COASTAL SURVEY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22743, 1 June 1937, Page 8

COASTAL SURVEY

LONG-AWAITED WORK START IN NEAR FUTURE 11.M.5. ENDEAVOUR'S TASK ARRIVAL THIS MONTH The long-awaited survey and charting of the Now Zealand coastline will he commenced in the near future by the Admiralty survey ship H.M.S. Endeavour, which is expected to arrive at Auckland about the middle of this month, 'lhe Endeavour, which is commanded by Captain A. G. N. Wyatt, R.N., left Kngland at the end of February, and is at present at Newcastle, Australia. She is due to leave for the Dominion shortly and, at least for the earlier part of her protracted stay in Xew Zealand waters, she will be based on Auckland. Master mariners and other experts have held for years that a new survey of the Dominion's coastline :s long overdue. The -Marine Department has concurred in this view, but speciallyequipped ships aj'e required for the work, which is of a highly specialised and technical nature. As a result, it was necessary to wait until one of the Admiralty survey ships was available. British Government's Generosity Under the arrangement made by the New Zealand Government with the Admiralty, the British Government will provide the Endeavour complete and will bear all expanses in connection with the pay and maintenance of officers and ratings, leaving the Dominion authorities to provide fuel and the cost of docking and refitting. The New Zealand Government has already expressed appreciation of the very generous manner in which Great Britain has met the needs of the Dominion in a matter of great importance to a maritime country. The complete survey of the New Zealand coastline and the outlying islands is expected to take five years or longer. Much, of course, depends on the conditions encountered on the surveys. The Endeavour herself is a ship of 1280 tons, built on lines somewhat similar to those , of the cable steamer Recorder. She was first commissioned in 1912 and has been engaged exclusively on hydrographic duties. She carries a complement of 139. Start in Hauraki Gull The general procedure followed by Admiralty survey vessels is to put to sea in the early spring and to remain at sea almost continuously for about eight months, returning to port at short intervals for the purpose of refuelling, taking on supplies and granting leave to ratings. During the winter months the survey ship returns to her base, where her expert officers prepare detailed information from the data obtained on the surveys, and also work on the new charts of the coastline which are subsequently issued through the Admiralty. In all probability, the Endeavour's first task after her arrival in New Zealand will be to undertake a complete survey of the Hauraki Gulf and the approaches to Auckland. Later on during her stay in New Zealand she may use southern ports as bases for her operations.

MOTHER AND SON HURT STRUCK BY MOTOR LORRY WOMAN'S CONDITION SERIOUS A young married woman and her two-year-old son suffered injuries which necessitated their removal to a private hospital when they were knocked down by a motor-lorry at Robert's Corner, Takanini, shortly after four o'clock yesterday afternoon. The injured woman was Mrs. Margaret Cooper, of Takanini. who was crossing the road with her son after alighting from an outward-bound bus near her home. The lorry, driven by Mr. S. H. Boatman, was proceeding toward the city. Mrs. Cooper and her son were hurled into the air by the impact and thrown on to a grassy bank below the road. Mrs. Cooper suffered a fractured thigh and concussion, and the child a broken nose and facial injuries. They were attended by Dr. G. W. Lock, of Papakura, and later a St. John ambulance conveyed them to a private hospital in Auckland. Mrs. Cooper's condition at a late hour last night was reported to be serious, but the child's condition was not regarded as serious.