HARBOUR CANDIDATES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 650, 30 April 1929, Page 9

HARBOUR CANDIDATES

ADDRESSES AT ONEHUNGA The unusual spectacle of two opposing candidates for a seat on the Auckland Harbour Board appearing on the same platform was witnessed at Onehunga last evening, when Messrs. M. H. Wynyard and J. A. McKendrick addressed a large meeting of ratepayers and householders in the Foresters’ Theatre. The meeting was held primarily to hear the report of the retiring Mayor and councillors, but at tbe invitation of Mr. W. C. Coldicutt, Messrs. Wynyard and McKendrick availed themselves of the opportunity of stating their views on harbour questions. Mr. Wynyard recalled that when he first took his seat on the board 14 years ago, its revenue was £IBO,OOO. To-day it amounted to upward of £300,000 a year. Its assets then were £2,500,000, while to-day they amounted to more than £5,000,000. He claimed credit for having urged the construction of the new concrete wharf at Onehunga and other wharves and jetties in the Manukau Harbour. I He had also favoured several improvements at Waiuku, and was chairman of the committee which had obtained a comprehensive report on the estimated cost of the proposed Waiuku Canal. The committee was now engaged in collecting data as to the prospective trade on the canal route. He asked that his future efforts be judged by his past achievements. Mr. McKendrick, who described himself as a successful business man, twitted Mr. Wynyard for having neglected to tell them that the liabilities of the Harbour Board amounted to more than £3,000,000, and that the Onehunga Wharf was making a loss of £3,000 a year. He contended that the board was lacking in public spirit in not providing playing areas for the present generation instead of promising grounds 50 years hence. 1-Ie further condemned the board for its refusal to set apart some of its endowments for parking areas' for motor-cars. Mr. Wynyard in reply pointed out that the old Onehunga Wharf was rapidly falling to pieces, and a permanent structure could not have been built for less than £75,000. Further that the Manukau Harbour was entitled to a share of the profits made on the Waitemata, where, although many works were not paying their way, substantial profits accrued from others. The meeting then switched oyer to Borough Council questions.