THE BREAKWATER EXTENSION.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 May 1921, Page 4

THE BREAKWATER EXTENSION.

Another weighty opinion has been added to those already expressed as to the urgent need for completing the extension of the Breakwater at Moturoa harbor. The remarks made by the captain of the Port Pirie (Captain Mason) to our representative on Friday on this subject emphasise the need for a vigorous prosecution of the work now in hand. Even those who feel strongly against the utilisation of the stone contained in the Paritutu rock must be impressed by the vifews of Captain Mason and other authorities who so strongly stress the need for making the port safe for vessels of any size and placing the port in a position to cater fully for the growing trade of the district. It is of the utmost importance that the seaport of Taranaki should be regarded by overseas as safe as any other port in the Dominion. After carefully studying Mr. Blair Mason’s plans, Captain Mason considers they will provide a first-class safe harbor, and he is sanguine that the district will grow to such an extent in the immediate future as to warrant much larger vessels trading to the port. It is matter for regret that overseas shipping people still have a very hazy idea of the position of the port of New Plymouth and its capabilities, and probably this drawback will not be remedied until the harbor is completed and thoroughly advertised, although every large vessel that visits the port helps forward the desired publicity. The reasons given by Captain Mason why the completion of the breakwater extension should be the first work on which the Harbor Board should concentrate are practical and convincing, and it should be gratifying to the board to have its policy endorsed, so completely. It should be noted that Captain Mason lays particular stress on the danger of the backwash. “It is' not,” he remarked, “the winds or the seas themselves that are the trouble; it is the back-wash.” The widening of the swinging basin can proceed whenever the weather is favorable. Naturally the master, of a large vessel feels keenly the fear of a mishap, and Captain Mason’s warning that if a boat ever did meet with a mishap while in the harbor it would seriously prejudice the port, must not be ignored. We cannot afford to slacken work in the slightest degree. The work has not moved forward as most would have liked it. Difficulties of labor and supplies have arisen, and now finance is the trouble, but the extension work is of such great importance to the whole province that this rntist be got over, even, if it entails a sacrifice on the part of the public.