PORT OF WELLINGTON

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3032, 20 March 1917, Page 7

PORT OF WELLINGTON

. A YEAR'S WORK FEAR 01 OUTSIDE COMPETITORS ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOARD The statutory annual meeting of the Wellington Harbour. Board was held at noon yesterday. - The business at this meeting is to receive the annual accounts and, the reports of tho chief executive officers of the board. Thero were present! Messrs. C. B. Darnell (chairman), M. Cohen, E, E. Sinclair, J. W. Jl'Bwen, K, A. Wright, J. G. Harkness. H. L. Nathan, C. W. Jones, and A. H. Hindmarsh. : The resolution authorising tho chairman to sign the balance-sheet as audited was carried. ' ' CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS. EEVIEW OF A YEAR OP PKOPIT. The chairman, submitting the motion, reviewed the operations of the board for the year. "Tho very comprehensive report and statement of accounts from the secretary, together with the reports of the engineer and the harbourmaster," he said, "give full information in much detail of "the business of the board during the past year. Knowing as I do the strenuous nature of the work involved consequent on a reduced staff, I would here congratulate Mr. Nioholls and the. officers concerned.- ■ "The board's figures confirm others already published that the volume of trade is remarkable in that record quantities of goods have been handled both outwards and inwards for the period under reviow; but members will be interested to learn that for the period since these accounts-were closed (iive months) there is a • falling-off both in imports and.eiports. This may be only temporary >as later months may correct the difference, but in shipping arrivals for the past five months there is a decrease of 181,000 tons compared with the same period in the previous year. " "The condition of the several funds may be considered satisfactory. It would have been easy, but hardly wise to reduce the.credit balance by spending on necessary work. The board's restraint in this direction-is in-keeping with the requirements of the nation. ■■-.''-. ' ' Reclamations. ... 'The absorbing interest in things military has precluded the progress in negotiations whicli might reasonably havo been, expected. It will apparently take some educating of the several parties ; be-. fore a good result is obtained. In the , meantime the Tβ Aro railway is a nuisance to traffic on' the waterfront, and where it oroeses the points of access, to the aeveral wharves is a real danger to life and limb, while the railway station blocks an important section of the city .from the waterfront, and at the same .time checks development on Te Aro reclaimed lands-"of the board. Till these and some other involved matters are dealt with the possible reclamation of •lands _at Thorndon is held up, while the boards dredge is lying idle at a cost of a ■■ couple of thousand pounds a year instead of being profitably .employed. Inquiries made and the actual business done in leasing board's lands during the year emphasise the importance of this matter. .. .•..■":-,

; Improved Carjo-Handlinn Machinery.. "The- impossibility of importing, the! eleotac cranes from England for thebet..ter handling of cargo in the board's sheds ■Ll? made it undesirable; to proceed with the structural alteration' that will be necessary in order to instal the machinery. taken during the year demonstrate that economies- would result as well as , the more efficient handling of merchandise. '■■'.- ' ■';..' Cheese 6torei -; The new cheese store, while, still unnnishfid as regains appliances, has proved most.. suitable for its . designed purpose. Ihis and several other of the board's 6heda have recently been used to store , the great- accumulation resulting from want of suitable shipping. The board's staff are to be congratulated on their ■ efforts to save from depreciation- this mass of\a valuable perishable product. •.There are now 100,000 cases of cheese in the various stores worth, say, .£600,000 to ,£700,000. .'"..:

'It has been.a pleasure to the board to cooperate, with the Agricultural Department in its care for one of the'mostimportant products of the Dominion.

. .... The Wharves. "Little progress has been made in. the new Pipitea Wharf, no steel for reinforcement of concrete being obtainable. About one-fifth of the piles are made and a; few\ placed in position: It may fairly be assumed > that for want of thia wharf there will be some ■ congestions of shipping before the structure can be erected after the war. The Wellington-Lyttelton Ferry Wharf hae proved to be quite a success, and if the Railway Department could co-operate in the same spirit' as the city tramways department does, inter* .island travellers would be well served. The smooth working of the arrangomeht made by the board is often favourably commented on.' Of the other ferry wharves, that at Petone is little more than a monument, while that at Day's Bay has fully justified the improvements and additions recently made. Increases in Wages. "The increased rates paid to wageearners, both casual and permanent, have necessarily meant increased expenditure, which has in turn been met by increasing tho charges for services rendered by tjie board. The unexampled values.received for the products of the land, resulting in a plethora of money, has enabled traders to pay with scarcely a remark. Other increases are now asked by labour, with a variation in conditions of service whioh may materially 'advance the board's expenditure, but this may bo partially mot by improved methods, and the nee of mechanical apjiliances where manual labour is now used.\' ■ ■ ■ . • Miscellaneous. "The apparent difficulty with the City Council as to proposed second slip at Evans Bay has been the subject of a commission, uid it is understood that one more obstacle to the proposal is about to be removed. . "The board's decision to defer erection of now office, building, while justified under existing conditions, loaves the accommodation for tho staff still unsatisfactory, and the best results cannot bo expected under present conditions. "Tho recently purchased motor ambulanco is found to be suitable, and already has been called into servico on several occasions. . ■ "The board, as a policy, and our omcers in daily practice, havo striven to co-operate with tho military authorities in all possible ways, and the Dcfwico Department, in recognising this, have expressed ther hearty appreciation." Air. .C. W. Jones, seconding tho motion, congratulated the chairman and tho officers of tho board on tho marked success that had attended tho operations of the port.

