DAMAGE DONE TO PUBLIC WORKS BY THE RECENT FLOOD IN THE CLUTHA RIVER (REPORT ON THE).

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1878 Session I, E-05

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1878. NEW ZEALAND. DAMAGE DONE TO PUBLIC WORKS BY THE RECENT FLOOD IN THE CLUTHA RIVER (REPORT ON THE).

Laid on the Table by the Hon. Mr. Macandrew, with the leave of the House.

Mr. Blair to the Hon. the Minister for Public Works. Sir,— Wellington, 21st October, 1878. In accordance with your instructions to procure a report on the damage done to public "works by the recent flood in the Clutha River, I have the honor to submit the following, compiled from information telegraphed me by Mr. Ussher, Resident Engineer, Dunedin : — Immediately on receipt of your instruction Mr. Ussher proceeded to Clyde via Naseby, then, as the road to Queenstown was impassable, he followed down the Clutha River and went to the Lake District via Invercargill. As information on the subject was wanted in the least possible time this report must not be taken as complete, or absolutely correct in every particular. With your permission I purpose to have a detaled report prepared, as a permanent record of this the greatest flood that has occurred since the settlement of Otago. Bruce County. The following is an approximate estimate of the damage done to public works : —■ Roads — including Small Bridges. £ £ Road and street, Kaitangata ... ... ... ... 1,150 Kaitangata to Coal Point ... ... ... ... ... 200 Road and streets, Stirling ... ... ... ... ... 200 Stirling to Balclutha ... ... ... ... ... 700 Total damage to roads... ... ... ... 2,250 Bridges. Matau Bridge (moiety) ... ... ... ... ... 100 Balclutha „ „ ... ... ... ... ... 6,000 Total damage to bridges ... ... ... 6,100 River Works, fyc. Flood channel and gate ... ... ... ... ... 300 Punt ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 100 Total damage to river works ... ... ... 400 Total damage to public works in Bruce County ... ... £8,750 The piers of the Matau Bridge only are injured; they will require to be strengthened. In the Balclutha Bridge two of the piers, the draw-bridge, and all the superstructure of the suspension spars, except one, are carried away. The end spars and the anchorages are however intact, and it is supposed that the remaining piers can be repaired. Clutha County. The following is an approximate estimate of the damage done to public works:— £ Roads, including small bridges, river-bank road, Inch Clutha ... ... 2,000 Interior roads, Inch Clutha ... ... ... ... ... 5,000 Streets in Balclutha ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,100 Total damage to roads ... ... ... £12,100

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Bridges. £ Matau Bridge (moiety) ... ... ... ... ... ... 100 Balclutha Bridge (moiety) ... ... ... ... ... ... 6,000 Puerua Bridge and approaches ... ... ... ... ... 750 Total damage to bridges ... ... ... ... £6,850 River Works. £ Embankments on Inch Clutha ... ... ... ... ... 500 Protective works at Balclutha, rendered necessary through flood ... ... 6,000 Total damage to river works ... ... ... ...£6,500 Buildings. £ Post Office and Courthouse, Balclutha ... ... ... ... 200 Schoolhouse, Inch Clutha ... ... ... ... ... ... 500 Total damage to buildings ... ... ... ... £700 Total damage to public works in Clutha country ... £26,150 The second item above given, £5,000 for roads on Inch Clutha, is practically only a guess, as a large portion of the island is still under water, but from all appearances it is not too large. The main bridges in this county connect it with the Bruce County, so they have already been referred to under that head. The sum for protective works at Balclutha does not represent the actual damage done, but the amount required to prevent further encroachments on the town by the river. Tuapeka County. The damage done to public works in the Tuapeka County is estimated approximately as follows:— £ Roads and small bridges ... ... ... ... ... ... 3,800 Teviot (Roxburgh) Bridge ... ... ... ... ... ... 7,200 Beaumont Bridge ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8,000 Total damage to public works in Tuapeka County ... £19,000 The Teviot Bridge, which was one of the finest looking structures in Otago, had masonry abutments and a laminated timber arch of 174 feet span. The superstructure is all gone, and the abutments are very much injured. The Beaumont Bridge was erected hj private enterprize, under an arrangement with the Provincial Government of Otago. It was a timber truss, resting on masonry abutments and piers. Not a vestage of it remains. £5,000 was voted by Parliament last year for the purchase of the Beaumont Bridge, and negotiations thereon were pending between the County Council and the proprietors, Mr. Kitchen, at the time of the flood, but I understand the purchase was not completed. Vincent County. The following is an approximate estimate of the damage done to the public works, roads, and tracks, including small bridges : — £ Cromwell to Kirtleburn ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,500 Kirtleburn to Cardrona (track) ... ... ... ... ... 250 Bendigo to Lindis ... ... ... ... ... ... 3,000 Cromwell to Alberton ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,000 Clyde to Lauder Creek ... ... ... ... ... ... 200 Cromwell to Nevis ... ... ... ... ... ... 300 Nevis to Upper Nevis ... ... ... ... ... ... 500 Tinkers to Drybread ... ... ... ... ... ... 100 Alexandra to Boundary Creek ... ... ... ... ... 300 Cameron's to Clyde ... ... ... ... ... ... 200 Clyde to Nevis ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 500 Watson's to Rough ridge ... ... ... ... ... ... 200 Bendigo to Logan Town ... ... ... ... ... ... 50 Rocky Point to Hawea ... ... ... ... ... ... 250 Alberton to Hawea ... ... ... ... ... ... 200 Total damage to roads ... ... ... ... £8,550

