Municipal and Official Handbook of the City of Auckland, New Zealand/Harbour Board
AUCKLAND HARBOUR BOARD.
The Port of Auckland is situated in the lower reaches of the Waitemata Estuary, at the head of the Hauraki Gulf. The estuary has a total area of 73 square miles and a water frontage of 194 miles. It is completely sheltered by an outlying chain of islands and by the peninsula at the northern entrance. Its geographical position (observation spot) is latitude 36deg. 49mins. 56secs. S. and longitude 174deg. 47mins. 57secs. E. In the inner harbour the anchorage is of the very best description, with water from 5 to 12 fathoms, and good holding ground. The tide rises and falls from 5ft. 6in. to 12ft. The whole of the harbour and approaches are well lighted, and the channels, shoals, etc., are clearly marked by buoys and beacons, so that at any hour the port may be entered with perfect safety.
The Auckland Harbour Board was constituted under "The Harbour Boards Act, 1870," and held its first meeting on June 1st, 1871, the Mayor of Auckland (Mr. P. A. Philips) presiding. At a subsequent meeting Captain W. C. Daldy was elected chairman, a position he occupied for six years, and Mr. John Ogilvie was appointed to the office of secretary and treasurer.
Prior to the constitution of the Harbour Board, the Port was under the control of the Provincial Council. Some reclamation had been carried out by that body, 
PLAN OF AUCKLAND WATERFRONT TODAY.
The heavy black line represents the waterfront line in 1841.
for at the time of the transference of the control from the Provincial Council to the Board considerable alteration had taken place on the foreshores. In the 'forties, Commercial Bay swept round from Britomart Point, along a beach, which subsequently became Fort Street, to a headland known successively as Stanley Point and Smales Point. This promontory stood in the vicinity of Albert Street and Customs Street West. By 1870 the foreshore had been reclaimed, and Customs Street East added to the City's highways. At that date Customs Street ended at the foot of a cliff, and a long flight of steps, known as "Jacob's Ladder," led up to Emily Place. On the western side of Queen Street, Customs Street ended at the waterfront opposite Albert Street.
The wharf accommodation in 1870 was very small indeed. The first Auckland wharf was the Wynyard Pier, which was built in the 'forties, and was situated in Official Bay, in a direct line from Short Street. Commercial Bay had from the first been selected as the shipping centre of Auckland, and by 1852 considerable work had been expended upon the improvement of the facilities for loading and unloading vessels. The Queen Street Wharf has always been the principal wharf, but in 1852 there was a small pier leading from the lane which ran from the Victoria Hotel to Shortland Street, and east of Graham's bond (a stone building which still stands in Fort Street, but at that time was right on the waterfront) there was a landing stage. Between 1852 and 1870 a new wooden wharf replaced the Queen Street one; another was erected opposite Gore Street, and a breakwater had been built from Britomart Point.
This was the state of the waterfront when the Harbour Board undertook the management of the Port.
The Board immediately proceeded with a scheme of harbour improvements. In 1874 authority was obtained to borrow the sum of £150,000 for the purpose of building Auckland Dock (now demolished), constructing the Railway Wharf and Breastwork, and making certain reclamations fronting the City. Later, Queen's Wharf (then a wooden structure) was widened and lengthened, and the reclamation of Freeman's Bay was undertaken.
In 1882 authority was obtained to borrow a further sum of £150,000, and the construction of Calliope Dock was begun. The dock was opened on 16th February, 1888, when H.M. ships Calliope and Diamond were docked together. The same year a larger scheme of harbour works was authorised, the sum of £500,000 being borrowed for the purpose of paying off existing loans, constructing additional wharves and sheds, purchasing a bucket dredger and making further reclamations.
In 1899 an agreement was completed between the Admiralty and the Board, whereby the latter agreed, in return for an annual subsidy, to provide workshops and machinery, together with a deep water .jpg)
Showing the wharves, Quay Street, and King's Drive (recently reclaimed), Devonport and Rangitoto Island on the left.
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The growing trade of the Port and the pressing need of accommodation for oversea vessels caused the Board to decide, in 1903, that the time had come to adopt a comprehensive scheme of harbour improvements. In July, 1904, the Engineer submitted a scheme of works, which, after consideration extending over some months, was adopted. A Bill was promoted and passed through Parliament, in 1905, authorising the borrowing of £400,000, in order to enable the Board to proceed with the first portion of the scheme. Contracts were let for the construction of the Railway Wharf in ferro-concrete; the reclamation at Freeman's Bay was undertaken; the deepening of the berths to take the largest vessels coming to New Zealand was begun; and landing stages for the vehicular cargo vessels were built. The same year a contract was let for the construction in reinforced concrete of the first portion of the new Queen's Wharf.
In 1907 the Railway Wharf was completed and brought into commission, and a contract was let for the construction upon it of five single-storey steel sheds The Ferry Jetty was finished and brought into use, and the work of deepening the berths was advanced.
