THE HARBOR.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 January 1922, Page 4

THE HARBOR.

THE DEVELOPMENT SCHEME. STEADY PROGRESS MAINTAINED. PROGRAMME FOR THIS YEAR. The recent flotation of the £128,000 loan has placed the New Plymouth harbor construction works in a much more satisfactory position, and the engineers are now confident that the year just entered upon will see the work progress with greater despatch than was possible last year, when development was hampered by lack of funds. But at the same time they state that it is futile to expect any sensational developments, as the construction of a harbor such as that at New Plymouth is necessarily a slow and cumbrous business, the materials which must be handled being enormous in quantity and stubborn in nature.

Meanwhile steady progress has been maintained, and the consolidation of the present breakwater by the building up of the apron wall is now completed—an essential matter, as the work of years was endangered by the late storms. The breakwater is now regarded to be in a perfectly safe condition. The next step will be to extend the breakwater seaward by tipping stone from the Paptutu quarry over the end, and ■ this is expected to commence shortly. A gang of about thirty men are now employed excavating and extending the quarry floor, and when the toe of the hill, consisting mostly of clay, is removed huge quantities of rock, already displaced by blasting, will slide down into the quarry floor, and its removal to the breakwater will then proceed in earnest. In conjunction with the extension of the breakwater it is proposed to begin work on the new wharf, plans for which are in course of preparation. The small rock and refuse unsuitable for the breakwater will be utilised in reclamation works on the

town side of the present wharf. Two cranes are now engaged in excavating the quarry walls, and a third will shortly be put into operation. An immense amount of rock is apparently overhanging the quarry, and when the retaining toe is removed a veritable avalanche of broken rock wifi be precipitated into the quarry within reach of the loading cranes. When this takes place the incline tramway will be busy, and a great volume of rock will be lowered down to the breakwater. Precautions have already been taken to hurry the cranes and other machinery out of the quarry when the mass of loose rock shows signs of sliding down.

It is generally recognised that the three phases of the work now being concentrated upon are the most essential—the extension of the breakwater, the building of a new wharf and the opening up of reclamation works to provide the necessary working space at the base of the wharves. The total number of men employed on construction works at the present time is about 74, including the crew of the dredge Paritutu.