THE HARBOR.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 January 1918, Page 7

THE HARBOR.

LAST YEAR'S OPERATIONS. ANX'U'AL REPORT BY CHAIRMAN OF JJOARD At yesterday's meeting of the I\ew Plymouth Harbor Board the chairman (Mr. Xewton King) submitted the following annual report:— Gentlemen. — The accounts of the board for the year 1917 are before you and you will notice that there has been an increase it» the General Account revenue of £lsli> 14s 3d, the figures for 1917 being £13,019 12s 7d. against £ll,nCtt 18s 4d in 1910. The trade of the port also shows a Batfactory increase ov«r the previous year, the imports being 4493 tons and the exports 9f9 tons in excess of 1916. Taking into consideration the restriction of imports, this must be regarded as very satisfactory. The working account shows a nett profit of £8793 7s Bd, against £7548 Jfis Hd in lSlti, an increase of £1244 19s lid. The total ordinary revenue received in ttie general account by the. Board for the past lti years is as follows:

The balance of this account at December 31 was £8864 2s Id, all of which is on fixed deposit at the board's bankers. BREAKWATER PROTECTION*. Only a small expenditure has been made on this work during the year, amounting to £sl Bs. one point near the bend requiring to be made up. Otherwise the work has stood splendidly. DREDGE "THOMAS KING." The vessel has continued at work during the whole year, and lias removed 52.320 tons of spoil at a cost of £1703 10s 7d, equal to an average cost of 4.9(54 per (on Part of the vessel's time was occupied in dredging silt from about the wharf with the grab bucket, which accounts for the increase in the cost per ton. Particulars of sand removed from\the harbor during the past sixteen years by the Thomas King:—

DTtF.DOF, "PARnTTU." ' With the exception of a lengthy overhaul at Wellington, this vessel has worked continuously, either at the swinging basin or in the fairway, and she is at present engaged in deepening the latter to 28ft at L.W.S T. The quantity of spoil removed by the vessel during the year was 204,800 tons, and the total cost (including the annual overhaul) was £B4J)S 3s. 2d, giving an average cost of 9.59 d per ton. This is rather above the average, but may be accounted for in the increased cost of the overhaul and long delay in Wellington while undergoing repairs. Particulars of dredging by the Parihitu for the past seven years:—

The expenditure durinjr ttie year on the above has been £617 IBs, all of which has been on general repair worl;. BUILDING, PLANT AND MACHINERY. During the year £SOI 10s 2d has been expended under this heading, part of which has been on an extension to the waterside workers' shed. Sales of plant and material during the year amounted to £213 7s 4d. ENDOWMENTS, i'here li»;.s been no sale r>f leases of unlet sections during the year of any of the reserves. The first term of a lease of Mt. Eliot sections has expired and the new rentals were fixed by arbitration, and the matter is now under consideration by the board and parties concerned.

WHARFAGE AXD DUES " ; j i The following is a table' of tlia above during the past fifteen years:— . . I

SHIPPING. The year 1917 has marked a new era in the history of the port, as the first ocean liners for the carriage of frozen produce have visited j-he wharf. The arrivals during the year include six of these vessels, their aggregate tonnage being 45,749 tons. The cargo shipped has certainly not been very great, but this was entirely owing to' the space allotted this port and not to the want of cargo, as large quantities of frozen produce still await shipment. There was shipped from the port during the year 21,719 carcases of mutton, 12,197 caricafces of lainJ), and 21,483 quarters of 'beef—in all equal to 81,(588 freight carcases, or 2;H83 tons. Tn addition to the above there were also direct shipments of wool (75 tons), tallow (46 tons), and butter (29,015 boxes). The total direct cargo shipped on the liners amounted to 3,1,1" tons. Two hundred and seventy-two vessels entered and left the port during the past year, their aggregate tonnage beine 145,752. 8 j

SHIPPING. Returns for the past thirteen years are as follow:

LAND REVENUE Once again I have the pleasure of reporting an increase in the land revenue, the figures for 1817 being £8877 14s Id, while those for lftlfi were £7662 lis 4d, the increase being £1224 10s 9d Table of land revenue for the past ( sixteen years: —

