THE HARBOUR SCHEME.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4548, 9 April 1923, Page 2

THE HARBOUR SCHEME.

DELEGATION ON PLAINS. SEVERAL MEETINGS ADDRESSED. Members of the Thames Harbour Board delegation visited the Plains during last week and addressed the ratepayers at various places. Owing to inefficient advertising there was at most places a very poor attendance. The delegation comprised' Messrs C. W. Hui ris, chairman of the Harbour Board ; E. N. Miller, Mayor of Thames ; H. O. Cooper, farmer, of Wtiihou ; D. Donaldson, Mayor of Waihi : F. H. Claxton, chairman of the Thames Valley Powdr Board; all members of the Board, and Mr E. FAdams, engineer to the Beard. The delegation spoke at Waitakaruru, Pipiroa, and Ngatea on Thursday. Mangatarat.a and Kaihere on Friday, and Patetohga, Tahuna, ami Morrinsville on Saturday. ADVANTAGES OF SCHEME. After the appointment of a chairman Mr C. W. Harris, spoke of the pleasure it gave the Relegation to expound the Harbour Board’s scheme — a scheme that would benefit the whole of the farmers of the fertile Thames Valley. The scheme was so.und and warranted support, and the advantages would be felt in the whole of the Harbour Board district. The scheme as recommended by Mr Adams was the first step towards a deep-water harbour in the great Hauraki Gulf, which is fed by the Pialo and the Waihou rivers. These rivers served a huge area of land, as far back as Putaruru/ Cambridge,, and Matamata. The Maukoro canal, which, when completed,, would be t 6 miles long, would open up ah enormous area.

The saving in mileage by rail t.o Thames, as compared with Auckland, would be from Morrinsville 58 miles, Paeroa 108 miles, and Te Aroha S2 miles. The Auckland line was a badly graded line, and very congested, but the Thames line was well graded, and practically idle. The present scheme, said the speaker, would be part of a scheme by Mr Blair Mason, an engineer who was recognised by both the Australian and New Zealand Governments as an authority on marine engineering The £60,000 loan would provide a ferry service to Auckland regardless of .the tide, so that the Wakatere could made a return trip daily if necessary. It would also provide a harbour tor colonial and Inter-colonial shipping, and thereby enable Nauru Island phosphates, Australian hardwoods, benzine, coal, timber fence posts, Australian and Southern products, such as fruits, grain, etc., to be landed direct. at Thames at the same freight as to Auckland.

A few days previously said Mr Harris, a man representing a Hamilton syndicate had inquired at the Board’s office for a site on the- foresho"e on which to erect a plant to grind Nauru jsland phosphate. He wa-’ prepared to erect the plant immediately the poll was carried, and gtr-i.ra’irteed to sell the manure at least. £1 cheaper than was charged at Te Papapa, as he would not have t,o pay the high handling, costs at Auckland or the railway charges from the ship to Te Papapa and from Te Papapa back by rail to the coastal' shipping or to the farmers. EXTENT OF AREA. An area of 114 acres would be enclosed by rubble walls, and 14 acres of foreshore would be reclaimed. This could be leased for building,purposes, and would be a valuable asset. The Board was prepared to ear-mark tlie revenue from this for the payment oL interest and sinking fund on the loan, and therefore at no time v ould it be necessary to strike a rate. An area of 300 square feet of reclaimed land had recently been leased at an annual rental .of £4O, and*salso an area of 10 acres at £lOO per annum. The Board had the titles to, and could easily reclaim, 7000 aerqs of foreshore. The necessary'wharves and wharfsheds had been provided for by the scheme. The major scheme would only be proceeded with as the trade warranted,, and only with the consent, of the ratepayers. MATTER OF FINANCE.

