NEW PLYMOUTH'S HARBOUR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1402, 30 March 1912, Page 16

NEW PLYMOUTH'S HARBOUR.

A PORT WITH GREAT POSSIBILITIES. ITS POSITION AS A CENTRE. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.

When .Maui, Iho Maori mythological god, designed the North Island, he left many blemishes on his geographical architecture. Chief of (hose was tho paucity of good harbours on the West Coast.This has been the case with New Plymouth, and has necessitated the construction of an artificial harbour. When the late Mr. F. A. Carringlon, acting on behalf of the Plymouth Land Company, laid out the town, he had in mind the idea of a harbour and wharves at the Sugar Loaves; but it was not until some twenty years had passed since the first days of settlement that anything was done in that direction. The first definite steps were made in 1803, when the then Provincial Council passed a vote of X2OO "for the payment of a competent person to survey !he roadstead, and report upon the best means of forming a harbour." At that time Hie. landing charge-, from vessels tendered in the open roadstead, amounted to :ss. per ton, while the annual cost of maintaining the. boating and other services was over J!C000 a year, towards which .£4OOO was received from dues and charge.?. Various schemes were proposed, amongst them Hie work ut joining together Mikotahi and Moturoa, two of the Sugar Loaf Islands. This idea was abandoned on the ground that tho estimated cost, .£750,000, would l:e ton great an incubus to put on to a struggling settlement. Nothing further was done in the matter til! 157.5, when thn Provincial Council passed a Bill- constituting a Harbour Hoard, and endowing it with a fourth of tho land revenue of the province, as well as giving it power to levy a rale over a defined area comprising the greater part of the provincial district. THE FIRST HARBOUR BOARD. The first board, which was elected on January 20, 1875, comprised Messrs. ]■'. A. Carringlon (chairmani, 11. A. Atkinson, W. N. Svmes, A. Standjsh, C. Brown, ■I. B. Council, T. Kellv, U. Weston, and tl. Curtis. About the end of 1575 .Messrs. CarruHiers and lllackett visited New Plymouth, and recommended the construction of a breakwnter on the inner side of Mikotahi Island, and in 1877 a Bill I was passed authorising a loan of .1:200.(100 1 for tho work. Subsequently Sir John Coode, (he eminent engineer, visited Xew Plymouth (1878), and endorsed Messrs. CniTiithrrs' and Blackelt's plans. A contract for the construction of ,-,«, tramway to'the quarries' was let .-dij. August Joj "tjtrs. (u.MV. X. Hooker, .anil on February 1, ISSI, tho fouiulatiojj-qfcfhe; new work was laid by Mr. Ciirriiiglo:!/: when 250 feet of the work had 'been practically completed. Most, of the work was carried out under (he supervision of Mr. G. Rhind, who rose from the position of foreman to enginccv-in-charge. \'y March 10 the wall had advanced to a length of ■150 feel, and (he Kennedy, the first steamer to disehargo cargo at tho mole, came alongside with a cargo of -100 casks of cement. A few days later the schooner Richard and Mary also discharged a cement shipment. On .May 27, 1887. tho first passengers, Mr. and' Mrs. Driscoll and their family, embarked from the Breakwater on the steamer Orcti. The New Plymouth (las Company made the first, commercial use of the Breakwater, landing a. cargo of 120 tons of coal from tho Oreti on September 22, 1883. The first steamer of the Union S.S. Company to touch at the wharf was the Waiuika (Captain Xnvill), which was berthed on March 22, 1881, and from July 1, 1881, Iho lighter service was discontinued. On May 8. 1886, the llnlcione, of 831 tons, discharged cement at tho wall, and on May 23, tho Wakatipu came alongside, drawing ISU't. liiu. of water, and shipped a considerable cargo of butter and other produce. RAILWAY CONNECTION. The railway connecting (he town wi(h the wharf was commenced in Mav, 1885, and opened for traffic in- Mav, 1880. hi June. 1887, die wall had reached a length' a little over 1900 feel, and all (he loan money having been expended, work was in a measure- discontinued. Means however, had been, provided to build a wharf and a. dredge, and the wharf being completed in February, ISBS, Ihe Wakatipu was berthed alongside in .March of that year. TROUBLES AND TRIUMPHS. Tt is not necessary to touch other than briclly on. the early troubles of the New Plymouth Harbour Board. Tho difficulties were many. At one lime, in 1893. the breakwater was threatened with destruction. The townspeople, ever patriotic, subscribed XIOOO, with assistance from the country,.to defray the cost of protective work, which was carried on until a substantial apron of heavy stone had been deposited along the whole length of the wall, which was thus saved from any furl her damage. There were periods when the sand drift threatened to close the port, but this difficulty also was gradually overcome, and the board was able to olfer facilities for shipping as outlined by Sir John Coode. The trade of tho port grewsteadily, and from 1897 to 1900 tho total tonnage of imports and exports doubled itself. In 190G, tho vessels entering and leaving tho port numbered 540, with an aggregate tonnage of 201,757. At this later stage tho work of extension, both of the breakwater and wharf, was being continued out of revenue, whilo the depth of water at the wharf and in the fairway Mas maintained by dredging. Fnllv 40,000 passengers passed over the wharf in 1900. BIG POSSIBILITIES. Tho growing trade of the port, and tho rapid extension of settlement in the district served by it, demanded greater facilities for shipping. By transforming Xew Plymouth into a deep sea port, it would enable tho town to conserve the great and growing industrial resources of tho province, and tho harbour itself would be able to compete with Auckland and Wellington. Tho possibilities of success are great, and may be well worth the cost of n comprehensive scheme which would enable oversea vessels to tic up at the breakwater. Roughly, the port up to the present has not drawn trade from n greater distance than 35 miles, an area of, say, a million and a quarter acres. By becoming a deep-sea port, Now Plymouth will serve an area with a radius of at least 70 to 80 miles. The main lino from Wellington runs now on to the wharf. .A branch line from Stratford has just about reached Whniigaiuomoua, nearly 70 miles awav from New Plymouth. Another branch line is to ho constructed from Opuntko to tho main WellingtonNew Plymouth line, and running across the country some 30 odd miles. If this line conjoint at Stratford, at or near Eltham it will tap country which along tho route is not more than 60 miles from Xew Plymouth. Briefly, these railways altogether will traverse something like 200 miles of country within the spheres of influence controlled by the harbour, every mile contributing its quota of trade to the port. The main line passes through the settled land of the flourishing towns of Hawera, Eltham, Stratford, Ingleivood, and Patea, the latter town being GO miles from Xew Plymouth. Tho Stratford-Te Koura lino will run through' over 100 miles of exceptionally rich dairy and sheep country, the greater part of which is already partly settled, and also through an area of country with great coal-bearing possibilities. A short branch line alreadv extends to Waitara, another very rich and very well-settled district. The (Ipiinake line will traverse perhaps Ihe most thick-ly-populated, and, at the same time, one of Ihe most productive dairying districts, in New Zealand. The dairy land along where this route is likely to run ranees I in veluo from -CSO to X7O per ncre. The ureiw urc small, mjd the population hmd. j H'orkim to l dogxe*. i

