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[Page 19]
(2)
main street,& local opinion from the Governor downwards was to the effect that had been badly placed & should have run in a Southerly direction from the extreme northern head of the harbour where a depth of 2½ fathoms is obtainable 20 feet from the beach, & 5 or 6 fathoms at 50 feet out. It is in this latter position that I understand the smaller coaling wharf is to be erected & immediately alongside of it 4 allotments of land numbered 5.6.7.&8, containing 5 hectares having a frontage of about 600 feet & about the same depth are being reserved for Government slips.
The township as laid out is divided into 3 sections. The central, as will be seen from the Government plan, is being offered for township allotments by the N.D.L. on 30 year leased; to the Southward Hernsheim & Co,,own the blocks which they are also offering for sale, while the Northern section is reserved for the Government for Official residences,botanical gardens,workshops &c., The Governor stated that it was the intention to remove the port of entry to the new township about April,1906,& strongly combatted the statements in circulation that the place was in-tended for anything but a commercial centre, So far there is absolutely nothing that is inconsistent with his contention. The length of the wharf is accounted for by the shallow water along two-thirds of its length,but viewed from a commercial standpoint a wharf at quarter the cost would have served the purpose, & if erected further round the Bay probably a wharf running along the shore would have answered just as well as the present expensive jetty costing perhaps one-fifth or one-sixth. A large area is reserved for Government slips but the deep water at the entrance & the strategical position for the erection of a dry dock & work-shops, & 5 hectares of land (equal to 12 or 13 acres) would not be required for an ordinary slip..
The township is admittedly in an unhealthy spot & already arrangements are being made to give residents who have taken up allotments in the township small residential blocks on the lower ridges of the encircling hills. Very fine roads cut to