AUSTRALIA'S NAVY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 43, 14 November 1907, Page 4

AUSTRALIA'S NAVY.

DIFFICULTIES OF LOCAL CONSTRUCTION.

Professor Biles, Professor of Naval Architecture at the Glasgow University, and vino-president of the Institute of Naval Architects, who arrived in Sydney the othro day, thinks that though an Australian navy would be van absolute-necessity'in the near future, the construction of a navy in Australia would at present bo a matter of verv great difficulty, as no class of shipbuilding required such skill and experience as the building of torpedo-boat destroyers. Ho had no doabt that Australian shipbuilders vero (juito certain of their ability to' turn out good torpedo vessels. From what they had seen of them, the job, doubtless, looked easy enough, but their very certainty betraved their inexperience. There were very few shipbuilding yards which could bo depended on to do the work properly. It had taken Great Britain a long time to learn how ; to build to.pedo vessels, and Australian builders pould not he Mo to master tho art at once. Of course, if Australia wanted a navy quickly it would have to buy tho ships abroad, but it tho navy was a matter of remote contingency Anstraia might begin and build everything here, whether it was a success or not. Hie professor pointed to several examples of experienced shipbuilding firms makiiiß failures when they attempted to construct torpedo ciaft. • I'ho turbine en R ines presented a great difficulty, and no torpedo boat would be much good without them. » hen it was pointed out that the proposal was to have one or more boats built in Great Britain and to use them as samples or patterns, tho professor said it was a sound policy.