PORT OF OPUNAKE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 388, 13 May 1910, Page 2

PORT OF OPUNAKE

IMPROVING ITS FACILITIES. Captain Eckford, owner and skipper of the s.s. Opaw.ii, trading between Wellington ■and Blenheim, has been on a visit to Optmake (says the local Times). Those who are interesting themselves in the shipping movement availed themselves of the opportunity and interviewed him on the subject. In his opinion the trade visible is not sufficient to keep a. steamer going, but would probably be sufficient to engage an auxiliary power boat, which would be run at much less expense. In choosing the auxiliary power, he was emphatically in favor of steam, instead of oil engines. He made a thorough inspection of the bay and the conveniences provided for dealing with shipping at the present time. He then went round the head to the Waiaua river, and was.,very forcibly struck with the possibilities which it offered for making .a lirst-class port. His idea is. to obtain a dredge which has. been constructed for gold dredging and start it to work in the river about three chains up from the mouth, and then work its way gradually out to sea, taking out a channel, say, ten feet below low water, 'and about 100 feet.wide in the main part. At the inner part, where the berthage would be, he would make it 200 feet wide for 200 feet of its length, thus giving plenty of room for steamers to be warped round; and tlieu again at the entrance he suggests dredging it to 200 feet wide for another 200 feet in length. The question was raised whether a gold dredge would be powerful enough to deal with a rocky bottom, which some alleged this would prove. Others reckoned that there was only a layer of conglomerate from two to three feet thick, and then under that for some distance down it was soft strata. To settle the doubt, Captain Eckford decided to stay another day, and with Messrs Trotter, Chambers .and Markham took down drills and set to work to sink a hole well out on the beach from the river mouth. They found it very hard drilling, the first two feet six inches, which was composed of what is known here as conglomerate, being apparently like a mixture of broken road metal grouted with cement. When, however, that was got through, by just jumping the drill in less than an hour it was sunk to nine feet six inches, when apparently sand was reached, .but was still soft. Captain Eckford is quite satisfied that a gold dredge would be quite sufficient to take out the required channel. As there is( no sand visible 'at either side of the river mouth he reckons there would be no danger of the mouth silting up, and therefore it would have a great advantage over any other river port on the coast. His opinion should be of great value because he lias been for a number of years trading to bar harbors, and knows their difficulties. We think there is sufficient in the suggestion to warrant some further tests being made and more information obtained. Captain Eckford thinks it might possibly be done for him from £IO.OOO to £15,000, but even if it cost £20,000 it would be much cheaper than any other scheme so far suggested, and if carried out would give absolute shelter'.and protection to shipping. ,