Thames Harbor Board.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4269, 6 September 1882, Page 2

Thames Harbor Board.

The monthly meeting of the Harbor Board was held at the Borough Chambers yesterday afternoon. Present: Messrs Fraser (Chairman). Marshall, McGowan, Carpenter, Bagnall, and Wilson. . KOPU WHAEF. . The Postmaster-General wrote that the complaint re damage to Kopu Wharf was being inquired into. Received. CIJETIS' WHAEF. Mr John Hudson, Secretary of the Thames Eiver Steam Navigation Company, wrote in reference to the broken piles of Curtis' Wharf, which were now dangerous to small vessels. He requested that they be removed, and fender piles placed in position. If this was done, the company purposed resuming the practice of calling at that wharf with their rirer steamers. The Harbor-master was 'authorised to carry out the works proposed M|E ONYON'S MUSE. In this matter, a Special Committee reported: "That, provided Mr Onyon pays to the Board the amount now due, the lease be cancelled at his expense. Should Mr Onyon decide to move the fence now on the allotment, he must pay rent up. to the date the fence is.removed previously to the lease being cancelled by the Board."—Adopted. habbob-masteb's; bepoet. The Harbor-master reported as follows: •-The wharf accommodation of the port

has now become of very serious importance. Owing to the filling up of tbe Shortland channel and silting at Grahamstown wharf, vessels arriving at low tides can only be berthed with great labor and loss of time, and besides this the increasing shipping traffic requires more room than the Goods Wharf affords, especially when the tides are so low that neither the Enterprise nor vessels of any draught can avail themselves of the Shortland Wharf; in addition the captain i of the Kotomahana claims the exclusive ! right to the berth just inside the wharf j (and upon this subject I would beg your • instructions). Considerable quantities of i goods are at times also landed for the • upper country in addition to the local j requirements, so that the prosperity of place and country demands improvement to our shipping accommodation.—lt was" resolved that the outer southern end of the tee be set apart for the Rotomahaua. The Harbor-master was authorised to use his own discretion with reference to the straying buoy, and to secure the split piles of the Goods Wharf. ; FINANCIAL. The Secretary announced that the ba^ lance to the credit of the Board after paying 210 coupons was £892 4s 9d. „, ME ERRINGION's BEPORT. \ The consideration of Mr Errington's report was then proceeded with. In conjunction , with the report, the Chairman read a telegram received in reply to a •query from the Board, stating that the sum of £7500, referred to in the third paragraph, would only extend the mole at .Rocky Point a distance of about 172 feet, j not so far as the change of direction. He ! (the Chairman) thought the proposals Eocky Point a very good one, but could not see where the £85,000 was to come from. Mr Carpenter thought they were just in the same position as before, unless they came to the understanding that a Priestman's dredge would be a useful thing for them to acquire. It could be used generally over the whole harbor, and he believed it would be beneficial anywhere if used in a judicious manner ; but at the same time he was of opinion that it would be of practically little use in the Shortland channel unless used in conjunction with sheet piling. There was not much trade at the Thames at present—certainly not sufficient to warrant such a * large expenditure as proposed, and the best thing to be done would be to improve what they had already. Any channel made to the Goods or Curtis' Wharf would have to be' connected with the Shortland channel to guarantee its being kept open. He moved " That a Priestman's dredge, with necessary appliances, be obtained by.the Board for the purpose of improving the harbor," leaving the question of sheet-piling for further consideration.

Mr McGowan's opinion was that for that work the old style of dredge would be more suitable than Priestman's, the i chief merit of which was dredging at a i considerable depth, say 20 or 30 feefe. j Mr Bagnall seconded Mr Carpenter's resolution. He had long been of opinion that the deepening of Shortland channel and improvement of the approaches to the Goods Wharf were the only works they were in a position to undertake at present, and that the trade of the place required. As to the utility of Priestman's dredge in shallow water, his impression was that it would be more effective there than in deep water. He believed it would do the work at very nearly half the cost of the other kind, especially the kind of work they required. The amount mentioned by Mr Evrington would make the channel valuable, and the dredge could also be used at the Goods Wharf with such effect 'that vessels coujd lie there without the trouble and inconvenience they had now. ; Mr Carpenter did not consider Mr Errington a very good authority in this matter; excepting that portion of the report in which the dredge was spoken of it was not worth consideration. A marine engineer, who had given the action of the winds, currents, etc., his special study, was the only competent authority. Mr Errington, as a civil engineer, was one of the best in Auckland, was one of the best in the whole colony, but in marine matters he did not consider him competent. Of course a harbor could be constructed for £85,000, which would probably mean £120,000 before completed, but it would be folly under the circumstances to go to so great an expense. He would move "That the Board is not in a position to undertake a work such as suggested in the first clause of Mr .Errington's report."

Mr Bagnall seconded the resolution. He did not disparage Mr Errington's ability in the matter. There were very few men within a reasonable radius more competent to give an opinion. The fact of. obtaining only 10 feet of water at low tide was not sufficient to warrant so great an expenditure. '

At the vsuggestion of the Chairman, the words " at present " were inserted in the resolution, which was then carried. :

Mr McGrowan asked whether the Board was in a. position to carry out the less expensive works mentioned for Eocky Point and the Shorfcland Channel.

The Chairman said they were not. The only way such a thing could be done was by borrowing a further sum of £49C0, which, he thought, was the length of their tether. The Borough Council had the option of borrowing £10,000, and the works they required woald only take £5090. If the Council would agree to lend ,the Board the balance of the loan, they would then be in a position to enter upon the modified scheme. Nobody would lend them, in the present state of their finances, more than £4000. :

Mr Dean said that Mr Prater had assured him that if the railway to the upper country were carried through, he had no doubt he could raise any amount for harbor works; otherwise he could not. The Chairman suggested that it would be as well to appoint a special committee to wait upon Mr Errington and Mr McDonald to obtain a schedule of the works in the channel which could be carried out for £1850. He would be quite willing to go with Mr Bagnall for the purpose and prepare a report which could be presented immediately at a special meeting.—Mr McGowan suggested that information should be obtained re the value of Curtis' Wharf, which he regarded as in a much better position than the Goods Wharf.

Mr Carpenter mored a resolution em» bodying, the two suggestions, which was carried unanimously. The meeting then adjourned.

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