HARBOUR WORKS

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 160, 1 April 1919, Page 6

HARBOUR WORKS

I THE WAIROA SCHEMES

[•; .' Some little time ago most of the works. !■ constructed to make a harbour at the I . port of Wairoa, Hawke's Bay. were waslil ed out to sea, and it-is absolutely essenf tial if the district is to progress at/all that there should be a harbour in the !' neighbourhood. There is a freezing works ! at the port, and meat is in store awaiting shipment. Two proposals were made to the Government on the advice of engineers employed by the Harbour Board [ . -to spend some more money in restoring '■ the works at Wairoa, or to build another harbour at Waikokopu, some miles dis- ■ V tant, and to make a railway to connect : this place with Wairoa. To gain personal : knowledge of the plans the Minister of i (the Hon. T. M. Wilford) visited ; the district last week. ! Speaking to members Oi tho Harbour ; Board, members of local authorities, and • local business men at'Wairoa on lindav' j- last, the Minister said that at the invitation of the hoard he had viewed both ■. harbours. He was satisfied that tho engineers were right when they said that , it was impossible to make a good liari hour at Wairoa, and he wished them all to understand clearly that he would never sanction a further grant of any large sum for expenditure on tho Wairoa Harbour in the future. It had become ■the master instead of the servant of In® district. He believed that the scheme ' : initiated by Mr. Naiiier Bell for the makinj? of a harbour at .Waikokopu and f-p- ---'< proved of since by other engineers wan • the harbour scheme for the East. Coast, i and that it would be best for all contendi in? parties to como to that conclusion, and then to concentrate on Waikokopu. : Even though the production of the cis- ! trict came to 300,000 carcasses next season the district -would be much hampered 1 -without harbour facilites. He stated that i £75,000 had been spent by the board I-. ■ after altering the plans of the Public Works Engineer actin? for tho Marine i. Department, and this alteration of plans ■ ' Tens, in the .opinion of that engineer, a ! , contributing cause of the destruction ot t *' the works. .. ! ' The Minister said also that the time i, had come when the Marine Department v should have its own engineer, «» j class, capable man, devoting liimself : -wholly to marine matters. One harbour [ board alone was suggesting an expenditure of a million pounds m the near I future. While tho'present practice of I" ■ the Marine Department haying to apply i to the Public Works Department for the i . loan of an Engineer, when that engineer i ■ wi3 available, caused delay _ aim disruj * j-, tion and want of supervision in n.nny I J cases, , that could not be remedied under the present condition of tluDps. In Mr. }■Holmes and Mr.- Eurkert • the Public !;■ Works Department had two most capablo i engineers, always ready to oblige, hut, y* realising as he did that tho 1 üblic AVorKs ; ■ engineers would be worked overtime, in S the preparation and supervision of tjj i" new public works policy, and that my !■ would have little time to spare lor , marine matters, it seemed to him that ; the Marine Department should hiue an engineer who would attend wholly t marine matters One capable man j vmiild ' bo very busy indeed if he were to attonl r" to all the harbours alone in this country