AUCKLAND A FINAL PORT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14299, 19 February 1910, Page 7

AUCKLAND A FINAL PORT.

GO "BOATS FOR LONDON. BEGULAR '■ SERVICE STARTED. fSA&GO BOATS FOR LONDON. I BEGULAR SERVICE STARTED. [r will be learned with interest in skipping arid mercantile circles that it is -the.*lntention of the New-Zealand Shipping i.- *.. Shaw, Savill, and. Albion Companies to fwjjl';' jointly make Auckland a regular final port ' »f call for Home vessels. This has been 'jilt' necessitated principally by. the large amount JSp. 0 f produce now being exported by this pro- '.';"' "y ,'tince, the vessels, leaving Wellington not .';'; having sufficient room to ship ." Auckland ?M produce as well as that of ; the South- '# ern centres. M i Though there arc many difficulties in tho way, the two companies Will alternately /.•' despatch a boat from Auckland to London every fortnight, at the same time as the ill departures' from Wellington, if the venture - justifies itself, and also if the serviced of . the necessary vessels can be procured. . J/', .The Kaiparawas the. first vessel to infi augurate the regular direct service from •; Auckland, and the Shaw-Savill steamer ', Karamca. departing to-day, will be the '"< second. It is felt that it is high time such i. an arrangement was made. In yesterday's | "'/Herald was published a report from Wel- ? lington stating. that- 150 cases of cheese I from Onehunga, consigned by the Arawa I /,:;for London, had arrived at ,the capital city f "in such a heated condition that it was con- . - siderably abovo the temperature at which : it,is carried by the Home boats. Such, a condition of things will, of course, be obviated b'v chipping direct from Auckland ■,'.. jin the cooling chambers of direct steamers.'-; ,';;;. Interviewed by a Hkrald reporter ~-esi!: teidayon the matter, Mr. H. (i. Stringer, ''. Secretary of the. Auckland Freezing Cora- ' pany, said there were only two ways ...of preventing the over-heating of produce from Auckland. One was to have chilling lj V-chambers on the boats taking the produce 'down South; the other and better remedy , ■ was to make.- Auckland a final /port of call * ,?for Homo boats. " How they expect'us to compete with other places with things as 'they are, 1 . cannot tell," remarked Mr. ,{ Stringer. "In the old days; when tho export trade from Auckland was much email- ' er, the one Homo steamer from Welling|sH ton was -quite sufficient to carry all the produce, ' but, now it is enormous, and yet the old conditions remain. Auckland sends "[•■ ' away enough butter and cheese to justify her .being made a final .-port of call. The shipments from Auckland, however, must be regularonce a fortnight— same as from Wellington. To show that the ven- . ture is necessary, the Kaipara, for instance, : had to leave 125 boxes ot butter behind ',-. when she departed from the Railway '<!, Wharf on the day o? her accident." IE The damage done to butter and cheese M < through being shipped to Wellington was W: always cropping up, continued Mr. Stringer; After leaving Onehunga the boat f shipped further supplies at New Plymouth, 1 and whilst the loading was being underi gone the hatches were open for hours .and j'V hours, letting the heat in. Besides this, '. fresh butter was put on top of the Auck- - ' land supplies, much to their detriment, ■ Wid then the*boat went on- to Wellington.