THE INNER HARBOR.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2463, 30 March 1909, Page 6

THE INNER HARBOR.

I IMPROVEMENTS CONSIDERED BY I board; A PROFITLESS DISCUSSION. At the usual monthly meeting of the Gisborne Harbor Board yesterday, the committee consisting of Messrs J. Townley (chairman), J. B. Kells, W. Sievwright, and the Hon. Captain Tucker presented their report on the cost of, arid'the best appliances to be obtained for the purpose of improving the state of the river. . The report was as follows: • “(1) Experience has jiroved that the entry to the river ought to be protected from range, but your committee are of opinion that the most urgent matter is to deepen the channel, and they think it certain that the deepening of the channel will by itself greatly improve the navigation thereof, and your committee are getting together full information as to suitable appliances for the work, which will require some time. (2) That in any case further ways and means must be provided, because the substantial increase of £2OOO per annum, expected from the change of [tariff, has not' been realised; instead of an increase there has. been an actual decrease of £l2B in the revenue for 1908. Your committee leave it to the Board to suggest the sources from which the revenue shall he increased, and how funds' are to be provided for carrying out improvement operations.” The Chairman said that the whole question was one of great importance,, l and he felt sure it was the desire . of everybody to remove as speedily as possible the disadvantages, at present i existing. The question of obtaining better appliances was one that must be considered, and it was probable that if an up-to-date bucket dredge was obtained it might overcome the difficulty altogether. The desire appeared to be. general to" have matters improved as speedily as possible. At present vessels coming in and out .of the river struck the bottom in several-places, and,the real thing to do, in his opinion, was to deepen the channel and thus lessen the effect of the range in coining in. “It is,” concluded the chairman, “a necessity and a duty for the Board to take immediate action in the matter.” Mr. Clark said that he understood that everyone considered the work was a duty and a necessity. He was under the impresion that the committee were to have furnished them with fuller f particulars regarding the necessary appliances for widening arid deepening the channel. Hon. Captain Tucker asked if they had not first to say whether they would suffer as they had been doing, or whether they should take steps To ameliorate the existing conditions. They knew if- was, at times, unsafe, and there were times when the. incoming and outgoing passengers were subjected to more risk than was necessary. One alternative was to elongate the breakwater by about 2Coft. Mr. Sievwright said the committee thought that the best thing to do would be to go on with widening and deepening the channel. The committee was endeavoring to find out the best appliances for this work, and possibly later on it might be necessary to lengthen the breakwater. He moved the adop-Q-p ...:f fog* rpnort, The Chairman deprecated either the lengthening of the breakwater or the proposed lowering of the groyne. Mr. Napier Bell had said that the channel should he 160ft' wide and 10ft deep at low water. The channel was at present only 80ft wide and not anything like the proper depth. His opinion'was that the best plan to follow would be to get a bucket dredge, which would not alone deepen the widen the channel, but would be avilable for use further up the river. This would, in his opinion, be the best plan for them to follow. • Mr, Harris said that at present the river was nothing but a death trap, for which the Board were responsible. He- strongly urged that immediate steps be taken to. improve the channel arid avoid the risk of a serious disaster. Mr. Clark said he was also in favor of improving the channel by means of a dredge.' He did not think they should let the question of. a few thousand pounds: stand in the way of the safety of the travelling public. It was their business to reduce this risk to the public, and while he was strongly in. favor of improving the channel by means of a dredge, he would like to know if there was anything. that had to be done in the meantime. He was anxious that the Board should'adopt the best means. In answer to a question, Mr. Witty said that the. cost of extending the breakwater 200 ft would be £7143. Mr. Lysnar took exception to the paragraph in tho report referring to the expected increase of £2OOO from the change of‘tariff, and which had not been realised. The committee had, lie claimed, entirely misunderstood Hie position. Continuing, Mr. Lysnar said that the matter was very serious, and that the Board had created the danger, although he had pleaded with them not to proceed as-they had been doing. _ He would strongly oppose the proposition to lengthen the breakwater, but would favor the engineer’s idea of taking the -top off it. ■ . Hon. Captain Tucker said'that no doubt the blowing off of the top of the breakwater would lessen the range, but it would also increase the ..danger to navigation. _ Mr. Lysnar said the question was a difficult-one for lay minds to follow. He had spoken to several sea captains on the subject, and bad ascertained that as long as the boat coming in was prevented from touching the bottom she would be able to have steerage way. and be in perfect safety. He realised i that the people, were prepared to face ( a rate on the subject of harbor improvement. and lie felt, convinced that the way the Board was going was the wrong one, but lie. also felt that, they would have to bow to the majority of the votes of the ratepayers, Regarding . the dredge, Mr. Lysnar contended that not one, but half-a-dozen would be needed. He could only'express his'.opinion and be . content. The people wanted money J.-! -x xf,~ Tlnarrl

, as it was at present, they would have the money spent, and would, have to pay for it. •' ■ ■ v- ■ Mr. Matthewson referred to the different . opinions expressed by members before' and after the election, regarding the state of the channel. Ho was in favor of the consulting engineer’s idea of driving piles .out from the end of the breakwater to act as "wave-breakers. This work could be carried out for an expenditure of £6OO, and he advocated that it be . done, as one of the quickest ways out of the difficulty, especially as they had the material all ready on the 1 ground. The Chairman said that the remedy referred to by Mr. Matthewson, as contained in Mr. Merchant’s report, was only suggested as a temporary expedient. • Mr. Matthewson said that as long as ho was a member of the Board he would never be a party to any proposal to'; fly in the fact of nature and attempt to deepen the river by blasting or dredging out rock to have the phannel filled in again with sand. ~ At this stage, Mr. F. W. Blakey, of Auckland, consulting engineer and New Zealand representative for Messrs W. Simons and Co., of ftenfre.w, Scotland, was called in, and .answered several questions froin different members as to appliances, etc; He said that he had taken samples of the'rock in the river, and was quite prepared to say that a bucket dredge would be able to cope, with the rock and remove it from the channel. Ho gavo particulars as to prices, etc., and after further discussion bv members, it was resolved that a special meeting of the Board be held at 10 a.m. to-morrow to further confer with Mr. Blakey, who' will, in the meantime, take the opportunity of again examining the rock in. the river bed.. • - -