TAURANGA HAS DRAWBACKS AS HARBOUR SITE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 54, 21 October 1949, Page 5

TAURANGA HAS DRAWBACKS AS HARBOUR SITE

A comparison of the Whakatane and Tauranga sites for a deep water harbour for the Bay of Plenty and the preliminary work that is required before anything can be done T" when building a port was the subject of an address to the Whakatane Rotary Club this week by -Mr C. H. Brebner, consulting engineer to the Whakatane Harbpur Board and originator of the Whakatane scheme. Although Tauranga could be called a natural, harbour it was not quite so good as many.harbours and had many definite drawbacks, Mr Brebner contended. The main disability was the lack of deep water that would require constant dredging to allow it to cope with anything but the smallest ships. It impounded a large area of water with a narrow entrance at its eastern or Mount Maunganui end. Over the centuries the ebb tides had carried sediment—the result of denudation of the high back country—and deposited it outside the entrance where the tide current slackened. The result, today was that at low water there was an area with a maximum depth of 21 feet at low water and there was nothing that could be done about it. ..„|fMr Brebner gave the description of the Tauranga harbour entrance as contained in the Nautical Almanack. "With a least depth of 21 feet at its southern side the entrance lies between Mt. Maunganui and the Matakana bank. After northerly and easterly gales there is a break right across from Matakana Bank to the Mount." Referring to % the Whakatane scheme Mr Brebner said that a shel- : tered harbour at Kohi Point, such as was visualised, would be able to shelter any overseas vessel likely to make use of it. He outlined the information that was required by the Government before any constructive work could be commenced. The protective moles or breakwaters would require much investigation as it would be necessary to have a knowledge of wave action and wave destructive work of the sea accordingly. After comparing the two sites Mr . Brebner said that he was quite satisfied after a preliminary survey j that a harbour could be successfully built and maintained at. Whakatane for not more than £1,000,000. Costs Involved In Whakatane Harbour The approximate cost of the main individual items that would be involved in the deep water harbour scheme for Whakatane were outlined to the Whakatane Rotary Club this week by the consulting engineer to the Whakatane Harbour Board, Mr C. H. Brebner. The total cost is estimated to be £1,000,000. It would be made up in the following way:— £ Moles (90 chains) 600,000 Wharves (1600 ft) 150,000 Reclamation adjacent to harbour 50,000 Railway from Board Mills to harbour 100,000 River Diversion 100,000 . f £1,000,000