ISLAND SERVICE

Hokitika Guardian, 19 February 1926, Page 4

ISLAND SERVICE

SOI "111 ISLAND MOVEMENT. A KCK LAND. Feb. 15. ( omplaints of South Island fruit importers relative to alleged inadequate service between the islands and the South Island acre referred this morning to prominent Auckland iivi chants, who vigorously refilled the suggestion that- Auckland merchants “cornered” the fruit, and at the sain,' time expressed their I'ltlii" u illiugno., to i-o-oper-ate with the South Island in securing improved transport facilities for the island fruit trade. "A good many of the s! ale incuts that :ir ( . made are incorrect.' said Mr Harvey Turner, of Messrs Turner aml Growers. Ltd., and Mr G. S. Radley, of Radley and Co.. Ltd., ‘'especially some of the remarks made by .Mr M' Karl, me. 'I he greatest difiictiliy at present facing traders i- that the Fiji boat the Tolua. runs direct between Fiji and Auckland only. W liat we have been agitating lor is a ft.rl nightly service, landing the North Island portion and then going direct to Lyttelton. TL is would be satisfactory lo South Island merchants, who would get the fruit within seven

days alter il had been shipped at through freight rates, while in the event of a weak market in the South Island they would have the opportunity of landing a port ion of their southern cargo at Auckland. Of enurse. a shipping company would want some guarantee of regular freight.” Two ot the biggosi factors influencing the South island trade were that during five months of the year it was too cold to eat hanulias, and it- was also too cold to ripen them. During the

past two years, the whole of the South Island had not taken 1000 eases in certain months, the merchants there Mating that there was no demand for them in cold weather, and this was al. the lime when they could have purchased at. low rates and when good transport facilities were available. At the same time bananas were often required when transport facilities were so had that the cost of transport became prohibitive. Some two years ago the Union ■•Steam Ship Company, in response to a South Island agitation, diverted ilteir Cook Island cargo boat to Wellington

on alternate months. However, who this had been tried, island shippers am shipping officials expressed disappoint nieitt at the small qiiattliiv of friti South Island shippers drew from tlti vessel in Wellington, which went t show that the weather largely influ oticed the trade. At the same time, the present servic was not altogether satisfactory. Who was wanted was two fast oil-burnim i vessels, spec ially designed for the I’rui trade, and also a fast oil-hunting vesse for the (look Islands trade, which w.v at present served by a slow vessel till able to keep to any definite time-table The result was that there was nftoi front 25 to 10 tier cent wastage, a fact which made this trade a very hazardous one. -Auckland merchants used tr do a fair amount of trade in bananas with the Cook Islands by means of the Talune. which was the most suitable and fastest boat that they had ever had on the run, hut that trade had been lost to Auckland for the reason Hint the service in late years had been I so uncertain that they could not take the risk involved with bananas, which should not lie on any ship longer than four days unless it was specially constructed for bananas carriage. Oversea travellers nil spoke of bananas arriving in Britain and Europe from the Canary Islands and Jamaica with practically no waste, tlie reason being that .suitable vessels for this class of trade were employed. Auckland people were only too willing to co-operate with the South Island to arrange a fortnightly service, and had taken the matter up on a number of occasions with the Union Steam Ship Company at Auckland, and shippers had also made similar representations at Fiji.