PROJECTED DEPARTURES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 117, 15 May 1909, Page 4

PROJECTED DEPARTURES.

FROM- PICTON. To Anau, for Wellington, this day, at 6.30 p.m. Arahura, for Nelson, this day, at 6 ■ p.m. < Te Anau, for Nelson, Monday, at 8

p.m. Te Anau, for Wellington, Tuesday, at 5.30 p.m. ■Arahura, for Wellington, Wednesday, at 3.30 p.m. Te Anau, for Nelson, Wednesday, at 9.30 p.m. Te Anau, for Wellington, Thursday, at 5.30 p.m. Te Anau, for Nelson, Friday, at 11 p.m. Te Anau, for Wellington, Saturday, at 5.30 p.m. Arahura, for Nelson and Coast, Saturday,' at'll;3d p.m. FROM BLENHEIM. Opawa, for Wellington, early. Waihi, for Wellington, early.

It" is understood that both the Arahura and, Mapourika will lie up at Wellington for overhaul at the end of the present month.

The Wanaka is to arrive from Wellington on Monday to discharge a portion of her coal from Newcastle.

The Shaw, Savill and Albion Company advise that the steamer Tainui, which sails from New Zealand on June \l7 for London,' \will call at Rig de Janeiro after leaving Monte Video.

The main steam pipe of.the Holmdale required attending to, which necessitated the vessel returning to Gisborne on Thursday; She was to have left Gisborne again the same night for Picton to load, produce for Greymouth.'. Captain Samuel Keeble, whose death was, reported from Wanganui on Saturday," was one of the oldest masters in iNew Zealand (says the N.Z. Times).' He went to sea at an early age ? and after coming out to the. Colonies was for some years trading: put of Melbourne in various vessels. Later on he came to New Zealand ,and was for some .time mate with' Captain T. N. Clarksbn,' who is now harbour master at Timaru,?in the schooner Cleopatra, trading between' Lyttelton and Qreymouth. He afterwards became master of the vessel, but later on was mate of the schooner Kangaroo, and while on that vessel was Wrecked at Cape Campbell. After that he was for some years in charge of the steamer Timaru, engaged in the coal trade between Lyttelton and the West Coast, and. after that was master of the hopper Heathcote, em\ ployed at Lyttelton on the early dredging work. He afterwards took the vessel to Westport, and later on ioined the Customs Department as a tide waiter at Lyttelton. He filled that position for a number of years, and afterwards came to Wellington, where he was in charge of the, coal hulk Coromandel. While m her he was seriously injured through the vesseLbreaking adrift in a gale. About two years ago he took charge ot tne barque Rona, and made several voyages in her. He resigned his command a few months ago.

THEMARAROA. According to the Star, Christchurch, tlie Mararoa will be on the temporarily retired list for another three or four weeks. The first'new thrustshaft which was forged in Port Chalmers proved useless, and a new one had to be begun. Unfortunately there is no piece of metal in New Zealand, and probably not. in Australasia, heavy enough to.allow the shaft to be forged from it by sw.agging down the smaller parts. A number of collars, together with the thrust-block, constitute the drivers of the steamer, being the point where the thrust of the propeller, transmitted along 'the shaft, takes iiold of the hull of the vessel. Fitting

Land material here must accordingly be strong. As a shaft cannot be forged down from a piece of a sufficient diameter to allow the collar to be turned from it; the only alternative is to weld a long sleeve on to a piece of shafting. Such a weld is one of the masterpieces of forgingy because, not only are the surfaces to be united very large, but the mass of metal to be dealt with is so large that very heavy hammering with a powerful hammer is required to effect the junction! properly. The failure of the first attempt is now regarded as Very surprising under the circumstances, but it is hoped taht the shaft now in hand will be successful. After the forging is completed, the shaft will be turned up in the southern workshops, and the holes in the coupling flanges bored, the old shaft being used to measure from. When the new part arrives, there will only be some lesser fitting to do. It is understood that the shaft which has just' failed, and which was a spare one, lasted about as long as the one originally in the Mararoa, apprbximately twelve years.