The Daily News. FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1903 HARBOUR EXTENSION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 62, 13 March 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1903 HARBOUR EXTENSION.

The advocates of harbour extension should find a deal to eaeouraga them iu the annual report of the Tim iru Harbcur Board which has jusi bren published. Timaru like New Plymouth j has an artificial harbour, but not hivii g I three or four small ports to divide the attention of the people the work of harbour extension has gone steadily on un'il over .£400,000 has bean spent io harbour works, and vessels of the largest class, such as the Germania and the Delphic, easily find accommodation there. Like New Plymouth tbe works were started with a concrete mole, but wiser than the people here, the concrete was soon abandoned and rubble work substituted. This was not only cheaper but has been found mora effective and satisfactory in every way. The increase of trade due to the facilities provided, has brought in so large a 'revenue that, although two loins have to be provided for, the ra» e last year was only jd in tbe £, producing [.£7006 Ids sd, but this year it is p r oI pased to strike a rata of |d ia the £ to provide funds for a new wharf alongside the eastern extension of the b:e kwater—a work which has bten proceeding during tbe past two years and of which the report says " the value of tbe extension becomes more apparent , every 100 feet carried out. The cist of dredging at Timaru is also very much more expensive than at New Plymouth becausa shingle, instead of sand, has to be dealt with, the cost being 9|i per ton in the case of one of the dredges and Is o|d in the case of the other, the total"quantity of [ material removed being 103,255 tons | during the year. It it when we '.cjme ts consider the remarks on the extension work that the proi gressiveness of the prople of Timaru is seen bscause the difficulties are much | greater. Itsfcead of the quarries being c'ose at hand, they are no less than five miles 30 chains away, in itself . adding veiy largely to the est of the • j vrotk, yet nea ly 2000 of the 3000 feet, | which the mole is to be extended, his bean put down at a cosi rf only j£82,000. For the purpose of com-pu-ison and instruction, tbe remarks ; on tbe ex'oensien at Timaru are so in|t?resting that we reproduce them ia , full. Dealing with the eastern extension of the breakwater, the report saye : - " This work, which at its inauj gu ration was subjected to much oppo- 1 irition, ar.d surrounded with so many j difficulties, has now emerged through i them ail, and proved beyond any doubt j the wiedom of the undertukiag, On j March 23rd, there was asplacdid illusjtraUon of the beneficial eff,-c s of the [fxieusion when the s.s. Germam'cus j (3967 tons) l«y alongside tbe wharf j with comparative stillness, while out j side there was a heavy south-ecst s< a. ! It has bten distinctly noticeable that during heavy sou'heily sens outside (the harbour, that tbe sand in the [harbour is being considerably dij miniehed ; ships caa lie comfortably j at the wharves in rough weather ( without having to lie off, as for-! merly; and there is a considerable '■ saving in fenders and ropes; also! the breakwater is already sufficiently; protocted from damage by the rough seas. It has been possible to) accommodate with the utmost safety all vessels which have called at the pert; - and on the 10th instant the s.s. ijJphie,' l the largest steamer that has, up to the 1 ! present, ent®red our harbour, was

moored with ease, and received the customary prompt despatch. The staging has advanced 1025 ft, the total length constructed being 1675 ft. The cost for the year 1902 wes £6 7a 10|d per linfal foot, as against .£8 0s 2d lor the year 1901 ; and the averagu <o=t for tbe two years is £7 0s 4|d per lineal foot'. The average height of tho mule above high water is 8 feet, and the width of the base averages 120 feet, with a slope on the southern side approximately If horizontal to 1 vertica', at.d on the northern side 1| to 1. Exc p ionally het vy seas will no doubt flatten the slopes on tha southern tide; but, so far, there has been little settlement, and even the smaller stones at the tip he .d have not been disturbed by th 9 action of the waves. The Bo wl have all the necessary plant and material to complete the extension works, with the exception of timber and ironwork for 500 feet of staging. Since the sth of Febiuary, 1901, the date upon which the first stone was tipped, to the 31st of December, 1902, 157,950tonsofrubblobavebeen brought down from the quarries, whereof 99,538 tons were the results of tha operations of Ust year. Rubble has been tipped to a distance of 1525 feet from the coaimenfement of the m 1 0 , and shows above low water mark to a distance of 1400 fe t. The quaTi( sin the summer months were worked for Ave months by double shifts, working all the hou-s of daylight, with a view of pushing thi extension ahead to give pot c'iou to ths breakwater. Tha average output <f stone was 407§ tons per working day for the year. During the douU-j shift the output averaged 506 tons per working day, and the single shift 325 tons. For tbiee mouths duiiog the working of the double sh;f •, three cf tha cranes only work'd the two shifts, the fourth crane working eight houis per day. The cost of stone per ton for ISO2 was 2s BJd, as against 3s 5d for the yeir 1901, and the cost from the commencement of the wo'lts to thees.d of 1902 averaged 2s 11 fd per tou. These prices do not include interest and depreciation on plant. Owing to the o nlinujjd wet weather last year the quarries were only worked 242 full days. This incereased the cost of the stone. The tramline hts been ex endefl half a mile at the qu^rrie 3 , the total length now being 5 milt s 30 chains from tbe commencement of the mole. The tu ! j ct of day labour or contract has been under discussion at the Boird tabl j , but in face of the satisfactory progress which has been made by the Board carrying out the work themselves under day 1 ibour, it is generally conceded that a bem fi' is acc r uing by the adoption of .this policy. The accounts have been specially grouped at the end of the summary of receipts and expenditure state mant, and it will be seen that tha total net cost to the 3lst December is £81,553 7s lOd. The debentu:e? unsold at the end of tie year to a.lkd £27,000, the ba'ance to credit r f current account being £2846 9s 6J. Of this latter, £ISOO was transferred from geru-ral account, and thete amounts will cover the expenditure fcr a considerable distance of the unfinished portion. In addition to the above, we have a considerable amount (£22,636), of plant, which is in first-class coudltioD, ard will re'urn a substantial su u as the completion of the works