SINKING FC'XO. 1909 LOAN. The balance now m this account is £23,887 Os Id, of which £24,900 is on mortgage, £3OOO in the Xew Zealand Government War Loan Inscribed Stock at 4i per cunt., and the balance at present lying at the board's bankers, for ■which an investment is awaiting. MEMBERS. 'During the yea* the whole board went out of office, and with two exceptions all the members were returned unopposed Mr. J. B. Connett, the late chairman of the board, declined nomination, and his son. Mr. J. S. Connett. was elected in liis place; and Mr. C. E. M'fiuimiess, of Mangatoki, was elected a member for the jjawera-Elthanl Ward in place of Mr. J. Marx, who did not seek re-elec-tion. ENGINEER I regret to have to record the death of Mr. F. W. Marchant, the iioard's consuiting engineer, which took place in England during the year. The late Mr. Mar:' .t acted as consulting engineer totbe board for a period of over 22 years that pwivd he h&d. faithfully

.carried out many important works. „o which the harbor owes its safety - During the past year the board has 'been fortunate.' in securing the services as its consulting engineer of Mr. J, Blair Mason, M.lnsl.t'.K.. who was formerly engineer to the Olago Harbor Board. M>. Blair Mason visited the port iii Sep- i tember last in order to draw plans and report on future extensions to the harbor. and these should come to hand at any time now VESSELS AXD TOXNAGE. Statement showing vessels, tonnage, draught, etc., which entered and left the port during 1017:

In moving tho adoption of the report Mr, King said it was a very gratifying matter that while some ports had sull'ered a decrease of trade New Plymouth was able to record an increase over last year's business, particularly when shipping restrictions were taken into account. The outstanding event of the year had been the opening of the port for direct service with Home ports. Since the first vessel was berthed in the early months of the year, six home vessels had visited the port. The prime cause of establishing such a service was the development of the meat industry and he had no doubt that .now direct shipping was available that industry would rapidly increase its local exports. He referred also to the shipment of dairy produce and said that on a recent occasion a vessel had taken away 30,000 boxes of 'butter from the breakwater. He hoped also that the large quantities of of cheese no>v in store would soon be similarly shipped. He then moved the adoption of the report. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wilkinson who considered it was hardly necessary to say that the province could congratulate itself upon the opening of the port to direct shipping. The past had been a red-letter year and the business of the port had put Mounters right out of court. It was gratifying to know that no trouble had been experienced in berthing, loading or despatching the Home boats that had visited the port. He felt quite confideUt that New Plymouth would become one of the first ports in the country. It was a source of satisfaction in the country districts that the dairy produce was now being shipped direct from New Plymouth, though they still had the difficulty to contend with in the fact that on the same day that a lirer was being loaded ,at the breakwater a quantity of dairy produce had been' loaded into a coastal vessel and transhipped into the same liner at Wellington. He hoped, however, that in the near future that would be avoided. He was quite sufe the people of Taranaki would endorse the proposals which were to come before tho Board for further extensions, and when they were completed New Plymouth would be one of the best artificial harbors in the country. Mr. Maxwell said he regarded the report with general satisfaction, and particularly the fact that the large boris had been handled in the port in all weathers. There had "oecn grave doubts about the shipping of dairy produce from the port, but that business was now established- He viewed the increased trade of the port with great pleasure, and said that under the conditions now imposed it would not have been a matter of great surprise hud the trade returns shown a decrease. , Mr. Bellringer, in offering his congratutions, referred to the development of the financial position of the board as shown by the prolit for the year of £BBOO, and the increase of £1244 in the lands revenue. Referring to the shipment of dairy produce by coastal steamers for transhipment at Wellington, he said he had heard it given as a reason for so doing that there was not sufficient water to permit of the liners loading the extra amount of cargo on the occasion in question, but he was satisfied there was no ground for such objection. Mr. Mcfiuiimess, speaking as a new member, said he congratulated the board on the financial position and on the fact of the port having been opened to the large vessels. He was confident that that fact meant the further development of the meat and dairy produce industries of the province. The last loan had been spent to such advantage by the board that he wag sure the ratepayers would trust the l>oard to spend wisely future loans for harbor extensions. The motion for the adoption of the report was carrjed unanimously.

