HARBOUR IMPROVEMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 146, 15 July 1901, Page 2

HARBOUR IMPROVEMENTS.

TO THE EDITOR, ' Sir!— Would you kindly allow me ' space to noaka a few suggestions to tte , New Plymouth Harbour Board as to 1 ! what to do with the sand, and how to I utilise the rand itself for the successful . improvement of the harbou-, and to gradually reduca the enormous expenditure in keeping the htrbour op«n for shipping. In the first place it must be borne in mind that both wind and curreat causes the sand to drift. The wind drives the dry tand abovj high w-tter, and tha currant and wave force bslow high water. Now the winds and currants an i consequent sxnddrift ara produced and exist under natural laws 1 which we cannot oppose, but we ran ,to some ex'ent control. This baing so, *hy not build a breakwa'ee out of s-ind. This may S9Pm absurd at firs*;, but it is no' so, as anyone cm see who i knows the fo nut ion of Furewtll Spit, " aod the b9<iu'iful bay enclo-ed by it, j! and also Nelson harbour acd Napier . s indspit and other places. Now, sir, r 'we hive all the forces and material that formed those other h\rbours !, it our command, and why not e u'ilise them and fo r m . one of the 1 best harbours in New Zetland. It is 1 ve y simply and inexpensively doae by B getting a few f icinei hound with galr vatii-ed wire and starting above high e water, sink ,the tier odo foot and cover it wish sand, coatinui-ig ths ti-r to . low water. When this is dene, Lice % ano'h -r tier on top and bind with galvanised wir» to the bo 1 torn and in £ one or to ti.'.es fand will be ) vel y with th< top tier; then place a'Otbe' - on t.>j> again a d so on. By this me ins - wi 1 b i formed and the sind will ' si jpo away oa both sides of the backbone ridga fo uud by th* facine wrks e Tha f.f.iuej can be carried up to ihi a desire I he I'lin. when in wi] be, n 'he , form f.s nd hi Is a-id can bi'pl nt d >r with grasses and fhrubs such at grow on sandhills and cliffs or o'her exp sed :i plac- s. As the facino .vork is carried e out slowly, allowing the sand to tise to the top of each tier, it, will form a slop) '* seaward and gradually forn sind out b.iyonl the eds of farin-s, when t- basi ti r mu*t be put. in and 0 thf sand ftill fu fcher driven out, and ■hi* p'o»a c-ui be continued y until the wl.o'n of the sand-drift ° is abs it be . Ihe work would go on „ the pre nut appliances for coping with Z tihe sand would have to bo k«pt at »e work for a ti'ne, un'il the supply of ><nnd had b en t-t pped when the main 1 trouble would ba overcome, and t,hn :° Harbour dredged out clear of iti p.e----)r sent sind-bed,after which it would be i- an easy and cheip ma'ter to ke p any i-: slight drift .olea r> . If I miy ba al'owel to give an £ opinion the "hole in the wa'l," r . all I can say is •' make it," or the as wh le of ths a'cumula'ion of sand at E-. r hß rooV of the Brankw iter wi'l be le* th>ough,and the Harbour ruined. It i* quit) clenr that the drift comet from 13 t,h« a' uth, driven along by cur-ents, and we f-iic •, and if the B-eakwater was not there, the ac'ion would continue to drive the sand on, aid it could no', ac[e cumul-ite. Buy the fact of its being ,e 'here entirely checks that force, and the sand wouW be belched through the hel», and spread out until it was th < s iine. height inside as outside, arid no I® power of ji\n cou'd cope with r.—l am, etc. Settler. d Mok>it, July Bth, 1901.