TRADE OF THE PORT

Gisborne Times, Volume LXV, Issue 10307, 17 January 1927, Page 2

TRADE OF THE PORT

RETURNS FOR 1926. WOOL SHIPMENTS VALUED' AT £1,000,000. • The history of a district’s development—the clearing of the land, the coming of closer settlement, and 1 1 1 establishing of industries—is recorded always in the port returns of that district. The port is the agency which registers the wealth and activities of any district. So in the same manner is the sloiy of Poverty Bay recorded. In the earlv days the flax traded by the Natives was the sole inducement toi schooners to call. With the coming i,f the pakeha, however, and the consequent clearing ol the land, an important reciprocal trade developed in which the settlers’ requirements were traded for flax, maize, wool, ana timber. The frozen meat industxj was not introduced until Poverty Bay and the East ‘Coast was well established as a pastoral area. From that time onward the port returns register a growing export trade in frozen meat and its by-products. The flax industry fell away, and even maize and other agricultural products registered a decline. The dairying industry came into being, and early in this century the export butter trade was commenced.

SETTLERS’ NEEDS CHANGING From about the year 1905 onward also there was a distinct decline in the amount of grass seed passing through the port, indicating clearly that the bulk of the bush in the district had been cleared away and the settlers on the bush line were eitl/er proceeding more cannily than their predecessors, or there was not th# quantity of land being opened up. A comparison of the port returns of to-day with those of twenty-live years ago gives a true indication of the development of the district. Chaff and oats greatly in demand at the beginning of the century for • coach and waggon teams working in all parts of the district, were imported m large consignments from southern growers. To-day sales ior those products have fallen to a minimum and, last year, while 10,785 sacks of oats and 25,281 sacks of chaff (practically 1000 tons in each case) were imported into Poverty Bay, 99,225 cases of benzine, and 374 motor-cars came over the wharves.

RETURNS FROM THE LAND Export figures for 1920 show clearly how Poverty Bay is dependent on its primary'industries for the sustenance of the residents. Some of the most important returns are as follow: Butter, 19,988 boxes; mutton, 189,534 carcases; lamb, 186,260 carcases ; beef, 2785 tons; meat sundries, 360.7 tons; preserved meat, 45.45 tons; bacon and hams, 3 tons; pelts, 492.6 tons; tallow, 998.22 tons; casings, 54 tons; hides, 26,062; sheep skins, 1377. Since the coming of the pakeha the export of wool from Poverty Bay lias always been an important factor of the district’s trade, and though during the last decade there has been iittle increase registered, it will be many years before wool growing will have to take second place to any other local industry. Last year 35,650 halos, representing at present values practically £1,000,000, passed through the port of Gisborne.

MANURE BUSINESS GROWING. The manure business also shows promise of assuming large dimensions locally, the increase of imports to almost double last year’s figures telling the story of the trend towajds top-dressing as" a means of increased production. A total ol 1219.26 tons of fertilisers and 229.3 S tons of lime was imported, while the local freezing works exported 889.6 tons of manure.

THE FRUIT TRADE. ■ The growth of the apple growing industry is registered in the export returns of 13.465 cases. These figures can, of course, he balanced against 23.833 cases of fresh fruit, mostly' from the Islands, imported during the year. Maize is also another important byproduct of the fanner and 18,609 sacks wore exported last year. The only other cereals exported worth mentioning were barley, 1169 sacks, and 1404 sacks of grass seed. Live stock experts for the year included 105,872 sheep and 445 pigs, as compared with 3689 sheep, 43 cattle, and 131 horses imported. DECLINE OF TIMBER INDUSTRY

Timber occupies a considerable amount of space, both inward and outward, on the many vessels trading with Gisborne. Last year 689,576 super feet of soft woods and 3704 super feet of hardwoods were.exported, while 885,138 super feet of hard woods and 663,943 super feet of sott woods were imported, ihese figures, showing as they do, a large margin of imports over exr>orts, clearly indicate the decline of the timber milling industry in Poverty Bay. Even for fencii g requirements 43,066 posts bad to be imported last year. House (docks to the total of 1393. and 364 strainers were also recorded among the imports. Other important imports recorded at the Harbor Board offices for the yeftr are as follows: Cement, 3146.92 tons; coal, 22,362 tonsj coke, 56S tons; grass seed, 1436 sacks; clover and other seeds, '214 sacks; potatoes, 18.947 sacks; chaff, 25,281 sacks;' wheat, 1391 sacks; bran and pollard, 7483 sacks: barley, 2626 sacks; oatmeal, 64 tons; Hour, 1990 tons; sugar, 1172 tons; salt, 866 tons; cheese, 33 tons ; kerosene, 9259 cases; oils, 10,492 cases’; fencing wire, 288 tons ; shingle, 5153 tons. In addition -to the above figures Hi ore were many thousands of tons of miscellaneous cargo both imported and exported.