Agitation for harbour access
A CONFERENCE of delegates from local bodies was held in the Chamber of Commerce rooms last evening for the purpose of considering what action should be taken to gain better access to the Harbour Board's lands on the foreshore side of the railway line, and also to obtain better facilities for approaching the wharves. The chairman, Mr H. L. Tapley, said the
Harbour Board had called the meeting for the purpose of invoking the aid of local public bodies in combating the very grave disability which existed in connection with the affairs of the Harbour Board. He thought he was correct in saying that from 1875 till 1901 the Railway Department had practically filched, without any compensation, about 75 acres of the board's lands that had been reclaimed. The board owned some hundreds of acres of land on the foreshore side of the railway, and the only access to it — particularly at the north end — was by way of Rattray street. This street was frequently blocked by the trains running over the crossing. He considered such a state of affairs was economically wrong. Mr Campbell said they knew that the congestion in Rattray street was becoming greater and greater, and it must be apparent to everyone that the approach to their wharves was quite insufficient. There were no fewer than seven streets to the foreshore which should be open. It was all very well to say it would be an inexpensive thing to shift the yards, but something should be done to obtain better access to the wharves and the lands of the Harbour Board.