THE KING'S WHARF.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 257, 23 July 1908, Page 10

THE KING'S WHARF.

PROCRESS OF THE WORK. ■ THE END IN SIGHT.. The ' big wharf—Tho King's—which stretches out from tho breastwork of the north-east of tbe Glasgow Wharf, and thrusts its broad pier-head athwart tbe inner piers of the Queen's Wharf, is rapidly approaching completion. A Dominion representative paid 'a visit of inspection to tho works and was courteously escorted round by • Mr. C. F. Pulley, the contractor. Tho . breastwork pier, 400 ft. long, which is part of tho cout-ract, is almost completed; the wood-blacking of the deck is proceeding apace, and early % next week it will bo ppssible to berth vessels if required. The main pier of tho wharf is a huge piece of .work, probably the largest of the wooden structures of its k'ind in Australasia, remarked the contractor. Tho total length is S6oft., and of this 540 ft. will bo completed within contract time, in Septem-' her. Tho big two-story shed will also be' finished, and tho other shed, with the remaining 320 ft. of pier, is expected' to be finished in about six weeks after tho end of tho contract time. The work was seriously hampered at tho outset by the unexpected delay in the arrival of tho piles, but every effort is being made to finish •up with the least, possible extension of tho period of tho contract. So much for the general facts of tho progress: report.' The pressman was then invited to form a closer acquaintance wit-h tho details of'the work. "Como this way," said the contractor. "This way" was tip a : ladder, and on tothe upper story of the big shod, where a comprehensive view of'works'was to be obtained. The contractor strode jauntily over the joists, and' tho 'pressman, feeling that the eyes of the men. wero speculatively fixed on him, risked his neck and gingerly' followed. The shed is a massive structure, and its great skeleton is almost - completed, after which its outer lining will be quick work." Tho building is different, in design, from tha' sheds already in existence. It has,, on bach side, a long balcony, 290 ft. in length, with doors giving access to the interior of the shod. These will greatly facilitate tho landing of cargo, which will simply be swung into tho balconies. Down again, and along to tho pier head, where tho last of the .piles were being placed in position. Another day's work will see the completion of-the pile-drivinc. operations. iThe skeleton of the second shed is being rapidly put together,'nearly all tho big.steel studs being..fixed. Olio hundred, and' twenty-five men are at work on the wharf, the remarkable feature of the contract is. tho entire absonco of bustle. This is.due to the presence of many, ingenious labour-saving machines, most of them -being devised by tho • contractor himself. Instead of employing a gang of adzemen to top dress, tbo decking of tho wharf, Mr. Pulley is utilising a motor-plane, controlled by one man, who is doing all tho topdressing himself. , "Nobody.need break their backs on' this job," said the contractor, as a travelling derrick rolled smoothly along carrying a huge beam. Ill' another, part of the wharf a man hold in his hand a small piece of mechanism, from which trailed a long tube. This was a, compressed-air auger, the long'shining drill of which wormed its way into the thick hardwood beams like a flash." Ori'tho yard at tlie'rear of the wharf are the workshops; all the. fitting workrivets, bolts, etc.,—the shaping of the steel plates and'girders, the manufacture of .pitch from gas-tar, are made on the job, only tht raw : material, so to_ speak, being imported. A big dynamo supplies the driving-power for' the various machines.

"Thero's a big saving of labour hero," said Mr. Pulley.

"And money too, I suppose," observed tha pressman. "Thero would need to be," ho replied, with a grim smile. "My contract price was somethins; like £8000 below, the next lowest tender."