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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts]

Hokitika Harbour Board

Hokitika Harbour Board.

The Hokitika Harbour Board . Members for the year 1905: Messrs G. A. Perry (chairman); M. Pollock, A. W. Bock, J. Toomey, and the Hon. J. Holmes, M.L.C. (elected by the burgesses of Hokitika); W. Rose (Collector of Customs), T. W. Duff (chairman Westland County Council), and J. Mandl (Mayor). Captain G. W. Bignell is secretary and harbourmaster. The Hokitika Harbour Board came into existence in the year 1876, when the shipping facilities were in a crude condition, though the importance of the scaborne trade had compared very favourably for many years with that of other seaport towns. The Board has grappled with the difficulties of a bar harbour, and has provided many necessary improvements for shipping, by means of a loan of £10,000. At high tide there is from eighteen to twenty feet of water at the wharves, and at the bar, according to the state of the river and tide, from eight to twelve feet. The length of the training wall and breastwork is 2003 feet on the north side, and on the south side the training wall is 451 feet in length. The length of the wharf is 900 feet, and the signal station stands on the north training wall. The principal export from Hokitika is timber, and about two million superficial feet were shipped from the port during the year 1904. The offices of the Board, which were erected in 1880, are situated on the wharf at Gibson's Quay.

Mr. George Albert Perry was elected chairman of the Hokitika Harbour Board in the year 1905. He is the second son of the late Mr. William Perry, and was born in Hokitika in 1872. Mr. Perry was educated at Hokitika, and at Nelson College, and afterwards studied law in Wellington, and qualified as a solicitor. He is a member of the Education Board, and of the Hokitika Borough Council.

Captain George William Bignell, Secretary and Harbourmaster for the Hokitika Harbour Board, entered upon his present duties in the year 1886. He was born in Leeds, England, in the year 1844 and followed the sea from his early boyhood. In 1861 Captain Bignell came to New Zealand by the barque “Donna Anita,” and found his way to the West Coast, after being in the employment of Messrs J. T. Peacock and Co., of Lyttelton, for two years. Since that time, he has been associated with local shipping, and was for many years master of the s.s. “Titan' and the s.s. “Waipara.”