Siltation in the upper reaches of the Tamar River had become so bad in 1886 that the Marine Board of Launceston sought urgent funds for dredging from the Tasmanian government. At the marine board meeting on July 27, it was stated that the Tamar River was "the highway of the colony" and the sooner the dredging was carried out the better. A report by civil engineer Napier Bell estimated that 300,000 cubic metres of silt needed to be removed to keep the boat channel open between