KAWAKAWA COAL MINES: LOCAL ENGINEERING TALENT.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4199, 28 January 1871, Page 3

KAWAKAWA COAL MINES: LOCAL ENGINEERING TALENT.

DumNa the time the Coal Company's tramway was, undergoing alterations, under the superintendency of Mr. Robert Martin, for the reception of the locomotive, which th 6 company had wisely reselved should supersede the labour done by horses, the good people in this locality, both European and Maori, w<y£ an fchs summit of expectation of great things, and glorying in the fact; that the Kawakawa should be the place at which the " steara-horae " should make its debit in tlrs province. But upon its maiden trip it entirely failed to accomplish what was expected. Something was wrong ; but what that something was our local engineers were unable to guess or rectify ; for, after spending some two or three weeks' labour, their ingenuity was still at fault. An Auck* land engineer was applied to, but who, after some eight or ten days' examination, could not get the motive power to haul more than eight tons of coal. Mr. Andrew McLeod (son of John McLeod, Esq., M.P.C.), a young gentleman of mechanical ingenuity, took in hand to rectify that which had baffled all the engineering ability which had been brought to bear on the matter. Mr. Williams, the manager, being aware of Mr. Andrew McLeods engineering talents, at once, unhesitatingly, placed the locomotive under his superintendency. Mr. Williams's act was fully justified, as Mr. A. McLeod, after a few days' examination, made such an improvement as enabled the little engine to take away with perfect ease twenty -three tons of coal ; and there is no doubt that, were the wagons put into good order, it Would quite as easily take from tMc% io ttiirty-fiv© k&us «u»k trip. The lame young gentleman's ingenuity has, 1 Relieve, been nev to work, in consequence of the strike i which, has unfortunately taken place at the mine, and the result is a coal-cutting machine which, should it prove successful, will j save a considerable amount of manual labour, i and, no doubt, enable the company to rjro* duce their usual quantity of coal, notwith- ! standing the suspension of work by the miners. — [Correspondent.]