Lautoka Storm

Arguments About a Wharf

Suva, Aug. 1.

THERE has been a certain amount of liveliness on the Lautoka front, centred more or less on the new wharf project.

Lautoka’s wharf is the private property of the CSR Co. and was used originally for the outward loading of sugar and the inward unloading of supplies for the sugar towns of northern and north-west ern Viti Levu.

As other population (not con nected with sugar) grew, there was a call for port facilities not connec ted with the CSR Co. But CSR Co., in accordance with its well-known policy (its famous free-for-all rail way, for example) has allowed almost anyone to use its Lautoka wharf at small charge, or without charge at all.

Long years ago the Lautoka com munity asked the Government to provide a public wharf. Like other public works in Fiji, there was end less argument and delay about the project. It was originally planned to spend £15,000 or £20.000 on a wharf. Then wartime conditions intervened.

After the war, £150,000 of the Development Plan money was ear marked for Lautoka’s wharf.

Early last year, the British Gov ernment spent £2,000 in sending a consulting engineer to Fiji to plan a wharf for Lautoka. This func tionery planned a quay-type wharf, with Customs sheds, at an esti mated cost of £335,000. The Govern ment was literally staggered, and insisted on sending the whole plan back to London with a request for a more modest plan and estimate.

Meanwhile, the impatient citizens of Lautoka, apparently not realising the difficulty that had developed, began to criticise (a) the Govern ment, for failure to do anything, and (b) the CSR Co., because they

suspected that the Co. was trying to sabotage the public wharf plan.

The argument of the Lautoka citizens is that a new public wharf for the town generally would in volve substantial port fees, which the company, like everyone else, would have to pay, but which it now escapes because it owns its own cheaply-built wharf.

Members of the Lautoka Cham ber of Commerce (President, Mr. A.

E. Waddingham; Vice-president, Mr. C. A. Adams; secretary, Mr.

A. J. Carfax-Foster) have been active recently in this matter. They are emphatic that there is likely to be a development boom in the wide fertile area of Viti Levu, which stretches from Nadi right around to Tavua; that already half the population of Fiji is found in these districts; that the excellent port of Lautoka, upon which this develop ment should be based, is now gravely handicapped by lack of a suitable public wharf; and that some suspect that the absence of a wharf is due to unfriendliness on the part of Suva (which, they say, fears the growth of Lautoka) and of the CSR Co. (which, they say, for financial reasons does not want a new wharf).

The parties concerned have an effective answer to both these sus picions, and rather resent the criti cism.

Consequently, when there ap peared in the Fiji Times a some what critical statement, apparently sponsored by the Lautoka Chamber, there was swift reaction. Both the District Commissioner and the manager of the CSR Co. made strong representations to the Chamber of Commerce; and there then became evident some differ ences of opinion between officials of that body. The result was the resignation of the indignant sec retary.

Actually, it is merely a teacupful of storm, and it soon will be for gotten. But it will achieve some thing if it convinces the powers that be that the Lautoka people are very eager to get on with every thing that will assist the advance ment of their big, rich district.

The Ba (Fiji) open golf cham pionship. on July 22, was won by D. Phillip, with E. Allman (Lau toka) and J. H. Johnson (Lautoka> close up.

A commercial summary from London, published on August 3, said: “Wool is down by 60 per cent.

Copra, a significant bellwether of the important fats and vegetable oils group, has fallen 40 per cent.”

Copra was quoted about £135, Stg., European port, some four months ago. It is now around £BO-£lOO.