CRANE FALLS INTO AUCKLAND HARBOUR UNDER TWO-TON LIFT

Grey River Argus, 8 October 1949, Page 4

CRANE FALLS INTO AUCKLAND HARBOUR UNDER TWO-TON LIFT

P.A. ■ AUCKLAND, October 7. Toppled off its balance under the weight of more than two tons of steel plc.te, one of the Auckland Harbour Board’s mobile cranes plunged with its load, into 30 feet of water at the end of Queen’s Wharf this afternoon. Its driver, George Grey, jumped clear as the crane began to overturn and he remained uninjured on the wharf. A diver will inspect, the sunken crane tomorrow morning. If possible, it will be lifted on to the wharf by an 80-ton floating crane. The mobile .crane was one of a fleet used by the Harbour Board to move heavy cargoes on the wharves. Weighing tons, the crane was capable of lifting 2S tons. To-day it was employed in lifting steel plates each 30ft. long, 48 inches wide and 1 inch thick, with a weight of 12201b5., from a stack at the end of the wharf on to a lorry. Abi ut 4.40 p.m. the crane lifted a reported total of four plates, weighing nearly 2 tons 4cwt. It began to topple as its jib picked up the load and the driver jumped clear. The heavy plates fell over the edge of the wharf and the crane was dragged across a stack of plates and a wooden wharf kerb into the water. With an impressive splash, nearly seven tons of metal struck the water’s surfj.ee, and plunged to the harbour bed