TAKING IN STORES.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 115, 16 May 1924, Page 7

TAKING IN STORES.

BUSTLE AT LAUNCH LANDINGS. REPLENISHING LARDERS. "Reminds one of Portsmouth," said a man this morning as he watched the busy scene at the Admiralty launch landings on the eastern side of the head of Queen's wharf. In the by-gone days the bluejackete used to come ashore in cutters and other -boats that depended on oars, or else a string of boats would be towed in by one of those fussy little steam launches with the brightlypolished brass funnels, which used to belch quantities of black smoke. But to-day oars seem to have gone out of fashion, and the towing launches are smokeless, even if they are more noisy than the trim little steam launches. Having no funnel to polish, the men that run the launches have every bit of brass about the compact little petrol engines, that only take up a very small proportion of the old-fashioned engines and boiler, as bright as a looking-glass. For the past few days there have always been several launches at the landing, and accompanying them have been strings of big roomy cutters. Frozen meat, boxes of fish and poultry, eggs by the thousand, potatoes, onions, and other vegetables, have been dumped down by the hundredweight by shore carts, and fatigue parties of sailors and marines carry them down the steps to the waiting boats alongside. No sooner has one ship's people taken in stores than another's comes ashore, and all this morning there has been a continual coming and going.