FOXTON HARBOUR BOARD

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2434, 27 May 1922, Page 3

FOXTON HARBOUR BOARD

The Foxton Harbour Board met . at Palmerston North on Thursday afternoon, when there were present Messrs J. liinklater (in the chair), W. Bock, W. E. Barber, J. W. itiminer, E. R. B. Holben, T. J. Clapham and J. Chrystall. The treasurer’s statement, showing the board to have a credit balance of £1,275 10s 9d at the bank, plus £440 on fixed deposit, was adopted. , ‘ Accounts amounting to £374 10s t 8d were passed for payment. The chairman - • submitted a report of the sub-committee set up to deal with dredge matters. The committee recommended dredging to be continued as long as weather conditions would permit, and that Mr Alexander Ross be appointed dredge engineer for the time being. Satis■,7; factory results were being 'shown and several lengths of pipe were nowused to convey the spoil as far as possible from the dredge. The soundings taken by the pilot showed a good depth of water from the

bar up to the Rush Flat, exempting . in .the vicinity of the jetty, where the dredge was • now working.. It was satisfactory to know that the 1 vessel trading to the port was making very successful trips, due possibly partly to the careful navigation of its officers by day or night, and to the noticeable results of the dredging operations. —The report and the recommendations embodied therein were adopted. The board’s pilot, in his report for Af>ril, stated that, owing id the bad weather during the month, the bar had only been sounded once, when the least water was found to be 10 feet at h.w.s.t.’ The channel was along the north 'side, and the bar beacons had to be worked on the south of the river. The river still continued to keep good, with the exj ception of Fishman’s Flat. The pilot gave soundings recently taken from .the bar to Rush Flat, showing good water except about where the dredge was now working and he is .to be asked to»take soundings near Fraser’s boat shed as a guide to whether improvements by dredging are holding good. Messrs Levin and Co. wrote en-

closing a description of a benzine' store which they proposed building at Foxton on the land taking in jetty No. 1, with the company’s hemp store to cover the land from the jetty No. 2 right to the back of the sec-

tion. There would thus be a large vacant portion of the ground between the two buildings and this

could be used ,as a cart entrance to the large shed. - The plans were approved with the suggestion the

lien/.ine shed «be erected fronting ength to the river, instead of front on and. the company was granted a 33 years’ lease of the site, subject

to periodical re-valuation. The present lease has still six years to run.

Mr Newman, M.P., wrote ttyat be Was consulting the Attorney-Gen-eral re cart access and the matter

would have his best ‘attention. The chairman reported .that since the last meeting he had interviewed the General Manager of Railways, who had given him to understand that, as soon as the contracts with overseas countries had expired, he would enquire into the matter of getting coal from the West Coast of'New Zealand to Foxton. The department quite recognised the saving it would incur by utilising the port. • V; N ’■ 'LL,.

, The town clerk of Palmerston North forwarded a > reply with regard to the suggestion of the Board that 'the council should join with other large consumers of coal, with a view to chartering a vessel to convey the supplies required to the port of-Foxton... In the course of his reply be stated that should the board at any time be successful in making satisfactory arrangements with any shipping companies-for the conveyance of coal to Foxton, the conneil would be very pleased to consider ensigning its coal vip, the port of Foxton. ' On the motion of Mr Chrystall, ; seconded by Mr Clapham, the board resolved that the Palmerston North Borough Council be asked to reconsider the partnership charges, pointing out that the . removal of the freight anopialies as between Westport, Wellington and Foxton, and .Wellington and Palmerston North, viz., ‘6s per ton, Uvould l’esult in a saving of at least £I,OOO per annum.