THE PORT.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 May 1921, Page 6

THE PORT.

RAILWAY FACILITIES. > ♦ X ( • TO MEET GROWING TRADE. HARBOR BOARD DEPUTATION TO MR. MeV ILLY. The proposals of the Railway Department in respect of the extension of their yards at New Plymouth, and their suggestion to take certain lands at Mot 11roa for the purpose, were referred to by the New Plymouth Harbor Board yesterday in the course of representations made to the General Manager of Railways (Mr. R. W. McVilly). The Board pointed out that the railway scheme if carried out would cut off access by road to the wharf, which would be a serious drawback, and the department was asked of certain amendments could not be made. In welcoming Mr. McVilly, the chairman (Mr. Newton King) emphasised that the Board was anxious to press on with their work, and though finance was a difficulty at present they at least wanted to make a commencement.

Before Mr. Blair Mason proceeded to explain the engineering proposals, Mr. McVilly was referred to a resolution passed 1 by the Board some time agd asking that in the new scheme an overhead bridge be put in on the site of the present tram terminus to give access to the wharf and foreshore, and also that an overhead bridge be provided for at the present signal station to give communication to the land on the west side of the breakwater.

Mr. Blair Mason said the board had been looking forward to having a considerable area of land in the neighborhood of the wharves in which to build stores and sheds for various industries connected with the port, but the laying out of the station site as shown on the railway department’s plan would do away with any land the board expected to have. The question of access was very seriously regarded by the board. At present no goods went in or out from the breakwater except by railway, and this consituted a serious drawback to the port. In years to come New Plymouth would be one of the biggest ports in New Zealand, and the matter of getting goods to and from the port by road was important. Better access should be provided to the wharves than could be seen by the railway plan. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE. Mr. McVilly interjected, stating that the position New Plymouth had been in with regard to railway facilities must be taken into consideration, and he asked what would be the state of affairs if the Railway Department did not now make better provision enabling them to deal with the growth of the business that the board themselves expected. He Aid not think they had over-stated the position m this respect, and he was going to look out that, as far as the Railway Department was concerned, that this part of the country was not going to suffer. He could, not view the position only from 'the board’s aspect; the public demanded not only harbor facilities, but also railway facilities. Mr. Blair Mason knew the configuration of the town, but lie did not know where the Department could get another area suitable for yards to deal with the trade, especially taking into consideration the fact of the new line from Te Roti-Opunake. What he had come up to New Plymouth for was to consider how they were going to provide for the immediate wants of New Plymouth and the future wants, having regard to the completion of the central line, the coast line, and the natural growth of the port. He was desirous of helping the board, but neither the railway interests nor the board’s interests must be considered paramount. The engineer had given the subject much thought for months. It was no figure of speech to say that the Railway Department did not want to deprive the Harbor Board of one foot of land anywhere if it could be avoided. Personally, however, he could see no other feasible plan in connection with the Department’s proposed extensions, and neither could the engineers see any way out 'of the difficulty. It was the only one they could suggest which would enable the Department to work the shipping traffic satisfactorily. The position at New Plymouth was difficult to deal with, because there was no flat land available. At the present yards, if the Department wanted to provide accommodation for additional waggons they would have to move thousands of yards of material to do it. If this was the position now they could imagine what would be the case when, with the growth of trade, the Railway Department would probablv double itself.

Mr. Blair Mason: I think you are taking me up rather quickly. Mr. McVilly’s reply indicated this was not his intention. AN ALTERNATIVE SCHEME. Mr. Blair Mason said the question was, could no better scheme be advanced than iiat the Railway Department had already put before the board? With all due' 1 deference to the Department, he held there was. The board would be compelled, as' soon as finances allowed, to hurry up the completion of certain works, and included in these was the building of the Moturoa wall, which, in the opinion of the engineers, was going to be very efficacious in giving the board relief by reclaiming a certain area of land. He suggested that matters might stand in abeyance in the meantime.