Good and Bad Points. Mr. J. G. Harkness joined with tho chairman in congratulating tho officers of the board on the cxcollently compiled arid highly satisfactory reports. Ho was glad to observe that tho financial position of tho board was yearly growing stronger. One particularly gratifying feature of the report was tho growth of the profit in last year to £11,851 from JESBII. This was duo partly to increased charges for goods, and partly to reduced expenditure on maintenance work, but also to increased business. The present position was mainly duo to increased charges, combined with the growth of the business of the port. It was also satisfactory to note the increased rev-, enuo being received from rente of the board's- freehold lands, ehowing that in ■ the future tho boaTd could cirjoct greater returns from these holdings. One unsatisfactory fcaturo of the year, howover, was tho failure of tho board to provide morewwharff f accommodation. Had the year been a normal ono for shipping the wharfage accommodation would have been absolutely inadequate for the needs of tho port. After tho war tho development of trade would bo enormous, and if we did not'hasten the construction

of more wharfage accommodation it was just possible that Wellington woiild forfeit its high position as the premier port of New Zealand. Ho reerotted that proper accommodation had not been provided for the staff, for ho believed that undor present conditions it was not poseible for the staff, to <lo its work efficiently. Another 'unsatisfactory feature iof the .report was that tho proportion of expenditure'to receipts was ine-easing year _ by. year. Tho proportion of exnendituro to rccoipts was 63.03, considerably higher than in tho previous year. The highest figure previously recorded was in 1902-3, when tho iiguro was 71.33, but in that year tho high percentage was due to tho very high rato of expondituro on maintenance.. Ho could not argue that the wages were too highwhat ho feared was that the board was not setting as Rood si return as formerly for the wages paid. A Petone Protest. Mr J. W. M'Bwcn protested against the chairman s description of Petone Wharf as a monument." It it -was a monument, it was a: monument to the folly of tho Wellington Harbour Board which gave the wharf to Potone as a quid pro quo when the Petono Foreshores Bui was before Parliament. Mr. Cohen: The troublo ie that we gavo too many quids for tho pros! (Laughter.) Mr: M'Ewen <Jid not quite agree that tliore was any evidence that the board was not getting a square deal from tho men. . . . , Outside ..Competition. ■ Mr. Nathan, after congratulating the officers, on their reports, referred to the danger threatening Wellington by competition from smaller ports. New Plymouth was to' be opened to an ocean liner this week, and ho ventured to eay that five years after the war Wanganiii would be a ; very formidable competitor with Wellington. This was a matter whioh tho board should watch very carefully. , Hβ agreed with Mr. Harkness that it -was a groat pity that the board had not been able to go on with the construction of the Pinftea Wharf, although he admitted that it would not be possible to do so until after the war. ■

Mr. M. Cohen said' that he was 3iot L of opinion that maintenance charges 6hould increase -whether necessary or not, iis Mr. Jlarkness hnd seemed to suggest. The board should have sufficient confidence in the engineer to feel sure that enough was being done to keep tho aesets from rapid depreciation. Tlio hoard had had to. increase working expenses along with ■ all other concerns in control of business. The 0 board had met the .tendency., of the age, but there- was a limit of safety beyond which it'could not go with safety, having regard especially to the imminence of serious competition fromother ports. But it was a fact that would remain the central port for New Zealand for all time, and which would be the fault of the board if the liarbour -did not hold its position undisputed as the premier port of the Dominion.

. . Chairman ( in Reply. The chairman, replying, admitted the need for more wharf accommodation, and said that he thought the board should go on with the construction of tho Te Aro Wharf, cast of Taranaki Street, in 'timber.

Mr. Nathan: I will give notice of motion to that effect for next meeting to put that question before the board. Tho 'chairman' said ho could find ho evidence that the men employed by the "board were slowing up. He was optimistic ae to the future of the port, saying that he did not believe that the competition from Wanganui or other ports would ever be such as to cause concern for the future of Wellington Harbour. Aβ 6tated above, the motion was agreed to. ' ' ■■'..'