BUSINESS & PLEASURE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1058, 22 February 1911, Page 6

BUSINESS & PLEASURE.

——♦ HARBOUR BOARD INSPECTS ITS WHARVES. A DAY ON THE UTA. A pleasant prcludo to tho annual meetin!; of tho Harbour Board, held last evening, was tho harbour excursion promoted by the chairman of tho board (Mr. libbert-Fletcher), who at his own personal expense invited tho board to mako an inspection of its outlying wharves and works, and at tho same timo to enjoy his generous hospitality. It was a happy idea. Yesterday's outing was more in tho nature of a harbour picnio than a cold formal v visit of inspection. A start was mado from tho Queen's Wharf at 9.45. a.m., in the board's oil launch, Uta, which was soon making her way through the gold-flecked blue of the harbour northward to where the ugly grey bulk of.the groaning, creaking dredgo Whaknrire threw the streaming contents of her tanks, through a long snake-like pipe, to. add to tho broad acreage at tho back of tho new eca-wall at Waterloo Quay: . Time was when the old bucket dredges were wont to bite at the mullocty harbour-bed round the wharves, and emptjr tho mud in the entrance. Now, and for threo or four years past, the Whakariro has been dredging the Falcon Shoal in tho entranco and bringing tho spoil into town to provide building factions on tho harbour front at Thorndon. Many acres.have been reclaimed already, but of theso it was remarked quito candidly "that tho Government had picked tho eyes out of them," only paying the board for tho actual cost of reclamation. After tho strength and length of the seawall .(now being erected by Mr. C. I?. Pully) had been duly commented on, and someone had said that "the Thorndon Baths wore doomed." the Uta started away for Petone, sitting on the northern edge of the harbour, clear and sweet in the morning light. Nature was clothed in her brightest and best, and Wellington must have looked exceedingly beautiful to the crowds of passengers on the Corinthic, which could be seen stealing elowly, up the entrance from the deep seas. . Petone and Fish-talet. ft Petone has a wharf—just a plain wharf :—"without fixings," as they, say 'in America. If is in constant use for fishing, from. One fisher pretended that he had a big bito on an uuderstudy for , , a clothes line that he had out as soon as tho eyes of the party were on him. "That n bite?" asked a member of tho )oard. "Yes, sir, that was a shark! Lots of 'ein about here." "Good fishing?" ventured tho city man. "Not so bad— caught a 40lb. kingfish last week, and lost a 601b. one!" ■ Mr. Fletcher jumped heavily on tho Petono Wharf, pronounced it sound, and ordered a -course to •be set for Somes Island (over which tho board has no jurisdiction). It was tho firs,t time the chairman and several members of the board hud visited the island. It is a spot of rich content. The paddocks nro knee-high in grass, the nolsteins in quarnntino livo in luxury in the eunny paddocks, and a few good collies yelp in their confinement at the top of the little lull. All' is peace—a calm remoteness from tho red-roofed world across the bay conjures sweet desires. Up past tho Suarantin.o barracks, and down a pincnnked path tho party trudged to'the lighthouse—tho mariners' star of safety. It is an oil light from 700 to 800 candlepower, with powerful reflections of barglass, irridiscent with-.the colours of tho epectrum, whose duty it is ' to reflect every gleam of light they gather on clcareyed lens above. Outsido tho great lantern, on the southern outlook, nro two lnng panM of glass—red and green, about eighteen inches wide, and the full-length of tho lantern long. They are divided bv a spaco one and thre<M)Uarter inches in width. That spaco , is' , th'6 wlilte'"«ctare, which informs tho shipmaster navigating the entrance of his whereabouts. If ho is '.'in the white" ho knows that all is well—ho is in the fairway. If ho opens up red or green, ho is in danger, or clojo to it. Yet it is all dono "by a slit