The Board’s revenue to-day, continued the speaker, would pa*y the hi' terest and sinking fund on a loan of £40.000. Therefore, with increased port facilities it could easily-pay the interest and sinking fund on a loan of £60,000, so would never have to collect a rate, but a rate had to be struck as a security to the moneylenders for the loan,' QUESTION OF UTILITY. The Board had nothing to hide,, and had given the scheme^,much publicity and had solicited criticism, but so far no person had criticised it from an engineering standpoint. He would suggest that, the future policy of the Board should be river improyement works. The Board would have dredges available, so the Waihou River could be made navigable into the Matamata county and the Piako River, with one loch, up to MorrinsviPe.

Opponents to the scheme had stated that ships would not call at Thames for the amount of cargo offering, but vessels had recently called at Timaru for 750 tons,. Timaru and Picton 500 tons, Napier and Nelson 400 tons, New Plymouth 300 and Wanganui 1000 carcases, and general cargo, about 40 or 50 tons, RATING UNNECESSARY. Mr Harris then read telegrams from the chairman or the secretary of different harbour boards on thff rating question. Greymouth Harbour Board wired : “No rates collected by this board.” Westport Harbour Board wired. “Harbour controlled by Marine Department. Maintained by endowments and port charges. No rating area.” Wanganui : "Find ordinary revenue sufficient, without collecting rate for harbour improvements.” Tauranga: “No rates yet struck. No loans expended yet. Could pay charges on £40.000 without collecting the rates struck.” New Plymouth Harbour Board wired that the harbour,. which cost over half a million, served an area

of too miles. The trade had increased remarkably. Direct shipment had caused an immense saving to farmers. The exports had jumped from ; 18,637 tons to 32 ; 347 tons on opening the port to overseas vessels. Most of the produce'previously went by coastal boats to Wellington. The'freight to New Plymouth was tjie same as to the main ports, consequently there was a saving on coastal freights. No rates have been collected since the improvement started. • The Wanganui Harbour Board wired that the approximate cost of the harbour had been £389.000. At served an area including Hawera and Palmerston North. The business of the port had doubled in ten years. Direct shipment had been a g eat. benefit vO farmers, and had no doubt encouraged industries. No rates had been collected, as all charges had been met out ot revenue. The present rate or 3s per ton was fixed in 1887. Mr Harris therefore maintained that the Thames Harbour would be a direct benefit to the district, an-.l solicited the support of the ratepayers. . THE ENGINEERING ASPECT.

Mr Adams, the Board’s engineer, explained the scheme by the aid ofa plan. The scheme was part of Mr Blair Mason’s scheme for a deep watei harbour, and no part of the present scheme would be wasted if later it was decidcdMp go on with Mr Mason’s scheme.; The site was selected. as being tfie most suitable for the whole of the district, as it was the nearest position to deep water and to the Hauraki Plains. It was also,, the cheapest site owing to its nearness to the metal supplies. A harbour up the Waihou River had been advocated, but to do this would necessitate cutting a channel through miles of sand bar. The depth of the water off the Thames wharf had not altered during (he last 40 years. Mr Mason’s scheme had been before the Bills Committee,ot the House of Parliament on two occasions, and had been approved! Many people were opposed to the scheme, but no engineer could challenge it. Some people thought that the channel 900 yards long outside the retaining walls would silt up, but experience in other ports' had proved that vrtiere mud was always covered by water no alteration took place. This channel would take a vessel drawing 4'ft more than could proceed over the sand bar to the Waihou River. While the dredging was going on the reclamation would be formed.

