Airlift Of Men For Tailrace Work

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30226, 3 September 1963, Page 14

Airlift Of Men For Tailrace Work

(New Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, September 2. The first airlift of men for .work on the £9,000,000 Manapouri tailrace contract has been completed. About 20 men to assist with mooring the former transTasman liner have been flown into Deep Cove, Doubtful Sound.

The men were called for by the contractors, Utah - Williamson - Burnett, on Friday night and were taken to Te Anau by bus on Saturday morning. Then began a shuttle service from Lake Te Anau as the men were flown in by amphibians and float planes.

Th* -work force at Deep Cove now numbers 50, including the staff manager, paymaster. chief mechanic ■nd administration officer.

A spokesman for the contractors said in Invercargill today that the airlift could continue for weeks. A large number of men in Invercargill were ready at a moment's notice to be taken to the cove.

The spokesman said men would be sent in as they were required by technical officers at Deep Cove. It might be that a large number would be needed in which case they would be

taken in by ship. But if continuous smaller numbers were required, the men would be flown in. At Doubtful Sound today a team of men under the construction superintendent. Mr J. D. Kimsey, continued the task of carting lines and fixing them to huge ringbolts in solid rock for moorings tor; the Wanganella. The project manager for the Bechtel Pacific Corporation. the Government’s consultants for the power scheme. Mr N. Long, has i flown from Invercargill to iSan Francisco.

A spokesman for Bechtel’s Invercargill office said todr % v that Mr Long had gone to San Francisco to discuss details of equipment for, and specifications of. the underground powerhouse to be hewn out of solid rock 700 ft below the surface in Manapouri’s West Arm. The spokesman said MiLong would probably return by air from San Francisco headquarters about the middle of next week. The tenders for the underground powerhouse contract are due to be called early next year.