tons. This fact j he declared should not be forgotten by succeeding generations. He went on to criticise the frieght charges of the Northern Steamship Company and maintained that if. the townspeople of Whakatane owned their own vessel they would transport their goods to Auckland much ■cheaper. He emphasised the ance of shipping not merely to the Bay of Plenty but to the whole of New Zealand stating that it was by :.such means that our youth could be trained for service in the Navy and likewise our own coastal defence. Ports were the nation's assets and from his point of view } the sea and rail services should be both complimentary. In answer to a question from Captain witness said that his assumption that the Northern Stcam.ship rates were, unduly high was based on information given him by that company's opposition. Borough Council's Evidence For Jhe Whakatane Borough Coun- ; c ii Mr S. S. Shapley also stressed the need to preserve the locai shipping facilities. He could foresee in ithe future a strong and consistent

RAIL AND SHIPPING COMMITTEE

EVIDENCE AT WHAKATANE SITTING

coastal service growing up providing the present service was not interfered with. He pointed out the possible increase of Harbour Board rates in the event of revenue being lost and added that there was no railway of any consequence within eight miles of the. town whereas the harbour facilities brought, all goods to the town's back door. Mr Shapley complained of the inadequate service of the railways. Trains were consistently late and no one seemed to know when they would arrive. He himself had waited upwards of an hour and a half. There was. likewise no light at. the station and as a result the approach \vas dangerous, County Interests

"Most of our ratepayers arc farmers" said Mr J. L. Burnett for the YVhakatane County Council, "and therefore anything' in their interests we feel it our duty to assist in." From the country dweller's point of view lie could not conceive of anything to warrant the curtailment of shipping in the Bay of Plenty. He mentioned that in England there had been a recent move to reinstate the waterways and canals as the cheapest mode of transport and as a war measure. There was also a growing shortage of coal in this country which the authorities should take cognisance of. This would be a serious thing if all transport were diverted to the rail. Shipping services were the only other alternative in the face of such an eventuality. If shipping were jeopardised many thousands of pounds of wharf facilities and other constructions would ho wasted. Statements from Opotiki Mr Chas, Pipe for the Opotiki Chamber of said that the views of the businessmen in that centre coincided with those expressed by the Whakatane speakers. Opotiki desired to see a building up of the existing services rather than any reduction.

Mr T. G. Johnson speaking for the Opotiki Borough Council, said that the town was 30 miles from the railhead and relied upon the coastal shipping for all its bulk supplies. The whole of the intervening area to the East Cape approximating some 60 miles relied upon Opotiki as a centre of distribution. There was aiso the question of stock, many thousands of head 'passing through the town from Poverty Bay. He would emphasise the need to bring the railway through from Gisborne in order to save droving lees and the wear and tear on the roads. He urged the Commission to stress the need to the Government not to curl ail but to augment both shipping and rail services wherever it was possible to do so. Carriers' Complaint Mr R. P. Smithy for the Carriers' Association, emphasised the unfair competition which he maintained was being carried on by the Railway Road Services at the expense of the private individual. lie mentioned that the Road Services were favoured by concessions which were not available to the private operator and further that many of the runs were uneconomical as far as the department was but were carried on in order to wear down the opposition. He asked that the private carrier be protected from this unfair competition or else that the Government take over and purchase at a fair fee the whole of the carrying business. Asked by Mr to give fur-, ther details of his alleged unfair competition statement, Mr Smith mentioned that tyres were made available to the Road Services at a fraction of the. cost to the private operator. This was. strongly refuted by the railway representatives who declared that the department was paying exactly the same figure as was lixed by the Price Tribunal. Dual Carrying Deplored Another point raised was that Road Services cars were frequently compelled to carry goods to a central depot from where private carriers took delivery and distributed them many miles back along the route already travelled. "Is this right," declared Mr Langford. "If it is it is a ridiculous state of affairs and something ought to be done to put an end to it." As nobody seemed certain on the point tMe matter was passed over, Mr Langford undertaking to investigate the matter further when in Wellington. (Continued in next column)