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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]

Oamaru Harbour Board

Oamaru Harbour Board.

Oamaru Harbour Board . This Board was originally established in 1869 under the name of the Oamaru Dock Trust, and took its present title under an ordinance of 1874. The board consists of fourteen members, five of whom are representative, five elective, and, four nominated. Members for 1904: Messrs J. S. Holmes (chairman), W. W. Wylie, D. Borrie, John Reid, Alfred Avery, W. H. Rose, Joseph Williams, James Craig, J. M. Brown (Mayor of Oamaru), J. L. Allan, R. W. Monson, George Brownlee, David Ross and J. G. Nicholls. The board's chief officers are Mr. Thomas Forrester (secretary), and Capt. James Ramsay (harbour matter). The first chairman of the board was the Hon. H. J. Miller (now Sir Henry Miller), who held office until 1876, when he was succeeded by Mr. George Sumpter, who filled the position till 1890, when Mr. J. H. Barr was appointed; and the present chairman, Mr. J. S. Holmes, has held the position since 1895. The harbour works comiit of a concrete breakwater, 1850 feet in length, and a rubble wall of 1750 feet, and these shelter the wharves, the names and lengths of which are as follows: Macandrew wharf, 400 feet; Normanby wharf, 510 feet; Sumpter wharf. 670 feet; and Cross wharf, 300 feet. The total length of the wharves is 1880 feet. The whole area in front of the wharves has been dredged, and basins on each side of the Sumpter wharf have been excavated to give accommodation to the large meat freezing vessels. As there are no large rivers to the south of the breakwater, the work of keeping the entrance clear is insignificant, and the small amount of unavoidable silting is from time to time removed at comparatively little expense by means of a dredge. During the progress of the works, about sixteen acres of land have been reclaimed from the foreshore. Two portions of this area have been let, and from these and from adjacent land originally granted as an endowment, the Board receives rentals amounting to £1000 a year. The construction of the breakwater was commenced in 1871, in accordance with designs furnished by Mr. John McGregor, C.E., of Dunedin, and was completed in 1885, at a cost of £182,000. The wharves and approaches cost about £42,000, the north mole and reclamation about £30,500, and with the outlay on the dredge, dredging, engineering, and minor expenses, there has been a total expenditure of over £300,000. An idea of the progress made by the port may be gathered from a comparison of the vessels entered outwards for the years 1870 and 1902. The tonnage for the first-named year was 31,279, and for the latter 148,536 tons. The harbour has been of very great service to the district, but has been oppressively affected in its operations by the unfair reduction of railway rates, calculated to destroy the sea traffic between Dunedin and the port of Oamaru. This reduction and the depreciation in the value of the board's endowment have seriously crippled the finances of the board.

Mr. James Stuart Holmes , Chairman of the Oamaru Harbour Board, is the second surviving son of the late Hon. M. Holmes, M.L.C., and was born at Geelong, Victoria, in 1847. He was educated at Edinburgh University, and arrived in New Zealand in December, 1864. Since 1885, Mr. Holmes has had charge of the Awamoa estate; he has been a member of the Oamaru Harbour Board since 1886, and has been chairman since 1895. He was for a short time a member of the Waitaki County Council, and has long been connected with the North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association, as a member of the committee.

Oamaru Harbour and Breakwater.

Oamaru Harbour and Breakwater.

Mr. John Lyte Allan , who is a Member of the Oamaru Harbour Board, on which he has represented the Borough of Oamaru for about fifteen years, was born in Paris, in 1833. He was educated partly in England and partly in Germany, and intended for the army, but decided to come to the Colonies, and landed in Sydney in 1853. Mr. Allan was for eighteen months interested in goldmining on the Western goldfields of New South Wales and for four years and a-half he was engaged in pastoral pursuits in New South Wales and Queensland; but in 1859 he came to Otago with the intention of becoming a flockowner. About eighteen months later, he settled at Oamaru, where he purchased 160 acres, of which he still retains forty, and on a portion of which he resides. From 1876 to 1879 Mr. Allan paid an extended visit to England. In the early days, Mr. Allan was a member of various road boards, and for a short time he occupied a seat on the Oamaru Borough Council. He was a Justice of the Peace for thirty-three years, but resigned in 1895.