ADVANTAGES TO THE FARMER, Mr H. O. Cooper dwelt on the advantages to farmers, and said that three years ago 12.382 -tons of produce, valued at £1,383,680, had been sent to Auckland by rail. Since thee, according to Mr Goodfellow, the output had doubled. All the products from the Valley were food, a'nd all were pooled, so that whatever couljl be saved on one iterir benefited the whole of the .farmers.. He tjren demonstrated the saving that could be effected by the N.Z. Dairy Co. railing the produce to Thames as compared with Auckland; Wharepoa cheese factory, output 246 tons, freight to Auckland 15s 7d a ton, to Thames 3s 6d a' ton, saving on season’s output £IIS. Ma-tatoki cheese factory, out-, put 300 tons, saving £l9l 17s 6d. Hikutaia cheese factory, 368 tons, aving_ £275 18s Bd. Waitoa dried milk factory, 967 tons, freight to Auckland' £B7B to Thames £507, a saving of ■•£37l. Chedse and dried milk powder could be stored in any’ sort of a shed without deteriorating. The freight on an 8-tpn truck of manure from the ship’s side at rlitckland to Waihou, near Te Aroha. was £6 3s 2d, said Mr Cooper, whereas the same truck from Thames would only cost £3 6s ">d. On another truck con-" taining six tons that he had got re--cently the saving would have bee i £2 3s, and on a two ton lot 15s.‘ The manure would cost the same to land on Thames wharf as on Auckland wharf, and the wharfage charges would be much less. Within a three-\ miles radius of the Waihou factory there were approximately 200 farms. Supposing each farmer used five tons - of manure in a season, 1000 tons mould be needed. A saving of 7-s 5d a ton by getting it through Thames., would amount to £1855. ' j Continuing, the speaker said he had been informed that an Auckland merchant would establish a manure business in Thames as soon as the scheme was carried. He therefore strongly advocated the support of the scheme, as whatever saving one section of the >community could make woul 1 benefit all other sections, and if, supposing a 'ate was struck, and thi--> was practically impossible, each farmer would save more on the manure he used.

THE RATING ASPECT. Mr E. N. Miller then spoke on the . rating aspect and said that the evi- ■ dence of the Harbour Board’s fill management of its affairs led to the conviction that the possibility of ever having to collect a rate was very remote. He had a firm and definite conviction that a rate would never have to be struck, as it, was the surety for the loan. The Board had decided that the rate should be a differential one, according to the benefits received. The Commission had taken a large amount of evidence, and_found that the rate was fair and equitable. The present legislation protected the ratepayers. Firstly the i plans must be approved by the Marine Depaitment and the Public Works ' Department. Secondly, no loan could ' be raised without the sanction of the ratepayers. Thirdly, upon the carry-* irig of the poll every district, would have representation on the Board. Fourthly, special provisions in the Harbour Board Act permitted the alteration in the rate if it was found inequitable. The interest on the loan, said Mr Miller, would be„ roughly, £4OOO, and of this the- Hauraki Plains County would be liable for, roughly, £IOOO. The rate would be 4-25th of a penny. There were about 800 ratepayers on the Hauraki' Plains, so the rate would be £1 4s 6d per ratepayer, or 7s 6d per head of population. But the finances of the Board were so buoyant that the interest and sinking fund on; £4O 000 could be paid for out of revenue. so if the business of the port 7

