TEMARU HARBOR BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1542, 20 January 1887, Page 3

TEMARU HARBOR BOARD.

The monthlymeeting of the Timaru Harbor Board was held yesterday. Pre■ent—Messre J/ H. Sutter (Chairman), B. Acton, W.. Moody, K. F. Gray, J. Kelland, J ; son, J. Talbot, T. Tesobetusker un . ,'.i, Jonah. M. Merchant, C. was also in attendance. Correspondence wasread and dealt with. - The-. Chairman reported that Govern- : meot bad appointed a gentleman to audir the Board’s accounts, but Mr J. Ollivier claimed the right.—No action was taken in the matter.

The Eegineep reported that the whole ! qf the foundation blocks for No. 6 brenk#ater cent Act had been laid, and the 1 mqnbliths would therefore be laid uninfV ’terriip'tedly ,* as ' the extension of contmt No.S will be the last section of the breakwater undertaken for the present it ’ would!need to be strong enough to withstand .the heaviest seas, and he would prepare plans; he had submitted to tbs Committee a., report re the breaking of theraogein the harbor ; he advised that the clearing of the berths alongside the ...lloQdy;yrbarf should .be., left till the new dredging plant arrived!. The'Harbor Master reported the ar-

rival of 30 vessels during the month and ■ ihe ! departure of 26’; alt had recjsitW. quick l despatch. He suggested that ail the teats' ib the hatbdr should be " tored by the owner or owners. He'also applied for a month’s leave .of absence after the departure of the’"wool ships.— The suggestion re registration of boats wap adopted, and after careful consideration and a-statemerit by the Harbor Master bis application for a holiday was granted. * The wharfage returns for the period ended Dec. JT, 1886, collected by the Railway Department was £517 19s lid. The revenue of the Board for the month ’ was £BB6 16s 9d; as against £635 6a for last month. -V

'The report submitted to the Standing '• Committeo by the engineer on. (he sub* V ject of reducing the range was considered ; “After careful consideration of the iubject, lam of opinion that the only . practicable way in which the swell at •present.existing in the harbor can be reduced is by enclosing the harbor the N.W. and N.K by a wall; leaving an; entrance to it of 350 feet in width. - In my opinion no mere extension of .the breakwater in its present direction, without enclosing the sheltered area, can effect the desired result. The vorks 1 propose are delineated on the plane appended t to'thk ; report; The still water.basin'contains 60 acres of water, of which an area of 28’acres has depths varying from 18 to il feet at low water spring tides. The ; plan also shows the wharf extension I r i7ecothmend' in the fntiire, when the fratileof the port necessitates construct tltin.‘ By the construction of. the works recohrmeoded I consider that, the barter wpl he tranquil as any amrbis. ■ abort-, of -its being made a dock. The entrance has been . planned so ap toy give the greatest- possible sholter to the vessela taking the port. 1 am ! of opinion that the works prepared will have the effect of enabling the maximum depth of water to be maintained, with e very ’ much-:iess nmount’ of dredging (Han would be required were the harbor left unenclosed; also that the dhrrent running put through the entrance «n the ebb tide will bo a powerful agent keeping it clear of nilt deposit. There I >»re very few indeed, if any, a»tifio|al harbors iu which the natural depth bf water)is' maintained without dredging, and, therefore, in designing one a moat important poiot to be considered ia the maDoerin which the work can be arranged so as to rainiome what must in a’l casM be a continued source of expense. By the adoption of the works recommended 1 : believe this. expense will be . reduced ;to Vi -fta lowest possible limit. The cost of the ■V--Works 1 estimate at not exceeding the sum of £34,000, which amount, providedfc> Tavorablo arrau'gementu could be made for " bhajsiliDg the'stbne'by rail, might bo re- , duced to £31,000 or £32,000. I have ’ .gone fully into the question of a supply. .of stone, and lam prepared to select a .*quarry for testing it, and point out. to the Committee all the various questions, in connection with it that will have to be considered. As this matter can be dealt with mbre fully by word of mouth, L have not embodied it in this report. ’ It • was atated tbat the Harbor Master and’ .Captain Clarkson approved of the plan, and after a discussion, in which the question of whether the area proposed to b* enclosed'was large enough was mooted, j,,,.;jt- was 'unanimously resolved on .. the | -motion of Mr Jonas, seconded by :Mr p Talbot—That the plans laid on the .table by the Engineer be received and -adopted and the plana.and specifications; be forwarded to the Governor to appoint ’■ a '.Royal Commission, to report on the ‘ proposed work, and ill a Royal Commis-sion-report in favor of the work, the estimated sum to complete thin work to be placed in a separate account to carry, it out. ’—lt was decided to send copies of ; the plans to Temuka, Geraldine, and Waimate, and to the various libraries. Resolved—“ That the action of the r Standing Committee in authorising the . Engineer to let any possible quarries for slsupply of -rubble for harbor works be approved of." ' The Chairman stated he was -going Heme in a few months, and he wished to Imov whether the Board wished him to stand for reflection in; the meantime or leave the Board at the end of 1 bis present term of office. The members were of - opinion that the Chairman should remiin on the Board'till! he went home. Mr Moody announced that he did not jntend.to stand for re-election. s Account* amounting to £71114s lOd . irwb-RMaed for payment and the meeting terminated*