CALLIOPE DOCK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13844, 2 September 1908, Page 8

CALLIOPE DOCK.

1 LETTER FROM! ADMIRAL POORE. 1 In a letter laid before the: Harbour Board ! meeting yesterday, . Sir Richard Poore, f Commaader-in-Qiiet on the Australian sta- • tion, stated that, be regretted being unable | to give any very decided reply to the < Beard's letter as. to the docking reqairei ments of His Majesty's ships in Austra- | 1 Asian waters, it being impossible to fore- ? cast events tor the next 10 or 15 years. | Assuming that, the she of ships tor these \ waters would be governed by the harbour J accommodation available'. for them, the j admiral was of opinion that .His Majesty's J ships _ to these waters would not exceed j the following dimensions dining the next |10 years: Length • foyer all) 562 ft, beam TBift, and draught 30ft. With regard j to the question of widening the dock to I admit ships of the "* Dreadnought" 1 class, j taking into consideration the Admiralty in. terest in the Calliope Dock, he thought the matter should he referred to the Admir- ! alty. It would, of course, be a creat ad- | vantage to have a dock- in Auckland i which would meet all possible requirenrentSj, bat the additional "outlay involved, j and the present small reason for expecting j snips or "" Dreadnought" dimensions'' in these waters, rendered the proposed extenS sion a matter to be- gravely considered. The greatest length of cruisers now build- | ing was' o£2ft. 'The dimensions, of ships of the Royal navy and the mercantile marine were increasing daily, and it was' difficult to forecast what might be ex- | pected. It was also very difficult- to forecast the effect on trade which would resalt from the completion of the Panama Canal. If Auckland cosld have a dock capable of bonding any size of vessel which cocld pass through the canal, in readiness for the compietion of that, work, it sboald, in combination with the advan- ' tages of the _ harbour, place the city in a ! strong position from the mercantile as i well as the naval point of view,,'" | The letter- was referred to the Board toj coz&mittce. .