of space between two coloured panes of glass. Luncheon on the Foredeck. The party inspected tho littlo tramway, which led steeply down to a rocky littlo inlet, where tho lighthouso stores nro landed, to be hauled to tho height bv a winch, housed near the lighthouse, lhen wmieono said "Luncheon!" and lighthouses nnd lighthouso wbrk'.'mystcnously lost all interest. A dainty luncheon had been outspread on tho foredeck of tho Uta 1 . Early rising and the sharp salt air had honed and stropped.the appcMo to tho finest edge—and, well, it was nil very nice. At its conclusion Mr. Cecil Jones proposed tho health of Mr. Fletcher, whoso happy idea had brought them together under such pleasant auspices. Hβ proposed his very good health. Mr. Maurico Cohen «nd ho had been absent when tho members had expressed thoir opiuion of Mr. Fletcher on another occasion, but ho wished to do so now. He had found in 51 r. Fletcher mo who was carrying out his duties in the most thorough and conscientious manner, and had proved himself admirably fitted to fulfil the hijrh office he occupied so efficiently. . In" reply, Mr. Fletcher said that of all the offices ho had occupied there was nano ho wns more proud of-than, being chnirinan of tho Wellingtrn Harbour Board. Dining his term of offies thero had beon differences now unit again, but they hrd iilw.iys boon good friends. (Hero n steam escape fiz«d its prol-ing;:! applause.) On resuming he said that ho had got tho idea of tho trip during a recent trip to Auckl-md, and judged that it would be i\ cood thing to invite the members of '.ho board and n few friends to gain acquaintance with tlio works of the board, eo th.it •ey coiil 1-bo conversant with the posi. Hon when nsked tn ?ivo tlioir opinion .ill them. He was glad tho outing had met with their approv- , .! und was giving satisfaction. (Applause.) Down the Entrance, From Somes Island tho Uta dodged over to Day's Bay, which was alivo with picnickers. Tho wharf there camo int.tho possession of tho Harbour Board ti\o years ngo. After a few bright seconds tit Day's Bay (during which it was decided to cut out tho trip to tho low light nt Pencarrow), tho Utn, ignoring tho cxistenco of tho Eona Bay wlnirf, a cable's length awny, mado her way acres* the entrance waters ' to Falcon Shoal, whero the Whaknrire was observed ;it work, s.:oopinj up tho mud n capital st.yl.\ Every bucket held inoro'than a bucketful nnd as each holds tho best part of a ton a fair idea of - tho work that is being dono by tho dredgo can bo gathered. When fulr tho Whaknrarc holds 050 tons.of spoil, and working two shifts u. day as now, she fills up three times a day on the shoal nnd empties it over the Waterloo Quay wall. Such good work has already been dono on the shoal that deon-ladeu Homo steamers can leave port and mako a straight run down the entrance on the white sectorc, as that area within tho scctaro has been dredged to a depth of 42 feet. Formerly tho heavydraught boats had to take a "dog's hind leg" course to avoid the big mud lump now being cut away by tho board's bucket dredge. After tho Whakarire— tho party fished. That is to soy some of them fished. It wns tho ebb tide nnd a southcrlywiml was blowing. After a rocky lime off tho Pinnacles, the launch was turned port-wards. Thcro was a dnsh up Evans Bay for a fleeting look at Pully nnd Sanders' contract (a sea.wall) at tlis Miramar cutting, then Bood-bycs, ami home. It was a very enjoyable hiobour cruise indeed nnd everyone saM ?:. as they left Mr. Fletcher on the wharf. Those present were: Messrs. It. Fletcher, If. Cohen. 11. C. Tcwsley, Cecil Jones, 11. B. Nicholls (secretary), J. Marchbanks (engineer), E. D. Cnchemaillo (assistant engineer), J. Hnrnett (e'erk), Captain Munro (wharfinger), Cnptnin Stott (wharfinger for tho Union Steam Ship Company).'' Captain Johnson (linrbourmnster), Pilot Shillinjr. Messrs. David Nathan, J. P. Luke, M.1 , ., Geo. Princo (ex-wharfinger), Goo. Wilson, Mr. Hiskins (of Invcrcargill, nnd representatives of tho press.