THE PATEA PORT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 10, 5 February 1909, Page 4

THE PATEA PORT

At tile last annual meeting of the Pa tea Harbor Hoard, a member stated there was a complete block of not only wool, but butter, cheese aud meat. If this state of things continued he had no doubt that the revenue of the port would stiller materially. Jle considered it was time they impressed the importance of the position oil the steamship? companies. They might ask the Aorero Coy. to put ou il new boat, lie knew as a fact that wool from Waverley was being shipped from other ports. Further, frozen meat was being railed to Wellington and this was a loss to the port and to the Meat Company. The Chairman said one of the companies, to whom they looked to carry away | the trade, had built a boat uusuited to the port ami then they had gone andgot another boat, just as unsuitable. It seemed to him that the solution suggested by Mr Thompson was for the Hoard to get their own steamers, ami he did not think this wad possible. They would hear from the pilot that the bar and the channel were good, as was evidenced by the increased quantity of cargo taken out. Efforts had been made •privately to secure an outside boat but so far without success. It must be remembered that there was a. great demand for coastal steamers at the present time. Mr .lohn>t<>n said the bar had never been >o bad for the past live \ears. The channel was so narrow ship- had no room to turn al»ont. The -and was two feet over the part of the western wall and there were acres of sand where previously there \va* none. Though there was plenty of ivatcr on the bar it did not get over thv dilliculty of the narrow liess of the channel. He did not know what the Hoard could do. A committee was set up for the pnvpo>e of interviewing shipowners on the mr.tter.—Press.