Mr. Alfred Avery was appointed by the Government to succeed the late Mr. E. Menlove as the Government nominee on the Oamaru Harbour Board. He is referred to in other articles as a house decorator in Oamaru and as a farmer at Whitstone.

Mr. John Marshall Brown , Mayor of Oamaru, is a member, ex-officio, of the Oamaru Harbour Board. He is elsewhere referred to as Mayor of Oamaru.

Mr. George Brownlee , A Member of the Oamaru Harbour Board, is referred to in another article as Secretary of the Loyal Oamaru Lodge of Oddfellows.

Mr. Donald Borrie , the representative of the Waitaki riding of the Waitaki county on the Oamaru Harbour Board, is a prominent farmer at Papakaio, and has been page 506 for some years chairman of the Otago Board of Education.

Oamaru Harbour and Town.

Oamaru Harbour and Town.

Mr. James Craig , who is a member of the Oamaru Harbour Board, has been in business in Oamaru as a timber merchant for about a quarter of a century.

Mr. Robert William Monson , who is one of the elected members of the Oamaru Harbour Board, was born in 1862, in Port Chalmers. Since leaving school he has been in the employment of the Union Steam Shipping Company, and is manager of its Oamaru branch.

Mr. Jasper Gauntlett Nicholls Is one of the elected members of the Oamaru Harbour Board, on which he represents the Hakataramea riding of the Waimate county. Mr. Nicholls is a sheep farmer at Hakataramea Valley.

Mr. John Reid , J.P., Is one of the representatives of the Waiareka riding of Waitaki county on the Oamaru Harbour Board. He is referred to on another page of this volume as proprietor of the Elderslie estate.

Mr. W. H. Rose , who is a member of the Oamaru Harbour Board, has been well known in Oamaru for many years as local manager of the National Mortgage Agency Company of New Zealand, Limited.

Mr. David Ross , who is one of the elected members of the Oamaru Harbour Board, represents Waihao district. He is referred to at page 1097 of the Canterbury volume of this work, as a settler at Glenavy.

Mr. Joseph Williams , who is a member of the Oamaru Harbour Board, and served for some time on the Waitaki County Council, was born in Monmouthshire, England, in 1846. In 1871 he came to Port Chalmers, and settled in the Oamaru district. In August, 1899, Mr. Williams bought Tapui homestead, which comprises 8000 acres, 3800 being freehold and the balance leasehold reserves.

Mr. W. W. Wylie , who is a representative of the Kakanui riding of he Waitaki county on the Oamaru Harbour Board, is referred to in another article as a farmer in the Maheno district.

Captain James Ramsay , Harbour Master at Oamaru, who is referred to on page 794 of the Wellington volume of the Cyclopedia, was born in June, 1852. He was confirmed as master in the Union Steamship Company's service in January, 1892, but resigned his position under the company on securing his present appointment from the Oamaru Harbour Board in August, 1896.

Mr. George Sumpter was Chairman of the Oamaru Harbour Board for about fifteen years, and also served as Mayor of Oamaru, besides filling many other important offices in connection with the town. He was born in Middlesex, England, in 1836. After being for ten years in South Australia, he settled in Otago in 1861, and for many years conducted a large business as grain merchant and land agent and auctioneer. He was connected with the volunteer movement for over thirty yeas; he advanced from the rank of ensign in 1871 to that of Lieut-Colonel in 1889, and held the command of the district for a number of yeas. On the incorporation of the borough of Oamaru he became the first town clerk, and as a politician he was elected a member of the Provincial Council for Waitaki in 1871, and held office till the abolition of the provinces. He also took a great interest in educational matters and was chairman of the school committee for a number of years. Mr. Sumpter was married, in 1858, to a daughter of Mr. R. S. Newell, of Chichester, Sussex, and had three sons and eight daughters. He died on the 11th of November, 1900.