No More Appeals For Loans

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 121, 8 June 1937, Page 8

No More Appeals For Loans

RATING FIGURES GIVEN No. 3 Wharf Ready for Export Season Next Year? ADDRESS IN NAPIER Ths prograss of the Napier Harbour Board's schemes for the eonstruction of the Breakwater harbour and the development and settlement of its endowments was fuily surveyed by the chairman, Mr T. M. Geddis, at a well-attended meeting of members of the Napier "branch of the New Zealand Labour Party in the Cominunity Hall last night.' The Koru W. E. Barnard, M.P., pretided. Mr Geddis was accorded a good and quite sympathetic hearing. ±1xom a tsmall section of the meeting he -was subjected to a running fire of questions, while fiom others came many of an inquiring nature, the spe&ker responding freely. Hold-ups in. the contract system, Mr jQeddia explained, had considerably delayed the prosecution of the wharffeilding programme, but now that the board had taken over the work the ratepayera could expect that the work .would be greatly speeded up. Tho board expected to be ready lor the export season next year. Mr Geddis pointed out that the dredging was being carried out with the original estimate per ton and that the dredge Whakarire had proved to be a most valuable tool. • Mr Geddis assnred his audience that no further appeals would be mide to the ratepayers for loan money for Ihe carrying out of the work. Tn expressing thanks for the invitation extended to hua, Mr Geddis said it afforded him an opportunity of making * statement publicly and so of enlightening the public on the boaTd's operations. Progress Despite Disappointments. In 1934, Mr Geddis explained, the board policy had been defined, and in his opinion ■ good progress had been made. Disappointments had been met in the contract system for some of tho harbour eonstruction work. The system had dn consequence been changed, and the board had taken over the work itself. In the development of both harbour and land schemes, which were mammoth undertakings, it was only to be expected that from time to time things would not work out quite according to schedule. "While difficulties have been met In the contract system, I can say without any fear of contradiction that nothing of an engineertng nature has been met with to prerent the harbour from being completed and made a wonderfui iuccess,"" said Mr Geddis. Tr> dealing with the harbour eonstruction, Mr Geddis explained that, in the Breakwater mole extension contract fo* £47,000, 2000 concrete blocks had already been made and there were 700 still to be made. The contractor, he f*id, was making a 100 per cent. job of it. This was a class of work that eould not be rushed, as the blocks had to be allowed to consolidate in a- thorongh manner/ The work was procecdjrig at the rate of from 24 feet to 36 feet a month, according to the weather eonditions. The whole of the foundations of the mole had been laid with Ihe exception of a few loads of materlal. The whole work had been completed for a distance of 159 feet. Touching upon the question of dredging, -Mr Geddis explained that the work was well advanced. It was estimated that two-thirds of this work had been eompleted. ~ The Whakarire in a few weeks wonld have removed ali Ihe troublesome boulders, which liad a tendency to slow up the work. A depth. to take the largest vessels trading to New Zealand had now been o'»tained along tho No. 3 wharf. Vastness of the Drodging To give some impres3ion of tlio vast- ■ ness of tho dredging,- Mr Geddis explained that the actual area to be clredged was the size of the business area of Napier. Wheu it was realised that dredging to a deplli of 33 feet low water, which was about equivalent to ihe lrelght of the Napier Post Oiiicu, it would give some idea of the size of the work to be carried out. All xound the No. 3 wharf tho dredging had been completed to 35 feet low water. Around No. 4 wharf thc dredging done varied in depth from 18 feet to 35 feet. To i'acilitate the dredging tho • board 'had brought tho Auckland. Harbour Board's liapai to get the maximum amount of work done In 12 months. Any patekes of hani material were passed over by the Hapai for the Whakarire, which would go through any of tho material to bo met with. The amount of blasting necessary, lio said, was very small indeod. At Ihe root of No. 3 wharf, Mr Geddis explained whcre Ihcre was now 35 feet there had been only two feet previousJy. At th root of No. 4 wharf where the . land had been aetually two feet above low water it'had now been drcdged to a depth of 35 .feet. Mr R. Blundell (showing a sample or hard material dredged): 1'ou say that there is only about1 two feet of this? I say there is ten feet of it. Mr Geddis; I say that the hard pan varies from IS inehe« to 24 inches. Mr Blundell: Can the Whakarire handle it? "Soine Dredge!" Mf Geddis: Yes. She has handle d evtrything that she has touched so far. She elears up wh'at the Hapai leaves. Mr Blundell: Sha is some dredge.

