TE ARO FORESHORE RECLAMATION.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5119, 20 August 1877, Page 3

TE ARO FORESHORE RECLAMATION.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES. Sib, —The ratepayers of Wellington have decided, wisely as I think, to reclaim the foreshore of Te Aro. They have not, however, I imagine, intended fully to approve of the plan of the City Engineer ; and it is with the view of submitting to my fellow-ratepayers that that plan requires some modification that I shall be obliged if you will allow this letter space in your columns. I take the general features of Mr. .O'Neill's plan to consist of a reclamation into about 20ft, of water, with a quay for the discharge of vessels along the sea wall, at a cost of about £2500 an acre. The objections are these : First ; The ratepayers have a principal and direct interest only in the reclamation of so much as shall get rid of the noisome beach which is the receptacle of dirt and the reservoir of poisonous smells, This object will be accomplished by reclaiming to a depth of Bft. or 10ft. of water, as effectually as to a depth of 20ft. They have a secondary or contingent interest in the acquisition by the city of a valuable estate, whose income may relieve them from some part of ■ the rates ; but that is an interest rather for the next than for the present generation. Secondly : The sea wall as a quay must be abandoned. No ships could safely lie against a wall exposed to the run of the .sea from the Hutt in a north-west wind, with a depth of 20ft. of water. Thirdly; Whether the speculation is to be a good one or not depends on the cost of the work compared with its value when done. Now it is obvious that the deeper the water the heavier the cost of reclaiming. The strip of water lying between a line in 10ft. water and 1 in 20 will probably be found to be but a small part of the whole. X speak without reference to an accurate map of soundings; but from a general knowledge of the harbor, I have no doubt this will be found to be the case. The land within the 10ft. line could probably be reclaimed for little over £ISOO an acre, whilst the rest, outside the same line, would cost three or four times that sum, and so by running up the average cost of the whole, convert the work from a safe to a doubtful speculation. I do not think that if the work were done prudently the ratepayers need be called on for sixpence. They are wise to guarantee the interest on the loan by a special rate on which the lenders have a legal lien. But if the first two or three years’ interest on the money borrowed is paid out of loan, and added to the cost of the work, there will still be ample margin for profit without coming on the ratepayers. For example : If the reclamation costs £ISOO an acre, and four years’ interest at 6 per cent, is added, the cost of the acre will still be under £2OOO ; and few will doubt that the reclaimed land could in the meantime be sold for a considerable advance on that sura, or let on long lease with an equally favorable result. Hence it follows that, if the’reclamation be confined, at all events for the present, to such land as can be reclaimed at a reasonable cost, the ratepayers would gain all that they are immediately concerned in obtaining, and would not have to pay anything. The question of wharfage must be treated as altogether separate from that of reclamation. From the seawall any number of larger or smaller jetties could be run out towards the north-west, so that vessels might lie head to the sweep of the harbor, Btill that would be far from being completely satisfactory. The question is whether the time has not arrived when some comprehensive scheme of wharfage, commensurate with the prospective importance of Wellington as a central depflt of trade, shouldjnot be now devised and submitted to a committee of English engineers of the highest reputation, as was done in the case of Lyttelton harbor before its extensive works ware commenced some 12 or 14 years ago. My own conviction is that the only complete and satisfactory work would be to form a wall from somewhere inside the present wharf straight across the harbor forming, the whole head of the harbor into an inner basin. Along the inside of this wall any number of vessels might lie in still water in all winds, and discharge on to a continuation of

the railway. The Queen’s wharf would still ] be of use for the steamers whose frequent arrival and departure, and need for rapid discharge and loading, require space and facilities separate from ordinary shipping.—l am, &c., James Edward Fitz Gerald.