Mr. McVilly replied that there had been a great deal of pressure on the Department to improve the facilities at the present New Plymouth station, and they spent a good deal of money without being able to satisfactorily provide what they called reasonable fa.dlities for the pi esent trade. The Harbor Board intended to provide addition il wharf accommodation to invit? more t-ade and the railway station could not be left in its uresent state. It wes impossible, and was a position that he would not stand for. The Department had be-n found fault with for the lack of accommodation, and he did not camplain of the people drawing attention to it, but what would be the position in ten years’ time if they stood do\vn now and did not make provision for the anticipated growth? There was no good telling him that some time in the future the board would be able to provide land there. What the Department wanted was to be able to provide for the present requirements and the growing requirements for the next ten years. He was firmly convinced that there was no other satisfactory way of dealing with the business from a railway point of view, also from the Harbor Board’s view, than that put forward by the Department. It was not a quesfion of the railway trying to filch someHarbor Board.

Mr. McVilly said he had inspected the New Plymouth station and yards during his visit, and what was the position ? There was a shed chock-a-block full with fifty or sixty trucks waiting to be unloaded, but they could not be unloaded. The Department was getting the blame, and it was in a position where it could not provide the facilities. NEW RAILWAY SCHEME. Air. E. Maxwell said he did not think the Department had given the board due consideration. It was obvious that they must have access to the wharf by road, and the board had been deliberately put in the position that they had to disagree with the railway plan for that one reason.

In response to a request made by Air. AlcVilly, Mr. McLean (Engineer-in-Chief), who accompanied the General Manager, proceeded to explain the Department’s views. He said that originally the Department had informed the board that nothing definite could be done till the junction of the Opunake railway at New Plymouth * had been fixed. This had been decided on, and it would come in quite close to the outlet of the road from Opunake. It was no doubt an important route, and the Department had to provide for a passenger station as well as a goods station, and this must be as close to the. wharves as possible, so that trains coming in or proceeding out should drop their loads or pick them up at that spot. All that was sent to the board by plan was with a view of inviting suggestions for alternative proposals, but it was essential that sufficient room must be given to provide ample facilities for shunting and Storage of waggons, for the business which the board itself 1 anticipated. There was no doubt quite sufficient justification for expecting this extra volume of trade. He could not take the responsibility of advising the General Manager to cut down his requirements. Anything they might gain by shifting the railway a few feet one way or the other would make no appreciable difference.

Mr. Af ax well said the board wanted to give business people sites on which to erect warehouses. Mr. McVilly: Which is more important, the store sites, or the railway? Air. Maxwell said there could be no question that no place would tolerate a barrier being put rofind a port, and that was what the Department’s proposals meant. It was intolerable to say that the board could not get proper access. Mr. McVilly: You have not been told that. Mr. Maxwell: The scheme imposes on the board an expense which it could not undertake. Air. AlcLean said that to a railway engineer it was the obvious scheme and the only one. In further discussion there was frequent reference to the plans. Mr. AlcLean said that the Department would have no objection to the board making a road close in on the seaward side of the railway provided it was recognised that in case of further railway needs it would have to be shifted outward. He did not favor the proposal for an overbridge near the tram terminus. “TO BE A BIG- PORT.” Mr. U. A. Wilkinson inquired what facilities the Department was prepared to offer by way of sidings for temporary warehouses. Mr. McVilly said they would have to agree on the complete scheme before going into the question of temporary work. The Department would be quite willing to meet any position that arose, in a reasonable wav.

Air. D. J. Hughes, speaking as a country member, Raid they must have access to the wharf He pointed out the inconvenience of the present system, by which all goods had to be put on the railway.

Air. McVilly said the Deportment was not responsible for this, as they did not put the wharf in the present position. It must be remembered that they had a dead-end road. They should get it out of their heads that the Department had the idea of wanting to shut off access from the wharf.

Tn regard to the question of temporary warehouses along the area just past the board’s workshops, Air. McVilly said he thought they would be able to come to an arrangement.

Air. King thanked the General Alanager for receiving the board, and Air. Afo Villy, in reply, said the Department were desirous of meeting the board as far as possible, but they must consider the future of the port and the requirements of the country to be served by it. Although it was not a big port now it would be.