VICTORIA CHANNEL

Evening Star, Issue 19665, 19 September 1927, Page 3

VICTORIA CHANNEL

DEFLECTION Of TIDE WALL CAPTAIN MCDONALD'S SCHEME During the inspection trip to the molo at Otago Heads on Saturday the Harbor Board’s tug Dunedin slowed down to allow members of the board and the engineers to secure a close view of the site of the scheme proposed by Captain M'Donald tor the construction of a deflecting addition of the long halftide wall -skirting the eastern side ol Victoria Channel. It is suggested that this wall, which.will run from off Ravensbourno towards the Peninsula, will have the effect ol deflecting a portion of the ebb tide down the main channel. If the scheme is carried out, that part of the wall'from which the now extension branches off will be demolished. It is understood that the engineering department is going to carry out a good deal of investigation in order to be able to report on the. scheme. A peculiar .fact connected with the half-tide wall wa? that at this particular hour, when ths water and many parts of the wall were almost level, the water on the Peninsula side appeared to bo about 2in higher than the channel stream, and therefore ran in. Further along, however, the conditions were reversed. Mr Wilkie explained that at Kdgonr’s Point, where the cross channel from Grassy P.oint met the waters of the Victoria Channel, there was a slackening in velocity of the combined stream, and siltation was apt to occur between Kilgour’s Point and the islands, Tne suggestion made by Captain M‘Donald would pour more water into the \ ictoria Channel, inducing a self-cleansing velocity which would aid greatly m maintaining the dredged depths in the channel. Mr Wilkie also drew attention to the position of the reef off Quarantine Island, where the Ulimaroa struck some years ago. He stated that he had already reported on the possibility of its removal by blasting, and in all probability this work would be undertaken in the near future.