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Bridges. £ Clyde Bridge ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8,000 Bannockburn Bridge ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,000 Tinkers... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 100 Thompson's footbridge ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 Nevis ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 70 Eraser's ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 45 Rocky Point Bridge, approaches ... ... ... ... ... 200 Cromwell Bridge, abutments ... ... ... ... ... 250 Total damage to bridges ... ... ... ...£10,690 Punts. £ Alexandra punt ... .. ... ... ... ... ... 150 Bendigo „ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 150 Alberton „ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 150 Total damage to punts ... ... ... ... £450 Miscellaneous. £ Removing and re-erecting Clyde Hospital ... ... ... ... 300 Total damage to public works in Vincent County ... ... £19,990 The damage to roads consists chiefly in slips that have buried or carried away the roads in the steep sidlings along which they are made. The smaller bridges have been almost entirely carried away, but the abutments of the Clyde Bridge remain. The original structure of the Cromwell Bridge is uninjured, the damage done being to the anchorage for the suspension ropes built a few years ago. The river at the Rocky Point Bridge seems to have a tendency to make a new channel for itself clear of the bridge. If this takes place it will entail an extra expenditure of £2,000 or £3,000 in lengthening the bridge or constructing protective works. Lake County. An approximate estimate of the damage done to public works in the Lake County is as follows: — Roads and Tracks, including Bridges. £ Kirtleburn to Morven Perry ... ... ... .r. ... 7,000 Morven Perry to Arrowtown, with bridge over Arrow River ... ... 1,570 Arrow to Lower Shotover, with bridge ... ... ... ... 2,000 Shotover Hill Road ... ... ... ... ... ... 500 Erankton to Q.ueenstown ... ... ... ... ~. ... 600 Queenstown to Arrow via Arthur's Point ... ... ... ... 1,450 Queenstown to Shotover Bridge ... ... ... ... ... 3,500 Queenstown to Moke Creek and Moonlight ... ... ... ... 800 Queenstown to Head of Lake ... ... ... ... ... 500 Frankton to Kingston ... ... ... ... ... ... 550 Road to Arrowtown Reefs... ... ... ... ... ... 3,000 Arrow Valley tracks ... ... ... ... ... ... 400 Arrow to Cardrona and Pembroke ... ... ... ... ... 950 Pembroke to head of Lake Wanaka... ... ... ... ... 550 Arrow to Matatapu ... ... ... ... ... ... 100 Greenstone to Kinlock ... ... ... ... ... ... 70 Greenstone to Hollyford ... ... ... ... ... ... 500 Holly ford to Jamestown ... ... ... ... ... ... 900 Kingston to Athol ... ... ... ... ... ... 500 Dart Valley Road and Tracks ... ... ... ... ... 500 Streets in Queenstown ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,000 Total damage to public works in Lake County ... 26,940 The damage above estimated consists chiefly of slips in sidling ground, as in Vincent County, the most serious one being at the Nevis Bluff, where an immense quantity of rock has come down. This will completely close up the road between Queenstown and Cromwell for dray-traffic for a long time. At present it is scarcely passable for foot passengers. Summary and Recommendations. The following is an abstract of damage done to public works in the various counties: — £ £ Bruce—Roads ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,250 Bridges ... ... ... ... ... ... 6,100 Various ... ... ... ... ... ... 400 Total in Bruce County ... ... ... 8,750

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Clutha—Roads ... ... ... ... ... ... 12,100 Bridges ... ... ... ... ... ... 6,850 Various ... ... ... ... ... ... 7,200 Total in Clutha County ... ... ... 26,150 Tuapeka—Roads ... ... ... ... ... ... 3,800 Bridges ... ... ... ... ... 15,200 Total in Tuapeka County ... ... ... 19,000 Vincent —Roads ... ... ... ... ... ... 8,550 Bridges ... ... ... ... ... 10,690 Various ... ... ... ... ... 700 Total in Vincent County ... ... ... 19,990 Lake —Roads and tracks ... ... ... ... ... 26,940 Total in Lake County ... ... ... 26,940 Total damage to public works ... ... £100,830 Some of the damage above stated was liable to have occurred any year, so there is no necessity to make special provision for making it good. Leaving out these ordinary contingencies, the following will represent the amount of extraordinary damage which could not reasonably be foreseen or calculated on :— £ Bruce County ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8,000 Clutha „ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25,000 Tuapeka „ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 18,500 Vincent „ ... ... ... .. ... ... ... 18,000 Lake „ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 23,500 Total ... ... ... ... ... ... £93,000 Before proceeding to restore the works that have been damaged it is necessary to consider whether any improvement can be made in their location or character, and whether some of them may not be dispensed with altogether. The line of the roads and positions of most of the smaller bridges in all the counties cannot well be altered, but I think instead of rebuilding the Clyde Bridge in its old site a new bridge should be erected near Alexandra. A bridge at this place is much wanted, and there is no necessity for two within seven or eight miles of each other. The piers of the Clyde Bridge might be utilized for a foot or horse-bridge. The district on the northern side of the Clutha at Roxburgh (Teviot) is not yet closely settled, and there are considerable facilities for crossing the river by ferries, so I do not think there is an urgent necessity for the restoration of the bridge at present. The unprecedented height of the flood in the Clutha and its tributaries show that the bridges crossing them must be built higher and stronger than has hitherto been considered necessary; the estimate of damage done cannot therefore be taken as the cost of restoration. Allowing for this, and leaving out the Teviot Bridge, I estimate the cost of making good the damage as follows : —■ £ Bruce County ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 11,000 Clutha „ " ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 29,000 Tuapeka „ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 15,000 Vincent „ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24.000 Lake „ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 24,000 Total ... ... ... ... ... ... £103,000 I have, &c, C. W. Blair, The Hon. the Minister for Public Works. Commissioner, Middle Island. By Authority: George DIBBBUBT, Government Printer, Wellington.—lB7B. Pric« 3d.]