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Little Wanganui.—This small wharf has been maintained in good order and the storage facilities improved. Lake Whakatipu.—The Railways Department representative at this lake, acts in the interest of the Marine Department. The checking of passenger-carrying launches and general supervision have been carried out during the year. Westport Harbour. —Shipment of coal, on which the revenue of the harbour largely depends, reached the satisfactory figure of 486,964 tons during the year under review, the highest figure since 1930-31, and almost 80,000 tons in excess of the previous year. Because of weather conditions on the bar the harbour was quite unworkable to shipping on 18 days only during the year, as against 31 days for the previous year. On the otner hand, on 12 days the bar was smooth, as against only 3 days during the previous year. A further index of the conditions which prevailed at the entrance to the port is that on 136 days tne seas on the bar exceeded " light " in intensity, whereas during the previous year seas were ; n excess of " light "on no less than 222 days. During the year 373 steamships and 43 auxiliary vessels, totalling 279,838 net tons, entered the port, as against 295 steamships and 47 auxiliary vessels, totalling 271,774 net tons, during the previous year, an increase of 7-1 vessels and an increase of 8,064 tons. Fewer of the larger overseas vessels work the port, but more of the smaller coastal craft have been pressed into the coastal trade, a reflex of war conditions. During the past year 24- overseas vessels called at the port and shipped 8,203 tons of cargo coal for Noumea, Ocean Island, and Australia, as well as 1.6,409 tons as bunker coal. At the commencement of the year we had the rather unfavourable minimum depth on the bar at L.W.O.S.T. of 10 ft. 9 in. only, with the mean depth of high waters for the first month of 21 ft. 3in. No great improvement was realized until five months later, when, as a result of more favourable natural influences plus intensified dredging, the very satisfactory minimum depth of 15 ft. was obtained, with the high water average depth for the month (August) of 23 ft. the best for just on twelve months. These circumstances favoured good operating results, and the returns for the month proved to be by far the best for ten years past both in respect to number of vessels which worked the port and the quantity of coal shipped. Fifty vessels cleared the port, which was 15 greater than the monthly average for the year. Also, the coal shipped, totalling 51,490 tons, was over 10,000 tons greater than the monthly average for the year. It is interesting to note in this connection that such gratifying result was achieved despite the fact that the port's chief loading unit, an excellent electric crane, was out of commission during the period owing to acute shortage in power-supply. The crane was actually not used throughout a total period of three months, during which time the average monthly shipments of coal exceeded the average for the year by over 6,000 tons, in two out of the three months over 50,000 tons per month being loaded. Following the good working depths achieved by and during August, a serious relapse occurred as a result of most unfavourable weather conditions. Serious shoaling occurred on the bar, and surface conditions prevented any real attempt to remove the trouble by dredging. At one stage of the month the. minimum depth on the bar at L.W.O.S.T. fell to 8 ft. 9 in.—very definitely the worst for the year and the outcome was the poorest high water monthly mean for the year of 20 ft. 3 in. Six vessels experienced delay in departure due to the conditions, 5 departed under restricted loading, and on five occasions vessels touched on the bar when crossing out. In addition, 1 vessel only cleared the port drawing 18 ft. or more, whereas the previous month 8 vessels left loaded to 18 ft. or more, in three cases the draughts exceeding 19 ft. Conditions did not materially improve for another month, but every endeavour was made per medium of bar-dredging to encourage improvement in the governing port operating depth—i.e., on the bar. Due to the urgent need of the country for coal the port was at all times being worked by shipping to the limit of the available navigating depth, and unfortunately, due to the restrictions imposed by swells on the bar, for a time the restricted loading of vessels and touchings on the bar when crossing out were a matter of some concern. In an endeavour to obviate these difficulties by the only means in our power —i.e., by dredging the bar the suction dredger Eileen Ward " was worked throughout the year to the fullest consistent with anticipated results, and these were obtained when conditions favoured, so that during the later months of the year a progressive improvement was achieved. As a result of these high-pressure operations the dredger lifted from the bar and the port operating channel, and conveyed to sea and dumped, the outstanding quantity of 746,340 cubic yards of sand and shingle, the greatest dredging performance of the vessel since the Government assumed control of the port over twenty years ago. During the month of July the vessel lifted just on 100,000 cubic.yards of dredgings, the highest monthly result for twenty-four years. During the closing month of the year under review the excellent minimum depth on the bar at L.W.O.S.T. of 15 ft. was again achieved, with the good mean high water working depth for the month of 23 ft. 4 in., the best since December, 1937. The advantage in these favourable depths was borne out by the fact that during the final monthly period no vessel was delayed in despatch from the port, in no case was a vessel restricted in loading draught, and all vessels crossed the liar with adequate working depth of water. Also, during the final two months 15 vessels cleared the port drawing over 18 ft., 13 of such vessels being loaded to from 18 ft. 6 in. to 19 ft. 9 in. Paradoxically, however, with such favourable conditions the volume of shipping during the final month of the year was about the poorest recorded for the twelve months. It is interesting to note that during the year one vessel, an overseas vessel with cargo coal, left the port drawing 19 ft. 10 in., the greatest draught of any vessel to leave the port for twelve years. Ten vessels cleared the port drawing 19 ft. or more, as against 5 in the preceding year.

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