29["The North-West", The West Australian, Monday 22 July 1912, page 8]

THE NORTH-WEST.

VISIT OF THE MINISTER FOR WORKS.

DEPARTMEITAL ADMINISTRATION.

PROPOSED NEW WORKS.

The following is the second and final section of the report submitted to Cabinet by the Minister for Works (Mr. W. D. John son) regarding the investigations made by him on his recent visit to the North-West:--

Jetties.

I regret to have to report, and I can speak generally, that the maintenance of the whole of the public works in the North Western portion of the State has been shamefully neglected. More especially is this neglect to be found in connection with the jetties on the coast. Many thousands of pounds have' been expended in providing such facilities at various ports, but the maintenance of these has of recent years been totally neglected. At Carnarvon a considerable amount of accumulated repairs are urgently needed, and I have instructed that while the organisation is there making the necessary widening or the head of the jetty, the men should effect those repairs and place the jetty in proper order. The Onslow jetty is in comparatively fair condition, and is not in need of immediate attention. The jetty at Point Sampson is now under repair, and the cause of these repairs was generally considered to be more directly attributable to the recent gale, but on investigation I found that the fender piles through want of proper maintenance had worked loose, with the result that they became battering rams during the gales, smashing the waling pieces and braces and completely destroying some of the main p. The cost of repairing this jetty is going to be very expensive, but I have instructed that the work is to be put in hand and finished in a proper manner. The Port Hedland jetty is receiving attention, and will soon be in a complete state of repair. At Broome the jetty is urgently in need of attention, and repairs will nave to be effected at an early date. The Derby jetty is in a worse condition than any of the others along the coast, and as a sum has been provided for the extension of the same, I propose to see that all the repairs are effected while the extension is going on. The jetty at Wyndham requires extensive repairs also, and provision should be made on next years Estimates for this work.

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Tramways.

The tramways, like the jetties, have received scant consideration as far as maintenance is concerned, and at Onslow portion of the track will require relaying. At Point Sampson some considerable portion of the line, for some reason, which it is hard to explain, has been laid across the marsh, with the result that during the recent gales it was practically washed away. This has happened on previous occasions, and I found on investigation that by putting down about 20 chains of additional road the whole of the line would be taken out of the marsh, and on having the cost enquired into on the spot, it was ascertained that this could be done for practically the same cost as would be incurred in repairing the line across the marsh. I therefore instructed that the new road he surveyed and the work of removing the line out of the marsh put in hand, and by this means the annual recurring item of expenditure for repairs will be saved. This work is now in hand, and when it is completed there will be little or no danger of further washaways, and the result will be that there will be practically no further use for the line to Cossack. In these circumstances I have instructed that the Cossack portion of the line be lifted; portion of the rails used for the extra twenty chains required in the deviation, and the remainder stacked for transhipment to Onslow.

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