HUIA DAM WORKS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 572, 26 January 1929, Page 7

HUIA DAM WORKS

MR. H. P. TAYLOR REPLIES TO COUNCILLOR DEMPSEY

In furtherance of his criticism of the Huia Dam works, Mr. H. P. Taylor writes as follows in reply to, Cr. J. Dempsey, who answered certain allegations of waste made by Mr. Taylor in last Wednesday’s Sun Mr. Taylor states: With reference to the refusal of Mr. Bush to comment on, and Mr. Dempsey’s snort reply, to my letter in your issue of January 23, I beg to .state that before the letter was handed to you for publication. I submitted it for perusal, or correction, to a civil engineer of high quallncations, and who accompanied us when inspection of the operations of the da in v.as made. If the whole or any part of my criticism is wrong, then one would a justification of the modus operanai being placed before the public. i regret Mr. Dempsey declined to go into details. It is quiie true there are hoppers at the quarry which hold the spawls after the latter lia ,- e been picked out from the dirt by hand and broken to suitable sizes for conveyance by tram to crusher. My main contention at this Point is that the presence of so much dirt, necessitating so much handling by hand, suggests that Mr. Bush gambled upon finding metal in solid quantity without boring or tunnelling. If the latter had been done then open-face work could have been obviated. It might have been cheaper to obtain stone from Onenunga rather than to construct a tramway from the dam crusher to the quarry with attendant necessary machinery, etc. In the absence of figures regarding the cost of this tramway quarry, it is impossible to make comparifion, but ratepayers have a right to know such costs, it is significant that Mr. .Dempsey does not deny that the metal at the crusher has to be picked out by hand from the trucks and thrown into the crusher hoppers. I referred only to* the absence of borlng and tunnelling for the west wing wall foundations, and not at all to the itiain portion of the dam, nor to operations In this direction in the valley. Mr. yare, the Sydney engineer, was instructed jO report and advise which work should he first constructed—Nihotupu lower dam °r the Maungatawhiri scheme. The only reference in his report to the works apin the final part, clause 10, which reads: “The works which I have seen renect credit upon the officers concerned in their conxtrurtion.'’ His time was limited a nd in the absence of specific direction Professional etiquette would prevent him from commentijig upon the manner in tchich the work has been carried out. H. P. TAYLOR.