A HARBOR OF REFUGE—PORT ELIZABETH.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1937, 21 October 1874, Page 2

A HARBOR OF REFUGE— PORT ELIZABETH.

[to the editor.] Break, break, break, On thy cold gray stones, O sea ! And I would that my tongue could utter The thoughts that arise in me. And the stately ships go on To their haven under the hill, But 0 for the touch of a yaniah'd hand And the sound of a voice that is still ! — Tennyson. Sir — I suppose I may meet with a howl ef execration from those having vested inteiests in Greymouth in drawing attention to the establishment of a . port' of refuge on the West Coast, and the suitabilityof Point Elizabeth for such a purpose ; not that the idea is new, as it was one to which attention was drawn years ago, but recent events and the late fatal disaster to the Alma has shown the urgent necessity for such a harbor, and I will endeavor to prove that it would be beneficial, not only to the cause of humanity, and to the general progress of the Colony, y but also to that peculiarly jealous body — the " vested interests " of GreWouth. If any person will take the^rouble to consult a map representing the coast-line of the West Coast, he or she will perceive that there is no shelter for any vessel along the 400 or 500 miles of coast between Milford Sound on the south and Farewell Spit on the north, and there is nothing that could be made available as a port of refuge except Point Elizabeth that could protect a vessel from the fury of the terrible S. W. gales, and in this I am borne out by the opinion of the late Marine Surveyor, Mr BalfourJ one of the ablest of topographers, who pointed out in strong language the desirability of constructing a harbor of refuge at Point Elizabeth. Likewise the Royal Commission appointed some years since on selecting a site for a penal settlement, recommended that prison labor should be employed for the same object ; therefore the desirability of such a harbor and the fitness of the site remains unchallenged ; and this being a progressive era is the time to urge upon all parties the desirability of carrying the matter into effect. "... . It is now settled that Greymouth is to be made a coal port, and some of us may have indulged dreams of its being the Newcastle, not only of New Zealand, but also of Australasia, tfnd for this purpose we are having a railway made ; and lately a L4OO survey made by an able engineer, Mr Moriarty, of the river and its capabilities of being made a safe shipping port. That gentleman did not speakvery hopefully of the port, but he recom- * mended among other things that a breakwater with a gentle curve sbonld be constructed on the south bank of the River Grey, in order that vessels might I be protected from the fury of the S.W. I gales, but even then this will not obviate I the difficulty, as it will ' only cause an extension of the bar, and it doe 3 not require an engineer to tell us this, for even if the " breakwater wiih the gentle curve "was -constructed, it would only cause the shingle bank to be carried out farther and divert the course of the river more in the direction of the North Spit. I am only speaking now aa^a non-prac-tical man, but will endeavor to illustrate what will he the effect of the' present and * proposed protective works. The Grey River, after passing through the Gorge, strikes the Limestone range on the North, bank just above Cobden, the effect of which is to " cannon " as it were on the south bank at the head of Greymouth ; meeting with resistance the force of the current is turned back again to the north bank, where it will scour away Cobden. Protective works will have to be erected, and the effect will be to send the current zig-zag on the south protective works, while the "breakwater with the geufcle curve," if it stands the force of the S.W.> gales, will.have the effect of altering the ; course of the river, and washing away the; North Spit. Now, I ask, what- ship^ owners would risk their vessels layingoutside in an open roadstead waiting for an opportnnity to cross the bar. Lately we had quite a fleet of vessels waiting in the roadstead for an opportunity to enter the port, among •which were the Alma, the Zephyr, and the Gleaner, from Melbourne. We know something of the fate of the first one — we know, that there are those in other landsj who wait, in the exquisite language oil Tennyson which I have quoted at the I commencement of this letter — . I • ' For the touch of a vanish'd hand, I And the sound of a voice that is still I" M While if there had been such a thing as' l a harbor of refuge at Point Elizabeth ■ these vessels would have ridden safely at I anchor, and instead of weeping there would ■ be rejoicing, and as this thing has occurred, I if instead of four or five vessels the fleet H was increased ten or twenty fold, howH much greater the disasters. And as iH said before, shipmasters will not care to H risk their vessels, but if there was a harr H bor at Point Elizabeth there would beH little or no risk, especially if a break- ■ water was constructed on the north. It I would then become a port of call for ocean H steamers, and property would improve in ■ value — it would also tend to developsH those splendid seams of coal at the Eight H and Ten Mile Creeks, compared withrH which all other coal shrinks into insig^/B nificance, as. the most casual observer ca'u H see for himself if he pays a visit to Mr ■ Mos&'s coal exchange. H 1 now come to a sore pomt — "vested H

interests, >; and I know that many who represent those interests think that the establishment of a port and township at Point Elizabeth would injure the prosperity of Greymouth, but this is fallacious as instead of injuring it would and must improve it, and make it the Newcastle of. the South. I remember a similar cry was got up by the inhabitants of Liverpool, when it was first proposed to establish docks at Birkenhead, but would anybody say now that Birkenhead has ;injured|Liverpool? Should a harbor be constructed of the kind I have mentioned, Greymouth would become the rendezvous of every vessel making for New Zealand in stormy weather. Therefore it is to the interest of all — the General Government, the colony at large, the Provincial Governments of Nelson and Westland, the inhabitants of Greymouth, to urge the construction of of such a work, and above all the interests of humanity, so that though the sea may "break, break, break, on the cold gray stones," with all its fury ; though it may rear its crested waves and lash the rocks and shores in its might, our collier fleet may be safe in " their haven under the hill," and wives and children, mothers and sisters have not to weep "for the touch of a vaniah'd hand, and the sound ; of a voice that is still." In conclusion, for the welfare of all, I hope I may not be deemed as acting otherwise than with a hope to bring the subject once again under notice. I am, &c, Wm. P. Apted. Greymouth, October 16.