HARBOUR BOARD TRADE AND FINANCE ON LOWER BASIS

Grey River Argus, 3 June 1948, Page 3

HARBOUR BOARD TRADE AND FINANCE ON LOWER BASIS

Both receipts and expenditure were lower with the Greymouth Harbour Board in the past financial year, according to the annual report of the chairman,' Hon. J. Ryall, M.L.C. at yesterday’s meeting. Receipts were less by £6658 than for the previous financial year. In 1946-47 the total was £48,241 and last year it was £41,582. Expenditure was £43,376 last year as compared with the previous year’s total of £48,694. Reduced Expenditure The expenditure, continued Mr Ryall, was £5318 less than for the previous year, but was £1445 more than had been estimated. Increases in wages payable had caused this, and as the new rates had not been finalised until late in 1947, and, were made retrospective to July, 1947, it had not been possible tojneet the increases by immediate reductions. The principal items of receipts (in round figures) showing the 1947 figure in parentheses were: Wharfages £10,948 (£12,144), shipping dues £3152 (£3523), sale of water to shipping £259 (£323), royalties £5715 (£4409), rents £1512 (£1207), plant hire and sale of old material £4ll (£73), slipway charges £2Ol (£214), weather reports £404 (£217), deposit on hire of plant nil (£2260), hire dredge Westport Harbour nil (£2260), same Nelson Harbour £2733 (nil), sale watersiders’ Hall £523 (nil); substation wharf £222 (nil); miscellaneous £226 (nil)'; total £24,436 (£24,510). Wharf reticulation, heating and lighting of ships £665 (nil), subsidy general and harbour model £16,480 (£23,730). The decrease in wharfage receipts was stated by the chairman to be due to bad bar shoaling in June, 1947 when only five small vessels were able to work the port. This also had an effect on the item, shipping dues. Receipts for the year were £3Bl below the estimates. Main items of expenditure were: Office and Harbour Department, commission, supervision, grants and general maintenance £18,344 (£19,796).

Dredge Mawhera: Repairs and maintenance £2792 (£3930), overhaul £l2lB (nil), docking port £1629 (nil), dredging river at Greymouth £l3Bl (£3698), same Westport nil (£1608), same Nelson £l5OO (nil), insurance £6ll (nil).

Tug Kumea: Repairs and working expenses £984 (£984). Works; Wharf repairs £3425 (£7200), half tide wall £5219 (£4437), railway line and breakwater, south side £l6 (£529), some north side £547 (£1534), harbour model £2ll (£930), slipway working and repairs £24 (£142), roading reclaimed land nil (£178), plant, Cobden quarry £4B (£233), hardwood contract £343 (£1645), new store building £422 (£389), signal cottage No. 1 (new) £5 (£1350), same No. 2 (new) £1334 (nil), new workshop £495 (£B4). > There was no expenditure under the following heads in the _past financial year, the 1946-47 figure being shown: New plant £531, wharf water service £599/ reticulation, heating and lighting of ships £757, power service 15-ton electric crane £65, harbour scheme, preliminary expenses £635, sub-station wharf £172. Totals £43,376 (£48,694), decrease £5318. Wharfage Revenue There was £lB7O received on imports, that on timber being £39 (for 63,100 feet compared with 32,280 in the previous year). Wharfage on merchandise was £lB3O for 12,250 tons, compared with 10,745 tons. There was £9292 received in wharfage in exports, made up of timber £Bl6 (comprising 5,599,100 sq. ft. as against 6,669,100 sa. ft) coal £S29I —(189,067 tons against 212,487 tons), merchandise £79 (532 tons against 382 tons), posts £lO4 (1193 tons against 1431 tons). The total wharfage was £11,162. Summing up the chairman said last year’s trade was 214,862 tons, a decrease of 24,179 tons on the previous year. Imports totalled 12,'406 tons, an increase of 1557 tons, but exports fell by 25,736 tons to 202,459, or by 10.12 per cent. The imports increase were 13.58 per cent. for merchandise (14,600 tons) and 95.47 per cent, for timber (30,520 ft. Decrease in exports were: Timber -,070,000 sq. ft. (16.04 per cent.); coal 23,420 tons (11.02 per cent.); posts by 16.56 per cent.