Mr Geddis: Tho engineer informs me that the Whakarire can clear away anything without blasting. Mr Rells: On whatxadvice did you abandon the western mole? Mr Geddis: Messrs Furkert and Holderness submitted a later report to the board in which thev agreed that the western mole was not necessary, and our own engineer confirmed this. That money saved will be used in additional dredging. Mr Bells: Will you bring a 10,000ton vessel alongside in a westeriy wind without a tug? Mr Geddis: Yes. The whole proposition has been submitte'd to overeeus shipping companies. In regard to tho westeriy wind, the water in the direction of Westshore is only about 12 feet in depth. In the Wellington harbour across to Petohe there is a depth of up to 60 feet. Wellington has never been worrifid with a westeriy, and neither will Napier be aifeeted. The dredge is very eensitive and will not work in easterly weather, but it can dredge with its sensitive buckets in a westeriy gale. Mr Geddis then explained that the fairway, where there was a depth of 22 feet, would be all soft dredging. Mr Blundell: Any sane person knows that to dredge to Auckland rock will require twice as much dredging as that already done. That is, according to tb«? Nautical Almanac. Mr J. B. Pullen: How mauy times have the Wairuna and Waiotopu left their berths at the Breakwater since the 'quake ? Mr Geddis: I could not say. ' ' Shows Place is Improvmg." Mr Pullen: Only once has one of them had to leave, which ehows that the place is improving. To Mr Barnard, Mr Geddis explained that some hundreds of tons of rock had been deposited. between tho end of the Breakwater mole and the Auckland rock. A voicc: Can you say what the cost of the dredging has been to datef Mr Geddis: ± cannot gtve the round ilgures. The same voice: Can you say whether Mr Jull's £gure3 are correct or otherwisel , Mr Geddis: They are correct. Wheu we got the second wharf we received a £50,000 subsidy from the Govemmeut. Additional money was required for the dredging, and the money for t.hc western .mole was transf erred. W e are keeping well within the original estimate per ton. The qucstioner: Mr Jull said that the dredging had been estimated to cost £60,000, and he quoted that £78,000 had* already been spent with only twothdrds completed. According to that, the dredging will cost about £117,000. Mr Geddis: It will run out at something like that. Providing for two overseas wharves instead of one'means double tKe dredging. The Whakarire has been a wonderfui purchase for the board and the district. The questioner: Mr Jull's iigures were not contradicted at the meeting of the board. Mr Geddis: There is double the dredging to do. Auother voice: When you got the. loan, weren't you going to build two overseas wharves? , Mr Geddis: No. Eeceiving the suosidy from the Government, it was agreed to exteiid the proposed smaU wharf by 750 feet, which doubled the dredging. . ... To Mr Pullen, Mr Geddis explained that Messrs Furkert and Holderness in their scheme had allowed for some reclamation on the soutk side of che western mole. In the scheme prepare.l by* the board's engineer, adoptcd by the board, approved by Messrs Furkert and Holderness and passed by the Marino Department, reclamation did not come into it. , People Not Approaclied Mr Blundell: Is that the scheme cn which you went to the public to get a loan? Mr Geddis: Yes; the only difference is that one wharf is larger aud the western mole has been eliminated. Mr Blundell: Did you go back to the people! Mr Geddis: No; we went back to the erigineers. Mr Blundell: And the people voted the money. A voice: How much more will you want to finish it? Mr Geddis: No more will be asked from the public by way of loan to complete tbo ryork. Cn reply to*anotlior question, M: Geddis explained that tho positioa oi. the board's general account bad notbiug to do with the work at the Breakwater. In reply to Mr Pullen, Mr Geddis said that land could be reclaimcd at any time. It was a question of Jiuance. Aniple spoil was available with which lo do the work. He himself thoilght that it was a good idca, but he ieminded his audience 'that the board had a large number of sections available at tho tort. Bufficient land wouid bo available in conneetion with the working of the harbour. The board had railway yards, roads and the necessarv key buildings. Tr Mr IVest, Mr Geddis explained that the wharves would be about seven feet above high water, which was the normal height of wharves at other ports. Mr Blundell: When are you going to complete tho work? Mr Geddis: We hope to assemble tho gcar we havo ordercd from Bngland next month, and we hope to have No. 3 wharf completed in time for the export season next year. "The board," ho addcd, "has bcon up against a problcui oi shorter hours. j.f a shii't basis is agreed to by tho unions interested, greater progress will bo made. Now ' that tho board is undertaking the wox^k itself, evcry oll'ort vrill be made to push on with it. TUo No. 4 wharf should be completed about 1940. Tho Pipitea wharf at Wellington took 4£ years to construet. Tho fioor spaco of tko shed on this wharf will be more than the total of-the remainder «»r the shed space that the board has." Two First-Class Wharves To Mr J. Laws, Mr Geddis explained that No. 3 wharf would be mainly for the sexport trade and No. 4 wharf world be for the working cf cargo. They would give Hawke 's Bay two ilrst-class ferro-conerete whar?cs equip- ' ped with the most modern facilitiec for

