FOR THE MOTORIST,

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1866, 27 September 1913, Page 14

FOR THE MOTORIST,

Hawke's Bay is tho land of motorenrs, and a busy spot in Napior is tho big motor garage of Messrs. Duncan and Lowe, which stands at tho head of Herschell Street,. This garage, which was recoutly erected, is built of reinforced concrete, and is absolutely fireproof. Tho only part of tho building that could by any chance burn is tho roof, and even it is so constructed that any section of it could be destroyed without endangering tho stability of tho remainder. Tlie garage will accommodate fifty cars, and has already been taxed to'its utmost capacity. A nightwatchman is kept on the premises, and to meet tho convenience of ladies a comfortably-furnished waiting-room has been fitted up. A feature of tho business is tlio repair shop at the- back of the garage. A stalf of ten workmen is continuously employed here, and it is stated that tho plant is capable of turning out any part of a motor-car that may be required. Power is supplied by a gus engine, and among the machinery is a universal grinding machine, capable of working to a thousandth part of an inch, a fine high speed lathe (ono of the best in Now Zealand), a drillingmachine, a shaping-machine, and all tho various accessories. The workshop is' also equipped with a travelling crane, capable of lifting three tons. Adjoining the workshop is tho benzine store, which is completely enclosed in a wall of solid concrete. Messrs. Duncan and Lowe are agents for three well-known makes of cars— the Cadillac, the Hudson, and the DaiinMcr, and also the Fleuz and Hollford commercial motor-vehicles. They recently supplied the Hawke's l!a\ Motor Company, Ltd., with a 30-seater Ulw„ aud, in fact, lnivo. supplied Unit company with ali its ciua ejeept one.

tion of this schemo at a cost of £300,000, and an .empowering Bill is now before Parliament. When the Bill lias been passed the ratepayers will again bo called upon to express 'their opinion on the project at another loan poll. Tho first project for tho construction of an artificial harbour at, Napior dates back to tho beginning of tho seventies, when the Provincial Council set up a committee to investigate the matter. Two years later the Napier Harbour Board was created, and by 1877 it had constructed two piers and had made good progress with the wharves and landing facilities at Port Ahuriri. In 1880 Sir John Coodo reported to tho Government on tho works ho would recbinmond to provido a suitable harbour for Napior, and drew up a plan for tho improvement of the inner harbour. Three years later the board offered a prize of £500 for competitive designs for a harbour at Napier. Of the thirtyfour designs received, tho palm was awarded by tho committee of Euglish engineers who did the judging .to Mr. Culcheth for a plan for the improvement of tho inner harbour. ■ The board did not agree with this decision, and.commissioned. Mr,..Gao(lall to supply plans for a breakwater at the Bluff at Napier. On January 25, 1887, the, first block of tho breakwater was laid, and on June 13, 1893, the first steamer, a vessel of 910 tons register, was berthed alongside tho breakwater wharf, and took on board a shipment of circus animals while a heavy sea was running. The breakwater has been extended from time to time, and now has a length of 2530 feet.' The last extension was made in 1909, when an additional 108 feet was put on. The scheme of construction is far from being complete. It includes the building of a second mole and a long addition to the existing breakwater, the two arms enclosing an' area of 212 acres, with wharfage accommodation for 17 ocean liners. It is estimated that the work could bo completed for a million and a quarter sterling, whereas the cost of the inner harbour project, which will give greater accommodation, is put a,t slightly over the million mark. The position at -the moment- is that Hie board has spent half a million on the outer harbour, which in its present state fails to meet requirements in three respects:— ' (1) Tho depth of water and wharfago accommodation aro insufficient to permit largo ocean liners to load at the port, and they havo to be tendered in the bay at an annual cost of £18,500 in 1 lighterage, which cost will increase with tho ' growth of trade. (2) There is no safe accommodation for the smaller coastal vessels and the trawling fleet, etc., and iho old inner harbour has to be maintained by the board as a port for small craft at an annual cost of about £2000. (!)) Tlie harbour is not always workable, and sometimes those vessels which make use of it—-i.e., the. Union Company's and llnd-d:irt-P:irker Company's coastal and intercolonial vessels, aud

Another important factor to bo borno in mind in connection with tlio two schemes is that if it is decided to adopt the inner harbour project practically all idea will havu to bo abandoned of reclaiming, either now or in the future, any portion of the vast area of 7900 acres comprised in tlio Port Almriri Lagoon. The engineers are particularly insistent 011 this point, and expressed tliomselves most emphatically on it in a supplement to their main report It is essential to tho success of the inner harbour scheme, they state, that there should he a good scour through .tho entrance when the tide flows out, and to obtain this scour the area of .tidal water inside must be as great as possible. - Tho making of Napier South illustrates what can bo done in tho way of winning hack from the sea land onco covered by the tidal waters of tho inner harbour, and to forego the possibility of reclaiming an area of 7000 acres in the immediate vicinity of what is some day destined to become a great port,, is a

bigi tem. The value of this land at the present time, if reclaimed, would probably average about £100 an acre, or a total of £790,000. Sir. George Nolson is the leading ndvocato of the inner harbour, and it is to his perseverance. that (lie whole harbour question has again been brought; under review- in Napier. As be pointed out. in his report on the subject, an area Jor the erection oi warehouses, etc., at tlie outer harbour at the pic-

value is put by a competent authority at from £175 to £225 a foot. Tlio inereaso in valuo during the lust ten years has been about £50 a foot.