THE HARBOR.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 September 1922, Page 4

THE HARBOR.

THE IMPROVEMENTS SCHEME. NEED FOR EXPEDITION. DIFFICULTIES OF THE PAST. Mr. A. B. Gibson was responsible for an interesting discussion at the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce meeting last evening. He said that whilst in Wellington he had heard of big steamers having to lie out in the stream in New Plymouth for some and, he asked, was this in the interests of the port? The president of the Chamber said, that thia circumstance was the result of their not having sufficient wharfage accommodation available. There was a feeling abroad that there had be«n a good deal of delay over the harbor improvements. The public were uneasy, and wanted greater expedition. He frankly admitted that the board had passed through difficult times. Some of the troubles they had met with and had to surmount were not known outside. The war had caused unavoidable delay. Still the port facilities were not equal to the demands of trade. In fact, they were two or three years behind the requirements of the port. He thought, however, the board were alive to pushing on with the works with the greatest vigor, and that they could expect better results in the future. Mr. C. H. Burgess said that the feeling referred to was due to a lack of knowledge of the difficulties confronting the board during the past few years, which he proceeded to enumerate, amongst other things mentioning the delay and difficulty experienced in obtaining piles for the old wharf; the necessity for keeping the breast-work of the breakwater intact (this a good deal of metal); the extension of the breakwater, which, being under water, could not be seen; and the dredging that had been done in connection with the new wharf.

Mr. H. Cocker said that there was ar. astonishing amount of ignorance displayed amongst the public regarding what had been done and was being done in connection with the port improvements. The fact was that too much was being done in committee, a fact that was admitted by the chairman of the board himself.

Mr. Burgess remarked that much of the proceedings had to be done in committee, just as was the case in regard to the work of the Borough Council. He disagreed with the view of the chairman in respect to the committee work. He felt sure everything was being done that could be done to expedite the work. The fact wasj that in harbor work as much time was taken in preparing the work as in doing it. Whatever was done, or was not done, in the past, however, they could rest assured that members of the board were alive to the requirements of the position and were doing everything possible to push on with the work.

Mr. F. S. Johns asked why it was that the dredging having been done, the work of constructing the new wharf was not put in hand. Mr. Burgess said that the required dredging had not yet been completed; until it was they could not commence the building of the wharf. Besides which there was the reclamation and breast-work to be done first.

Mr. J. S. Connett, another member of the board, expressed views similar to those of Mr. Burgess. There had been delays in the past, it was true, but they were largely caused by conditions over which they had no control. The board had made an important departure from the original scheme, which provided for connecting Moturoa island with the present breakwater. They had suspend • ed this work, and instead had decided upon the building of another wharf. This entailed a great deal of dredging. The board had decided upon the purchase of a steam-shovel for excavating the rock at Paritutu, and it would soon be here. That would accelerate the work. They had to Bear in mind that as the result of the departure in the plans they had the support of the shipping companies. The members of the board were alive to the position, and were meeting it to the best of their ability. Mr. Connett proceeded to refer to the quality of the stone taken from Paritutu, reference to which is made elsewhere.

The president said the discussion was perhaps a little informal, but it was nevertheless valuable, giving as it did members of the Chamber an idea of the difficulties confronting the board and the progress that was being made, much of which, however, being under water, was not visible. The chief concern of the public was to leave no stone unturned in prosecuting the work of harbor improvement, which meant so much to the town and the province.