The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-10-06
OPENED TO COMMERCE.
Honolulu Bar Dredged 20 Thirty
Feet Depth.
A Great Work Accomplished.

The shallow entrance to Homo
lulu Harbor has heretofore made
this rank as a second class port,
accessible only for vessels drawing
less than twenty-five feet of water.
The work of deepening the entrance
has often engaged the attention of
the public during the past twenty
five years, but it has generally been
looked on as a costly undertaking,
and no definite action has ever
been taken in the matter until
within the last four years.
During Mr.. Thurston's admins
tration (1SS7-90) the Cabinet de-
cided on this as Government
measure, and a survey of the bar
was made, which did not prove
satisfactory, the surveyor reporting
that distractions were found under
a surface layer of sand. Suisse
quent surveys disproved this, and
indicated that no rock existed
within thirty feet of the surface,
and in his report for 1890 the Min
lister was able to state that sin no
case was any obstruction met with
that indicated the presence of any
hard material in mass beyond de-
tached pieces of coral rock" This
very reassuring statement had a
favorable effect from the date it
was published.
In 1888 thorough survey was
made of the channel and bar by
soundings throughout their entire
length and breadth by the officers
of the U S. S. Vandalia, whose
work has been classed as the best
up to that time. 1t was their
opinion that the deepening of the
bar was practicable, and could be
done at a reasonable expense, pro-
vided suitable dredger was used.
Subsequently Messrs. Bruner, OF
the Public Works, and Dodge, of
Survey Bureau, surveyed the bar,
and found that the Van9alia's work
could not be improved on, and was
very thoroughly done.
These preliminary surveys hav-
ing proved that the work of deep
ening the bar was feasible, an ap-
preparation was asked from the
Legislature by Mr.. Thurston in his
report of 1890. He retired in June
of that year, and his successor, Mr..
Chas. N. Spencer, took up the
measure and pressed it with some OF
the earnestness of his predecessor
In this he was assisted by his dep.
uty, Mr.. III. w. Mcintosh, Superin.
tendent of Public Works, who has
devoted much time to the details
of preparations and execution o
the work.
About this time Mr.. G. +. Allardt
an experienced civil engineer o.
San Francisco, was engaged to ex
anime the feasibility and bes
means of dredging the bar, and hi;
report, made to Minister Spencer
which was printed for the use O
the Legislature, was the most salts
factory statement of what was nee
essary to be done and how it could
be best accomplished, that had yet
appeared in print,-and satisfied
every one that the work ought tt
be undertaken at once. He recon-
mended that a passage, two hun
dred feet wide and 1850 feet il
length, be excavated by hydraul
ic dredger, and estimated that i
would require the removal of 60,
600 cubic yards of sand; that thu
work should be done by the Gov
eminent, which should own tn,
dredger; that the sand removed
should be dumped in retaining
walled enclosure on the East sid,
of the entrance, and that the dred
ger, which would cost about $65.
900, would subsequently, when tn
bar work was completed, be O
great value to the Government il
deepening the harbor. His sug
gestions in the main have been fol