ADMIHABI.Y SI'ITATKD.

A glance ;ifc the map will serve lo show • him; admirably Xew Plymouth Harbour ■ is .situated as a receiving and distributin° port, i'e Koura, where the Stratford lino will junction the Xorth Island Main Trunk line, is about 170 miles from Auckland, and 135 miles from New Ply. , mouth. Uhakune, which is 225 miles irom . Auckland, anil 202 from Wellington, will ho only ISO miles from New Plymouth when the Strntford-Te Koura line "is com- : pleted, and the Taranaki harbour will also have the chance of serving the 5!) miles of newly-opened country between Te Koura ami Taiimiiruuui, to' say nothing of the almost certain " trado which will exist right along the 100niilo route from Stratford to Te Koura. Jiy sea, the districts surrounding the H a (flan and h'awhia Harbours, and in the watershed of the Mokau River, will find New Plymouth their most convenient deep-water port. His 43 nnies from Xew Plymouth by sea to Mokau; OS to Pafea 1 ; 93 to Wanganui; 42 (o Opuni'ike; 17.'! to Wellington; 72 to Kawhia; 82 to Raglan; and 1141 miles to Sydney. Xew Plymouth is, in fact, 98 miles nearer the Xew South Wales capital than is Wellington, while the run across is absolutely straight. It is predicted in Taranaki that in the near future mails and passengers to and -from Sydney will bo disembarked at New Plymouth, which ; s a particularly central position, from the point of view of distribution and assembling. PItOGRKSSIVF, 'WORKS. '.' It was the fads svt out in the foregoing statement which decided the Xew Plymouth Harbour Board to carry on tne extension of the Breakwater, widen the wharf, and deepen the harbour. A loan of J.-2iS,WH) was raised, which liquidated the, existing loan, anil left a sum of J.'l2a,OoU to spend on the proposed works. Plans wore prepared by Jlr.'F. W. Marchant, M.J.C.8., the hoard's consulting engineer, and approved by tho Marino Department, designed to provide accommodation for the largest vessels trading to Xew Zealand. A powerful dredge—the Paritutu—was ordered, with a dredging depth of 40 feet, and a hopper capacity ot 4(10 tons in one half-hour, and this important work was commenced on July 9, 1010. By the end of April, 1911, dredging hod been completed to u depth of 33 feet at low water, and 45 feet at high wa'cr, for a distance of 300 feet from the outer j end of the whnrf, and 90 feet wide. • Sineo (hen nearly all the remaining portion uf the wharf area required by ocean liners has been dredged to a "similar depth, and it is possible now for steamers of the lonic, Athenie, and Corinthic class .to berth, with safety at the'Xew Plymouth, Wharf:';. The wharf itself-re-quires ltf,;be .jW'iUeHed, however, -still fur- • lliijr before ,b'ig ocean liners will :ha i able ■ to'v'eomo- ih',--.but this accommodation should be available in the course of the present year. There will be 900 feet of berthage on the eastern side of tho wharf, varying in depth from 33 feet at the outer end lo 10 feet at the inner end, at low water; or 45 feet to 28 feet at high water. There will also be 500 feet of berthage on the western side, with a low-water depth of 20 feet at the outer end,, and- Hi. feet iii'tlie The wharf will be 71 feet wide with lour lines of rails. The total length of the Breakwater will be 2512 feet, and it effectually shelters the wharf. The navigating area and the approaches to the harbour have bscn thoroughly swept to a depth.of 30 feel, and found to be perfectly free from hidden dangers in "the shape of rocks. In the roadstead the uniform depth is from GO to 120 feet, (he best anchorage being at 72 