OPUNAKE HARBOR.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 September 1919, Page 2

OPUNAKE HARBOR.

To the Editor. Sir. —I notice that it is reportod to bo the intention of the Opunake Harbor Board to shortly ask the ratepayers of that harbor district to back a loan for £50,000 to carry out certain protective works recommended by Mr Hiair. Mason, C.13. Undoubtedly It was very wise of the Harbor Board, if they Intend to spend money on harbor works, to get the advice of Mr Blair Mason, but It would be well for the ratepayers to always bear in mind that it is one thing to get advice, no matter hew good, about the worte, but quite another thine altogether is the question as to whether there is any warrant, from a trade point of view, for the expenditure of such a large sum or even of a comparative small portion of it. The ratepayers should ask themselves whether t):erc is any reasonable hope at all of any commensurate return for the expenditure which will saddle their,properties with an exceedingly heavy rate for all time. Is thero any hope, even if the works prove a complete success, of there being anything like enough trade to pay even a small part of the coat of upkeep and working expenses, to say nothing of any Interest on the loan, for the ratepayers, if they approve of it, had bettor face at once'the certainty that they will have to pay all of It? Will anyone outside of Opunake township ever tise the port? ' Or will It even be used by th'ose in the township for, at tho most, more than a very few lines of goods, say, coal and flour? If such will be the case then the earnings of tho port will provide at most a mere fraction of the working expenses. Now, such as the above are tho sort of questions ratepayers must weigh carefully before voting. And the following must be borne in mind (First)— Ocean liners come now frequently to New Plymouth, just 38 miles away, and when shipping matters scttlo down to normal we are assured there will be a regular and frequent, ocean liner service taking away the whole of our produce and bringing direct to the port all overseas goods; in fact, it will kt the distributing centre for the West Coast. (Second)— The To Rotl-Opunako line is actually, though at present slowly, in progress. We know also that the Government will put in hand as soon as possible the Moturoa-Opunake line, for the *?ery good reason that quite apart from any desire by tho inhabitants, the Department wants it, thus making a through line from the present main line direct to the ocean port. This line will in nil probability bp completed well before tho Opunake harbor could be. (Third) —Is there any warrant or precedent for heavy expenditure on an artificial secondary harbor within forty miles of a leading harbor? Take, for instance, such experiences as Oamaru and Tlmara. What has happened at Oamaru?. In the face of the fact of there, being an ocean port at New Plymouth and that there will be a through railway to it is it conceivable that any farmer or anyone else outside of the township would ever dream of curling or railing their produce to Opunake, paying wharfage there, freight to New Plymouth and wharfago inwards there, involving, in addition to these charges, two extra handings, with the inevitable damage to goods when they could place their produce direct on the Wain and from the train it would go either on board the boat, into the sheds, or into tno freezing works. Take, for inatance, Oaonul factory, the nearest, I believe, outside of Opunake, would any single supplier of Oaonul factory tolerate the cheese or butter being railed or carted into Opunake seven miles, paying two wharfages and freight to New Plymouth and railage from the wharf to the freezing works—four extra handlings—lnstead of railing the cheese or butter direct 33 miles ir.to the freezing works? Why, it is infinitely better and probably cheaper, as it is now, even at the cost of sending by motor waggon instead of by train than it could possibly be through Opunake. Then take imports, would any farmer at Oaonul be so mad as to pay outward wharfage at New Plymouth, freight from there to Opunake, Inroad wharfage and cartage or railage up to his farm tfhen he could have his Blag or whatever he was getting railed direct frorj the steamer or sheds at New Plymouth? Two less handlings and probably not one quarter tho cost to say nothing of the saving of time. Why, it would cost far less railing goods, say, from Te Roti past Opunake to New Plymouth or the Port vice versa than it would cost even for the goods of Opunake townspeople by boat to or from thero. Are tho farmers of the Opunake Harbor District, going to saddle their farms with a very heavy rate forever just for the pleasure of seeing a possible temporary boom iti Opunake township or of giving the Opunake hotels and stores the very doubtful advantage n? the possible option of getting some few lines of goods in through their "own port"?I am, etc., QUERY. Oaonul, 10th September.