CHAIRMEN OF THE AUCKLAND HARBOUR BOARD.
First Row:—W. C. Daldy (1871–77); J. T. Boylan (1877–78); D. H. McKenzie (1879–80).
Second Row:—E. E. Compton (1881–82); G. Aickin (1882 and 1884); C. B. Stone (1883); G. W. Owen (1885).
Third Row:—W. R. Waddel (1886–88); M. Niccol (1888–91, 1895 and 1898); C. C. McMillan (1892); W. Crowther (1893); A. Porter (1894).
Fourth Row:—A. H. Nathan (1894 and 1902); W. J. Napier (1897 and 1899); A. Kidd (1901); W. Gunson (1902); J. T. Julian (1903–04).
Fifth Row:—Hon. (afterwards Sir) E. Mitchelson (1905–09); A. J. Entrican (1910–11); J. H. Gunson (1911–15); H. D. Heather (1915–1922)
(Mr. G. S. Kissling and Mr. J. W. Witheford occupied the chair in 1896 and 1909, but no photographs of them are available.)
In 1908 the Board decided to obtain authority to borrow a further £1,000,000, and an empowering Bill was promoted and successfully passed through Parliament.
The following years were busy ones for the Board. Construction work was continued, but trade and shipping increased at a greater rate than provision could be made for them. Northern Wharf, for the accommodation of the fleet of coastal steamers, was completed; the reclamation of Freemans Bay (67 acres) was finished; arrangements were made with the Auckland City Council for widening and improving the streets on the waterfront; and the reclamation of Mechanics Bay, to provide railway yards, was begun. The main harbour and its approaches were re-surveyed by arrangement with the Admiralty, and every effort was made to make the Harbour safe at all times by the provision of lights, buoys and beacons. The old wooden Queen's Wharf was replaced with a longer and wider structure of ferro-concrete, equipped with large transit sheds (three of them of two stories), electric cranes and capstans, railway sidings on the quay sides, and a centre roadway 60 feet wide. Central Wharf, similarly equipped, followed; the Western Breakwater and the first 1000 feet of Western Wharf, off the Freeman's Bay Reclamation, were completed. At the same time a slipway, or marine railway, capable of taking up vessels of 600 tons displacement, was built and commissioned, and other reclamations to the eastward of King's Wharf were undertaken.
In 1913 the Board took over from the Marine Department the control and management of Manukau Harbour. A scheme for a new ferro-concrete wharf, to replace the old wooden railway wharf, was approved, but could not be carried out owing to financial disorganisation consequent upon the Great War. However, the bar was re-surveyed, and new beacons and automatic lights were provided.
In 1919 Parliamentary authority was obtained for the borrowing of another million pounds for further harbour works. The work of replacing the old wooden Hobson Wharf with a new reinforced concrete structure, equipped with two-storey sheds and appliances for the rapid handling of cargo, was begun in 1921. The Eastern Tide Deflector was put in hand, and further reclamation work was undertaken. Meantime the Harbour had been deepened around the berths and in the approaches to the various wharves, giving a depth at the main wharves of 35 feet of water at low water spring tides. Quarries were opened at Rangitoto, from which the Board obtains the stone for its own works, and a sawmill was erected on the coast to provide timber.
As these improvements proceeded, trade and shipping increased. In 1871 the Board's net receipts were £6,523, whilst in 1921 (its jubilee year) they amounted to £283,782.
The arrivals of shipping at the Port of Auckland have increased in that time from 205 vessels, totalling 88,567 tons register, to 5,367 vessels, totalling 1,800,193 tons in 1921.
The berthing accommodation at the present time amounts to 14,925 feet, of which 8,208 feet is available for overseas shipping and 6,717 feet for coastal vessels.
From time to time the Board's constitution has been altered, until it now consists of 14 members, three of whom are elected by the electors of the City of Auckland, seven by the electors of the suburban districts and the ratepayers of the adjoining counties, three by the payers of dues, and one nominated by the Governor-in-Council. The Board has been fortunate in the men who, from time to time, have occupied the Chair. Mr. H. R. Mackenzie is the present Chairman.
The Board fully recognizes that its future is bound up with that of the City and Province, and that the Harbour must keep pace with their progress. This year (1922) it is estimated that over £400,000 will be spent on works for the improvement of the Harbour.
The following progress statement of receipts, commencing with 1872, will indicate the financial advancement made by the Board:—
| Year. | £ | s. | d. | |
| 1872 | 12,498 | 2 | 11 | |
| 1881 | 25,525 | 17 | 2 | |
| 1891 | 33,884 | 1 | 10 | |
| 1901 | 54,286 | 10 | 4 | |
| 1911 | 125,294 | 8 | 7 | |
| 1921 | 283,782 | 9 | 2 |
In Appendix C will be found a statement of the shipping of the Port from 1871 to 1921, in decennial periods.
Mr. J. M. Brigham succeeded Mr. Ogilvie as Secretary in 1872, and occupied that office until his decease in 1910. He was followed by the present holder of the position.