did not increase interest would only have to be provided for £20,000. The total liability for the whole of the Hauraki Plains county would be £333, o.„ gs P er ratepayer, or 2s 6d per heaw. Calculating on a acreage basis, takingi an average farm to be 100 acres, the rate would be less than Id per man. The area of occu - pied land on the Hauraki Plains was 96,000 acres, so the liability would he a little less than %d per acre. Among the items taken int.o consideration by the Commission when assessing the rates, said Mr Miller, were distance from port, capacity of port, facilities for using port, and the enhanced value of the land. The County of Hauraki Plains contains :i large amount of very valuably land, and the richer the land the. more closer t,he settlement and the more imports and exports. The liability would be reduced as the district im-proved-by closer settlement., increased production, and the elimination °f unoccupied land. Would the farmers therefore not take a broad view and support the scheme ? he asked. TRADING PROSPECTS. Mr F. H. Claxton next spoke, and said thaj- it was hard to forecast what the Board’s revenue would be, but by going over the' audited accounts for previous years it was obvious thru owing to ’certain non-recurring items the revenue would more than pay the interest and sinking fund on the loan for the scheme. The Board had to show the Bills Cpmmitt.ee of the House that its income would be sufficient to pay the interest on the larger scheme, costing a Quarter of a million. ’The Thames Valley Electric Power Board’ had made a great saving on poles from Australia. When landed in Auckland and distributed by rail they had to pay in some cases as much as £1 a pole for storage alone. The freight-from Australia (o korm was the same as t.o Auckland, and the cost of handling, etc., at Kop i had averaged 3s lid a pole. The saving on shipments of 6000 poles was £2500. The Harbour Board had been approached by an Australian- timber edmpany, -.who proposed, if the scheme was carried, to establish a depot at Thames and distribute to the whole of; New Zealand from there. The Board had also been approached by a firm who prpposed' bringing raw rock - phosphate to Thames to be crushed . and treated. Cheap wate ’ power was available. The Board had at present nearly 40 acres of reclaimed land, and under the scheme a further 12 acres would* be reclaimed. This would be of revenue, and, compared with Auckland and Wellington, would produce sufficient to pay the. whole of the interest. ’ Mr Donaldson was the last speaker, and dealt, with the general advantages of the scheme. He said that those who opposed scheme were waiting to hear it expounded, so that they could find some point on which t 6 object. He eloquently advocated the scheme, as it was-the anturai outlet, was a very cheap scheme, and would be a. benefit t.o the present generation and to generations to come. AT WAITAKARURU. - At /Jifoitakaruru there was a very fair attendance, and Mr W. Stretton occupied the' chair. Several questions ' were asked and satjsfactprily answered. - A motion, proposed by Mr W. Stretton, seconded by Mr R? T. Williams, and supported by Mr H. Torr, conveying a vote of thanks and confidence was carried unanimously. ' / AT PIPIROA. ‘ Mr C. W. Parfitt presided over en attendance of a-dozen. ; In reply to Mr Marshall, Mr Adams .said that no provision had been made ifor /a railway siding to the whar'f as the Board considered that the present, method was adequate, and in time to come motor trucks would probably oust the railways. A siding could be put in at any time if the Railway Department wished. A sum of £1509 had been provided for such contingencies. .

In reply to Mr Parfitt, Mr Harris z said that no. provision had been made in the larger scheme for freezing chambers for cool storage,' but the Board would provide sufficient land for cool stores, and it had teen proved that firms were falling over one another to get space to build cool stores. Mi- E. Marshall moved that the meeting carry a hearty vote of thanks to the delegation for the manner in which they had explained the scheme / and assured the delegation that they would do their best at the poll. The motion was seconded by Mr H. S'cott and ' carried by acclamation. AT NGATEA.' Owing to the inefficient advertising there were less than a dozen present, including only two ratepayers. The delegation are considering visiting Ngatea again at a later date.

AT Mr Perry occupied the Chair, and there were present one lady and six men. Id reply to a question by Mr Epps, Mr Harris, said that no man would welcome the Paeroa-Pokenc railway more than he. It was, with thd harbour, the life-blood of the district, .and' would be a great feeder for •the harbour. As long as he was on ’ the Harbour Board or the County Council he would advocate as strenuously as possible the completion of the Paeroa-Pokeno railway. In regard to a statement by the N.Z. Dairy Co. that it would hot shi,! through Thames, Mrs Epps said that the farmers controlled the company, and if it. was found cheaper to shin through, Thames the farmers would demand that this be » A vote .of confiden , m the Harbour Board was carrieig AT KAIHERE. At Kaihere there was an attendance of five, and Mr T. McLoughlin occupied the chair. After brief addresses by. Messrs Harris, Adams, Miller, and Cooper Mr Ready asked if any provision had been made for a recreation ground on the proposed reclamation. The chairman sail that .the reclamation belonged to the people, but the Board wanted the revenue, so if any body desired a recreation ground t,he Board would be glad to lease an area to them. The scheine was stoutly supported.