WOOL VALUING

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20077, 25 October 1939, Page 6

WOOL VALUING

GISBORNE CENTRE DEFINITE STATEMENT MINISTER’S ASSURANCE TOKOMARU PROSPECTS MR. COLEMAN'S INQUIRY A definite assurance that Gisborne would be appointed a wool appraisement centre and fhat Tokomaru Bay also may be included has been given bv the Minister of Marketing, the Hon. W. Nash, to Mr. D. W. Coleman, M.P., who is at present in Wellington.

This announcement will set at rest much of the speculation that has been going on Doth in Gisborne and Napier regarding the fate of from 50,000 to GO,OOO bales of wool grown in the Gisborne and East Coast districts.

Growers of the district have been fairly confident since the end of last week, when unofficial announcements were made Vo the effect that Gisborne's claims were likely to succeed, and added confide nee was given early this week when Mr. Coleman stated that he had been assured by the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. W. Lee Martin, that Gisborne would be a centre.

Mr. Colc-m ta left Gisborne on Monday for Wellington, and took further opportunity of pressing the claims of the district. As a result he telegraphed the Herald to-day as follows:—“The Hon. W. Nash, in an interview with me yesterday, stated that a wool appraisement centre would be definitely in Gisborne and very probably in Tokomaru Bay also.”

Talk of “Diversions” In the meantime Napier interests have been active in putting forward the claims of that centre to the Gisborne and East Coast clips for appraisement purposes, and the Napier correspondent of the Dominion refers 'o a possible “diversion of Poverty Bay and East Coast wools from Napier o Gisborne.” Gisborne growers wha have, noted .he message take exception to the word “diversion,” pointing out that Napier has never handled the whole of the wool from Gisborne and the Coast, but omy approximately oneihird, and very often less, at the Napier wool sales, the remainder of the clips having been shipped direct r ,o Loudon from Gisborne and East Coast ports. “The diversion of the Poverty Bay and East Coast wool trade from Napier to Gisborne as a result of a reorganisation by the Government under a scheme for the purchase of the entire New Zealand wool clip by Great Britain, would result in a loss to the district of £50,000, according to Mr. D. B. McCrae, president of the Hawke’s Bay Storemen and Packers’ Union,” states the Dominion message.

Loss of Wages “This figure, he said, when commenting on the claims put forward by Poverty Bay farmers for the establishment of an appraisement centre in Gisborne included loss of wages to union members, carriers and others who would be affected.

“One important factor with which the Government naturally was greatly concerned, said Mr. McCrae, was the most economic way of handling the wool and shipping it overseas. Gisborne could handle as a maximum for a day 2000 bales, and Napier could handle 5000. Continuous lighterage at Napier obviated unnecessary hold-ups. It was difficult to give the exact number of men affected in Napier, Mr McCrae said, but it would be not less than 50 in wool stores, and there were also watersiders and carriers affected. “ ‘The Government desires the quickest possible dispatch of the wool,’ he said, ‘and it is not going to have a convoy held up by boats scattering all over the coast-line for wool.’ “Mr. McCrae added that he had received a communication from the Minister of Finance, Mr. Nash, to the effect that the whole question was being investigated by officers of his department, and that Napier would be notified of the officers’ decision as soon as it was reported back to him.”

Itatc of Loading Commenting on the statement regarding the quantity of wool that can :e handled in Gisborne, Mr. I. J. Quigley, manager of the Gisborne Lightering and Stevedoring Company. Limited, stated to-day that much depended upon the number of gangs a ship required, and if it was only a question of lightering facilities Napier would be no better off than Gisborne. He did not know on what the Napier statement was based, but Gisborne bad facilities to cope with t> far greater quantity than that staled in the Napier announcement. Gisborne had lightering facilities to deal with up to about 3500 bales a day, without interfering with the loading of frozen meat at the same time, and '.he rate of loading, of course, could be greatly increased to probably 5000 ’•'ales a day if no other cargo was being handled.