the h.andling of cargo. They had been approved by the shipping companies. A voice : Weren't the wharves to be completed in three. years 1 Mr. Geddis : We signed up with contractors, and you know what happened. A voice: You were going to take 3CO men olf the iocal unemployed for the work.' How many have you got on the job now? Mr. Geddis: 101. I take 1'ull responsibility for taking on the second contractor. To Mr. Itells : Mr. Geddis expressed himself as satisfied that the board would make d success of the scheme. The job had been described as being a plant job. The board had ordered plant from Eng.and and Australia, and hoped to have the work prcceeding next month. To Mr. Barnard, Mr. Geddis said that the board hoped to empldy double the number of men once its plant was working Working a double shift would further increase the nmiibor employed.. Mr. Pullen: How Iona does it take the board's staff to drive a pile? Mr. Geddis: I saw orie driven in three-quarters of an hour and anotber zn halt au hour Mr. Pullen : When you get the plant from England working tho piles will go down, all right. A voice: The gear you have at preient is inadequate? Mr. Geddis: laupelessly inadequate. A voice : What time have 3 Ou lost ? Best Part of Year Lost Mr. Geddis : We have lost the best part of a year through hold-ups. We should have been ready for this export season. ' The delay has been due to the contract system, which I admit 1 advocated. Referring to the question of rates, Mr. Geddis explained that between 1891 and 1931, a period of 40 years, £546,000 had been collected from the ratepayers.- There had been only two years within that time in which a levy had not been imposed. The rate for thS ensuing year was the first the board had struck for the last seven years. "This board was elected to endeavour to wipe out rates," he said. . "No chairman could have . run the board's alfairs more economically tban I have done. Everything has been cut down to a minimum. "The rate," he added, "will amount to 3/1 in the £100 unimproved value in Napier and 1/7 in the £100 unimproved value in the country. That amounts to 2/1 per head of the population in the boroughs and 6/5 per head in the country districts.", Por the average house in Napier the rate would , fee from 6/- to 9/- a year.' ' Mr. Mayo : 1 take it that this money will be spent on the Breakwater? There 6hould not be much of a kick coming from the people at this end, even if there is one from the country, over. the rate. Mr. Geddis explained that the rate would not be spent on the Breakwater, but utilised in the board's general account. In reply to Mr. Pullen, Mr. Geddis said that the removal of the board's staff from Port Ahuriri to the Breakwater would result in a better control from the financial point of view. He - considered that the board would be repaid handsomely by the move. r Extensive Policy "The board's policy in recent years has beteome very extensive," said Mr Geddis in conclusion. "Its policy has been separated as much as possible — harbour eonstruction from land development and settlement." To enable the board satisfactorily to complete1 the harbour with the resouroes at its disposal and at the same time bring into productivity its vast endowments, it had entered into agreement with ihe.Small Earms Board to carry out the development and settlement of the Ahuriri Lagoon. A similar agreeinent had been entered into witii the Lauds and Agricultural Departments to develop and settle the Village Settlement. It had been agreed with the Napier Borough Council to undertake subdivision and settlement of Marewa. While retaining the freehold of these vast properties, it had left to itself the major task of constructing tho harbour. "Within a few years all these undertakings will be completed, and as the beifefits take effect they will confer upon Napier and the ratepayers of tho Napier harbour district advautagcs aud opportunity for progressive' development uudreamed of but a few years ago," Mr Geddis added. "At the moment we are engaged in laying the foundations, but as eacb lzart pf the structure takes sliajje aud tbe benefits become apparent L tliitik that tbose who have been assoeiated with the policy will at least have the satisfaetion of feeling that as a result of their elforts a greater Napier has been estahlished. Many happy folk are comfortably settled upon the land, and Hawko's Bay has a modern and we'.l-equipped harbour commensurate with the vast trade it is destined to enjoy." (Applause). Mr Barnard's Assistance. Mr Geddis added that he would hke to take the opportunity of aeknowledging the wonderfui help that ;\lr Barnard had given iu harbour tnatters. fclo had come to the board's assistanco iu the pasaage of Bills through tho House. He hud also acted on many oecasions as personal adviser to him on many of the problems which had had to ha faced. Mr Barnard said that .Mr Geddis in his addross had brought a number of new facts to ligbt. The party was indebted to him for aecepting its invitation 'and dealihg with his subjcct as tutly as he had done. Mr Barnard added that he was graleful to JMr Geddis for the kindly mannor in which he had acknowledgod the sorvices that he (Mr Barnard) had rendered in harbour matters. In proposing a vote of thanks to Alr Geddis, Mr Mayo said that he had endeavoured to give a full explunation of the manv questions put to him. He suggested that ihe people should get beliind Mr Geddis aud assist him iu every way. In seconding the mction, Mr ,J. Laws wished Mr Geddis every success -in the carrying-out of the harbour wcrk».