MECHANICAL EXCAVATORS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 128, 2 June 1927, Page 14

MECHANICAL EXCAVATORS.

AN INTERESTING LECTURE. BY CAPTAIN FAIRHURST. A very fine lecture, particularly interesting to engineers, was delivered on excavating machinery by Capt. F. W. Fairhurst at the biology theatre of the University College last evening. The lecture, which was accompanied by a series of lantern slides, dealt with the wonderful development of mechanical excavators right from the introduction of the first steam shovel in 1826, down to the present day of the electric excavators. Capt. Fairhurst said that the great development was due to North America, where there was not enough manual labour to' carry out the vast works which were put through from time to time. The record for a single machine was 5258 cubic yards of rock ■which had been removed in one day with two operators. There were three excavators, the shovel, the drag-line, and the grabber, and the lecturer quoted figures to show, the remarkable amount Of work accomplished by the machines, compared ■with manual larbour. Capt. Fairfeurst answered a ui questions, and at the conclusion of the ]er-tv>re; was accorded a hearty > ufc « 01 thank J,