Amount. Year. £ s. d. 1902 8,505 9 11 1903 *}• 10,225 1 11 J904 ■ 10,835 18 8 1905 ,, 10,760 11 5 1906 13,098 18 6 1907 . • V 11 14,747 3 4 lifts 15,460 10 2 1909 -1 • 10,478 4 7 Is) 10 V <» • ■ " 12,077 3 2 1911 • Vrt10,823 12 8 1912 11,503 0 4 1913 12,055 2 2 1914 ... ,t . 13,240 10 5 1915 11,667 5 3 1916 11.505 18 4 1917 13,019 1-2- 7 LOAN ACCOUNT.

Cost TotaV per Year. Tons. Cosl. Ton. £ d. d. 1002 103,320 2.12S 19 3 4.93 1003 153,190 1,587 12 10 2.48 1904 200,088 2,117 11 0 2.54 1905 203,042 2,805 19 7 3.30 1906 91,920 1,612 IS 2 4.21 1907 111,000 1,50(1 16 11 3.00 1908 75,720 1,924 8 11 6.09 1909 87,840 1.542 11 10 4.10 1910 94.839 1,764 18 0 4.46 1911 llS.^O 1,389 13 2 2.82 1912 82,160 1,650 t 0 4.82 1913 117,840 1.587 3 5 3 23 1914 91,680 2.702 11 11 7.07 1915 125,040 1,026 8 3 3.12 1010 109.760 1,711 17 0 3.75 1917 ,82,320 1,703 10 7 4.96

Cost Total per Year. Tons. CoBt. Ton. 1911 155,250 £5,748 16 1 3.87d 1912 •279,200 £6,911 17 7 . 5,94d 1913 256,600 £8,128 2 8 7.G0d 1914 295.200 £10.332 ,17 9 8.40d 1015 239,600 £S,142 13 .5 8.1 Id I'll 11 240,100 £7.582 16 1 7.9*1 1917 204.800 £8,493 3 WHARF. 2 9.9od

ri ' +» 1 W O U5 H Q O r"N lO O O H ° 1 00, *> 35 <Ji <D CTO H 00 CJ 05 M w CO oT —•* © r-T <N* 70 rH »H HHn H^HHrirlWH jPort charges j CO l> u: 1(5 N N U3 is ifl -fl Oi *> CO *-< *•» tTti>o>f»5QCOiOt>0' ,^Oi<M, rOO>*--•MG^GSJCO^lCOCC^^Ple^COXlN^OJ £ CCW^'WGOfN , X<M , HHHWWN W 1^ Q. U «J £ (NN^NOCOIO^OT^^OW^N t>»t>»C£)eOtf5<OCJ5iOCS©-"CsCQr-lfc«-<W | Berthage j t>f»r**-aOC©©;©OO.HOO«$'M©?© ®IW«IO«0«D<N»OOWW«93I«M «rt <D Ml d P4 £ ts (H ©OHO©hNON«}O0!(0'®0J r? UJ "5 "(3 CC «5 l> ® i>. K N t' 1 SO " ■ OOOOOOCHHHHMHHH 050fcC»050a0>0J0S0>0>ac»0i«55O HrtHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Total Exports and Imports £000*OCOrH-«*00^<OI>.©OC<l • a r "' '"i 1^ . rf <>"f ift 5<f oT >0 CO C-* r-T (?} » lj<f c »o I <C <© !>. l> !>. 00 00 3i O 05 <?i CfJ 1 1 , rfrt-, "« h 5 a o O Q"-* N0C<N»>0-"0 ■*j O I fl«CHH^®30HC0NCDrtHW o a. i o r? n o b « ia o ce ci h riS CO «5 v£ OS «T CO >0 IN *£ t£ W rH HHHHHriHr«riHriHH 1 »H©ifia- 3 ic(|«S(N«5101»'jl HO 1 g»H00n)(MC<l , *fl>.*O00(? , 5fc««N.95 -n I c2 C^ Cf5 . *"1 O tH c N <0 N *o *o N to "$ io co ■«<£ Exports. Frozen Meat Tons Ml 2,266 Exports Butter & Cheese © 0> <D <0 HN t? H © oo co x cT «> «T OJ w IH e<f o" rtHHn Imports ilHO'JOMOOCntsNO %'&tr+*&<3>'}4ect**<D'&aot-aa> fl O N N ft >6 « N O N W CO w -2 © o n to r-T (N i—h" oo~ i>»" o us co" qo UN 4> ! Tonnage 245,473 264,757 281,528 273,462 213,124 186,830 172,517 180,486 1 188,745 166,816 145,682 • 115,845 145,752 t*-IC»OIOU5-^CCCOCCCCM'NG^W Fx 01 © The to being OOOOOHHHHrtHHH Ql C5C&Cf>Q5CaCiQS0>C9O>CJCi HHHHHrtHH H'H H H H tal increase in imports and exports 5412 tons.

