has been made in the direction of reinforced concrete sea- 

 walling. 



It may have been remarked that timing wharf and jetty 

 construction still holds its own in Sydney Harbour, though 

 to a large extent abandoned in Europe. Local conditions 

 must, however, always determine the class of construction 

 best suited to the services needed. In some parts of the 

 world a high range of tide renders timber work less suit- 

 able than iron or steel, on account of the great length of 

 piles required. Possessing as we do a port with a spring 

 tidal range of only 5^ feet, and undoubtedly the best timber 

 in the world for wharf construction, it is natural that we 

 should make use of that timber as long as the supply lasts 

 and can be obtained at a n-asoimble cost. 



With the present heavy demand for lirst-class timber for 

 use on our national works as well as for exportation, our 

 forests are rapidly being thinned out, and it is inevitable 

 that unless some drastic measures are shortly taken in 

 connection with reafforestation and exportation, the time 

 will come when sufficient first-class timber with which to 

 carry on our works will be unattainable except at prohibi- 

 tive cost. During the past year we have used in connection 

 with Sydney harbour works alone 3,450 piles, 3,009 girders, 

 and 1,186,000 super feet of decking and timber for shed- 

 work. This has denuded at least 4,000 acres of our best 

 forest country; when we consider the quantity of timber 

 used in other harbour works, bridge building, and for vari- 

 ous other purposes, we can realise how much of our iron- 

 bark, turpentine, and other first class timbers is being cut 

 out annually. Up to the present time no steps have been 

 taken to replenish the supply. 



What is locally going to replace timber for jetty con- 

 struction is a problem that is by no means easy of solution. 

 Timber is still being used in many instances at New York 



