SHIPPING.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1790, 1 May 1874, Page 2

SHIPPING.

PORT OF GREY. HIGH WATER. This Day- 10.6 a.m. ; 10.20 p.m. ARRIVED. April 30— Nil. . SAILED. April 30— Kennedy, s.s, 125 tons, Conway, for Westport and Nelson. Purser, agent. ' IN THE ROADSTEAD. Zephyr, brigantine, from Melbourne. Cleopatra, from Lyttelton, EXPECTED ARRIVALS. Murray, from Nelson. Charles Edward, from Nelson. Omeo, from Melbourne. Albion, from Melbourne. Alhambra, from Melbourne. VESSELS IN PORT. Gleaner, from Melbourne. St. Kilda, from Wanganui. Wanganui,.from Dunedin and Oamaru. A petition to the Borough Council of Hokitika is being numerously signed, praying that the Council would remit all tonnage dues on vessels coming to the port in ballast and that when only partly loaded, tonnage dues should only be charged on the number of tons of cargo brought by the vessel. From the number of fat sheep and bul--locks washed ashore, and now lying on the beach between New Plymouth and Waitara, the Taranaki News imagines that some cattle vessel has of late experienced veuy stormy weather on the coast. The Star of the South, which arrived at Auckland on April 22nd, reports a fatal boat accident at Gila, Fiji Islands. Two planters named Finlay and Benson were returning from Sons Sound, where they had been to see the Commodore They went on board the fctar of the South and had breakfast, when they left, accompanied by two natives, to proceed to their homes; they had not gone more than a mile when the boat swamped, there being a heavy sea running at the time. Mr Finl&y swam ashoro with the assistance of some natives, but Mr Benson never came to the surface again. His body was recovered by the uatives in five fathoms of water, half-an-hour afterwards The deceased gentlemen is believed to have formerly been a chemist in Melbourne, and leaves a widow and family there. He had only resided at Fiji about six months. The ship Escort, from New York, has arrived in Melbourne, and reports seeing a ship on fire six days after leaving port The ship Dallam Tower was taken out of dock yesterday. During her stay in dock she was inspected by many visitors, of whom all wer« capable of pronouncing a judgment on the point, were loud in their praises of her exquisite proportions below the water line. Such a bottom, and such lines, were not t<> be equalled by any vessel that had ever been docked at this port before. We heartily endorse this opinion. This'ship is so accurately lined that although she has abundance of floor and good bearings it is almost impossible to distinguish where her entrance and run commence. She has one peculiarity— an exceedingly small rudder— and that a ship of her large proportions and weight should so readily (she steers like a boat) obey the mandates of such a diminutive guide affords convincing proof of the all but perfection of ncr model. The Dallam Tower was only cleaned whilst in dock, her bottom,' excepting in places where the iron *as bare, not being re-coated. — Otago Times, 18th ult. Referring to the proposed erection of a lighthouse at Cape Foulwind, the special correspondent of the Wellington Independent says :— There is a capital site, and with a low tower the lantern will be 250 ft above the levol of the sea. This will warn vessels of the danger caused by the rocks known as the Steeples, and will also lead the way to shelter formed by the steeples and the cape. This work may be pronounced to be absolutely necessary, because the best and a'most the only shelter for hundreds of miles along the coast from south-westers is obtainable here. The apparatus has been ordered from England. » By the arrival of the s.s. Star of the South at Auckland, on the 21st ult., from Levuka, we learn that the damage done to the mail steamship MacGregorhas been repaired ; the hole in her fore compartment, 6ft by 2ft, having been boxed on the inside; but no certain ' information was obtainable as to whether she had left Kandavu for Sydney.