feet. . TRADE OP THE PORT. The trade of tho port makes interesting reading. In 1573, when all shipping was tendered in (he open roadstead, 127 vessels entered and cleared at Xew Plymouth, representing 31,018 tons. In ISB4 the aggregate tonnage of shipping had grown lo .81,120 tons, while imports and exports totalled 10,086 tons. By 1895 the vessels entering and clearing had increased to 302, aggregating 93,853 tons, and p handling imports and exports of a tonnage of 25,093. Wharfages and dues were -C 3540. In 1910, 359 vessels entered and cleared the harbour, aggregating 186,830 tons, while imports and exports represented a tonnage of 80,849. Wharf dues and revenues were set down at .£11,820. Figures for 1911 are very satisfactory, the total tonnage of imports and exports combined being a record, namely, 87,185. EXPORTS AND IMPORTS. Following is a list of the principal exports to foreign ports and imports, excluding produce and live stock shipped for transhipment at the larger ports:— EXPORTS. . Produce. Weight. V«lue, Butter 92,576 cwt. 462,250 Clieeso 02,105 cwt. 164,634 Hides 4,999 6,092 Wool 71,488 lb. 2,665 lingua 527 cwt. 1,308 Tallow 6 tons 200 IMPORTS. General merchandise, 25,471 tons; lime, 1270 tons; wheat, 1401 tons; chaff, CBO tons; onions, 268 tons; oats, 3876 fens; timber, 904 tons; coal, 16,816 tons; manures, 2889 tons; potatoes, 2912 tons; flour, 3816 tons; grass-seed, 421 tons; bran and pollard, 1119 tons; oatmeal, 145 tons; Bait, 649 torn. EXPORT TRADE OF THE PROVINCE. The export trado of tho province is at present served by three ports, namely, Now Plymouth, Patca, and Waitara, from the first two of which produce is carried m coastal 6teamers to Wellington, and there transhipped to ocean liners, while at \\aitara the cargo boats lio in the open roadstead, and nre tendered by barges. When ocean-going vessels are able to berth at tho New Plymouth wharf, there is every reason to assume that practically the whole of the produce will be shipped there, instead of being transhipped at Wellington or lightered at Waitara. This alone furnishes a reason for the frequent loading" of steamers at New Plymouth, but with the rapid extension of settlement, and the increasing productiveness of the land already settled, it is certain that exports must enormously increase. The combined trade of the three ports mentioned for tho period ended March 31, 1911, is as follows: Produce. Weight. Value. Butter 132,171 cwt. 650,992 Cheese 202,457 cwt. 557,449 Frozen beef 112,4330wt. 156,614 Frozen mutton ... 28,836 carcasses 29,094 Frozen lamb 53,577 carcasses 33,681 Frozen pork 4,295 cwt. 10,043 Meat (other lines) 5,530 cwt. 10,519 Tallow 950 tom i 7,286 Oleomargarine ... 309 tons 12,343 Hides 1,738 24,711 Skins 117,201 i 20,028 .£1,538,763 Assuming the population of Tnranaki to be 40,000, every man, woman, and child contributes on an average nearly £i per head towards the export trade of the Dominion. The present Harbour Board is constituted as follows:—Messrs. J. B. Connett (chairman), C. E. Bellringer, D. J. Hurlics, Newton King. E. Maxwell, ,1. M'Cluggage, W. Swadling, C. A. Wilkinson, and 11. Dookroll. Mr. F. W. Marchant is the consulting engineer. Mr. F. Henderson superintendent of works, CapUiu (!. Ilolford harbourmaster, and Mr. C. S. lionnell secretary. This board is one of the most progrcs- ' sivo institutions in the province, and it ' will not- hi) tho fault of any of the mom- j hers or of the staff enumerated if New Plymouth's harbour does not take its j pine;, heforn many yearn olar"*, in one j of thi principal port* in Now Zoilud. ' /