14 / 25
funds. Just about tJhds time it
■nas thought
ncce-ssary to provide a depth of water over
the bar and up to Prince's Wharf of 18 ft.
€
—1
—
THE LATE CAPTAIN LIPSON, K.N.
at low water—there was a depth of 14 ft.
only—and in order to provide Wie neeessarj'
funds an Act was passed authorizing the
is,suing of boiidis for £100,000. Tlie three
senior members of the a'rinity Board of
the day, with Messrs. W. Yoiinghusband,
G. Hall, and E. G. CollinsOn, were appoin
ted to give effect to the Act. and thus the
Harbour Trust was brought into existence.
A few years later the Coinmissionei^s passed
under the control of the Commissioner of
Public Works, and to-day all harbour im
provements are under the direction of the
Engineer-in-Ohief. "Finis" cannot yet be
written to the history dealing with the
conversion of Port Adelaide into a
lirst-class harbour. The autliorities have
not rested content with a
mini
mum depth of 23 ft. at low water,
but are now continuing dredging opeiations
to provide for 27 ft. Up to the present
about three-quarters of a million sterling
has been expended in improving au-i
deepening the channel and harbour.
A local Marine Board, of which Captain
Douglas was Chairman, took over and per-
IoiiulhI for -some years the duties formerly
discharged by the Harbour Master as Ship
ping Master, but in. 1860 all earlier enaet-
mciit.s were rcitcalcd, and the Marine Board
of South .'Australia was coirstituted to
gcneiully administer marine matters. F'or
years the Government nominated the mem
bers, the fi rst Board being eomimsed of the
following gentlemen:—Captain Bloomfield
Douglas, President, and Messrs. Handasydc
Duncan, Anthony Hall, Richard Taploj',
and .Tohn Acraman as Wardens. In 1881
nomination gave way to semi-elec
tion.
Captain Douglas was follow
ed
as
President by Captain Fer
guson.
hfr. J. Formby, S.iM.,
was
afterwards ajipointcd Chairman, but on tlic
amalgamation of the Customs and hlarine
Depurtmcnts Mr. F. J. Sanderson, S.M.,
presided at the Board meetings, and he, in
turn, lias been succeeded by Mr. T, X.
Stephens.
It will be interesting to glance at some
of the early enactments affecting trade and
shipping, and to notice how at some
periods the desire was to throw out every
inducement for vessels to visit the port. In
1838 harbour dues were levied on a scale of
as. for vessels of 100 tons, and as. for eveiy
additional 100 tons. Pilotage dues were also
charged; the minimum was £2 10s. for
vessels drawing iij) to 7 ft. of water. At
a meeting of the Executive Council held in
1842, tlie Governor, in laying on the table
abstracts of receipts and expenditure, drew
attention to the cost of the principal Go
vernment cstabli-shments, including the
Harbjur Department. The expenditure
had been heavy, and the total receipts from
pilotage fees only £293, involving a loss of
over £2,400. It was pointed out that the
pilotage and harbour dues were much below
those of any other colony. The same year
an Amending Act was passed, and pilotage
rates were fixed ranging from £6 to £13
10s.
per vessel, according to draught
of water.
Port Adelaide Harbour
dues
ran
from 10s.
to
£3 ac
cording to tonnage.
Tonnage dues
were also charged, but altogether the ex
penses to shipping were considered out of
pi'oportion, and in the same year they
were reduced. .During the September quar
ter of 1844 the pilotage and harbour dues
amounted to .L247. The following year a
variation was intnoduccd by allowing pi
lots to take the fees, but soon after the