NAVAL WORKS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 33, 9 February 1937, Page 8

NAVAL WORKS.

BASE EXTENSIONS. NEW WHARF NEARLY READY. PREPARING FOR EXPANSION. Work on tlio new concrete training wharf at the mvnl dockyard at Devonport is now nearing completion. The last pile* have been driven and with only the remainder of the decking and some CHipentry work to be done it is anticipated that tin- wharf will be ready for use in three weeks time. The old wooden wharf will then lie completely demolished and the training ship Philomel will lie moored alongside the new wharf", which extends straight out from tlie. Calliope dock. The new wharf will greatly facilitate the work at the duck, and will i:ive extra space that was needed at that wharf. As soon as the work on this wharf is concluded a start will lie made with the extension of the main wharf, at which the cruiser Duiiodin, the naval oil tanker Nuciila. and the sloop Wellington are at present berthed. This work. which is badly needed, as at| present the ships have to '"double bank,"" will probably include a good deal of reclamation. The wharf will extend into .Stanley Bay and provision has been made in the agreement between the Auckland Harbour Board and the naval authorities for reclamation work from the end of the pier to the shore opposite. At this point the water is very shallow. and the reclamation will give the base some much needed room for expansion. Shore Barracks. Work on the shore expansions is a.lso proceeding. Several new buildings have been completed, but the work on some, of the others, including the boiler shop, i>i being held 'lip at present, owing to dilliculties in obtaining the necessary steel. It is anticipated that all the extensions to the base will be completed before the end of the year. The, base will also be relieved of some of its present congestion by the transference of some of the stores to the new ammunition stores ba.se at Kauri Point. By the time this work is completed it is expected that some of the problems relating to the training of the New Zealand boy recruits will have been solved. The Philomel, which is nearly past her stage o£ usefulness, at present houses some of the boys, the rest being quartered ashore. It is in question at present whether the training ship will be retained or replaced or whether it will be broken up and a.ll the boys quartered and trained in shore barracks. Boom for these barracks could be provided in the reclamation scheme. At present the trainees are in camp at Penrose, where they are receiving musketry and general military instruction. Their operations there will conclude with a mock battle, in which Royal Marines from the H.M.S. Dunedin will take part, and the boys will return to the base on Saturday next. K.M.S. Dnnedin is proceeding with preparations for her departure from the New Zealand station on February Hi, and her voyage Home, where she will take part, in the Coronation review.