Amount Year. £ s. d. 1902 . 3,417 17 7 1903 . 3,508 6 11 1804 . 3,209 14 11 1905 . 2,912 17 )1 1908 . 3,799 7 6 1907 . 3,924 9 2 1908 . 3,152 10 111909 . 2,909 2 3 1919 . 4.8S1 10 4 1911 . 4,082 17 10 1912 . 3,122 14 0 1913 . 4,607 13 4 191-1 . 4,086 17 3 1915 . 6,228 17 8 1914! , 7,052 17 4 1917 . 8,677 1 4 1 This shows an increase of £1221 lt5s Od lor the year 1917.

6TEAMERS. ' o g to c6 P O cH 6 U «i s o H of Trips f ti 'A Mamarl ....... Whakatane .... Kia Ova . Paparoii ...... Waiwr-ra Kumava ...... Rakanoa Tarawera ... Knitangata ... Kaituna Waipori Ng'akuta Kamona Oorinna Kittawa Kokiri ........ Polierua ....... Kaluka Ngatoro Kini Ngalierc y Rarawa Karainu Knwhai Rosamond Regulus ..>•>.. P.reezc .......... Hinenioa ....... Wallaend ........ fiimu Arapawa Alexander . ... n Karu ... ..... . Huia, A.S Jnwrcargill Hawera Barion Powell Blenheim .... Htria, SJ9 Tainui VVpka Dorset ....... o 8S13 S775 8030 7800 8237 <>034 '2240 2003 1!>81 1077 1019' 1770 •J 425 T-271 1247 1214 1175 1148 1137 112? 1090 1072 934 792 7-21 535 56.1 54? 454 42fi 411 '291 377 207 256 224 2fl<5 KM M3 1-27 107 102 93 £ 5223' 5438 51B0 4958 4025 SflOO 1393 1200 1219 1-24-0 1229 043 903 81-2 70S 719 749 510 '583 702 5545 451 453 401 402 -2-27 280 29S 20ft 204 144 128 1S5 108 199 123 92 72 8-2 09 (10 53 41 0 ten 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 30 1 3 4 1 !) 1 3 90 12 3 7 8 1 1 7 2 4 3 2 18 1 1 1 8 1 17 1 4 1 ft. m. 22 6 19 0 i9 0 •20 0 19 0 •21 6 IS 0 18 0 19 0 19 0 17 fi 17 0 17 n 15 0 15 0 14 6 14 0 13 6 15 0 14 0 14 6 12 e 13 C 13 0 |3 0 12 G 12 0 11 0 12 0 10 0 10 ft fl fi 10 0 10 0 8 6 0 0 7 fi 8 0 7 fi 7 fi 7 0 7 n 7 0

SAILING VESSELS. NartWal 523 389 2 18 0 Tltrasher 515 m 1 18 li 7 0