OTAGO DOCK.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14579, 19 July 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

OTAGO DOCK.

o . OFIiICIiVL OPENING. An air of jubilation marked Port Chalmers on the 20th of June, on the occasion of the opening of the new dock. DIWCIUITION 01-' THE DOCK. The contract for this work was signed iu December, 1905, by Means Ulitiell ami .Scott for the amount of ±159, VIS, but this price Mil not include cement or the pumping machinery, which were tendered tor toparalely and supplied by contractors, and amount to about £15,000. The work was carried on originally by Mr Lutuoll, hut on iho contract being taken over by Messrs J. L. and U. Scott tho works were under the personal supervision of Mr Stocks. The dock, with the exception of nait oi tho floor, is built entirely of concrete—soino 28,000 cubic yatds,-wliili the excitation necessary to obtain the requisite foundations, consisting of mud, rotten rock, clav, sand, etc, amounted to about 30,000 cubic jards, and over 4000 tons of cement were used in the work. Tho dock is 572 ft in length overall ami 500 ft on the door, with a top width of SOft between the altars and a bottom width of 67ft 6111 over keel blocks, and an ontriiaco width of 70ft. The draught of water over tho sill at ordinary high tide is 22ft. This depth was originally designed at 25ft, but paucity of funds necessitated cutting itdown. In order to overcome the possibility of Mtcr percolating through the concrete" tho Jook walls aro surrounded with puddled cay dh in thiokness, ami punned clay is also deposited ami rammed into position cii the outside 0 f tlie puddle. The floor of the dock is paved 17ft. wide on each side of the Itcol blocks with Port Chalmers stone l<:in acop. The entrance is closed by a steel ship caisson 72ft in length, 23ft. iu depth, and 1511 bin beam at the widest part. The. caisson is fitted with watertight chambers and i-egulaiing fM valves for raising or lowering, so that it can bo floated in or out of position. Tho estimated quantity of water contained m the dock at iiigh tide is 984,000 cubic feet, or 6,150,000 gallons. ThU qua,,, iny of watcr-a total weight of 27,000 tons -has to bo discharged, in the terms of tho guarantee within six hours, which is at the rate of over 17,000 gallons per minute— or nearly ?0 lorn of water per mimiteagainst a head of 25ft. The plant provided for this duty by Messrs A. and T. Burt consists of two spscial dockyard Worthing ton centrifugal p Um p S , w ;t.|, , jipc openin ° ot diameter connected to the new and old docks, which pumps are direct coupled to high-prcfsurc side-bv-side compound engines, which, running at 325 revo- ,°" 6 P« r „ ,lll "«l«. develop 150 horse-power each. There is also a special drainaeo pump, likewise coupled direct to a. compound vortical engine indicating 40 horseThis pump delivers 6000 gallons ]!or mmute against- a- head of 37ft The plant , s fitted with a surface condenser, through which tho whole of the water operated by the main pumps passes throuidi to tho sea. The engines and pumps were thoroughly tested by Messrs A. unci T. Burt at maximum working loads, before thev wore aken over by the Dock Trust, the dock being actually emptied of water in a littlo over live liours-nearly one hour under contract, tune. A generous margin has been allowed both in power and capacity tor Die engines and pumps to perform their maximum duty without, being pressed lhe whole plant is of modern design, compact and constructed of best material and workmanship to give economic and efficient service for years to come in discharging the water from both docks. The material from tho excavations has been employed in levelling and reclaiming around the dock and in its vicinity, and about 3i acres of land has thus bocii made availably for various purposes. Messrs Gillanders and Ferry, have acted as inspectors, and tho work 'has been designed and personally supervised bv Mr R. Hay, M. Inst., C.E., engineer to tho DockTrust. THE OPENING CEREMONY. A platform had been erected near the sea entrance of the dock, and immediately on this being ascended by the Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister of Bailways, and otli»rs prominently concerned in the work of the dock tho signal was given for the entrance of the U.S.S. Company's lino liner Maheno into tho dock. The manner in which the docking of the vessel wus curried out reflected credit upon all concerned in the operation, which was (completed in about ton minutes. When the caissin hud boon dropped into ploco and a start made with the engines lor the pumping out of the water, attention was turned io the ceremonial speeches On the staging with the Hon. J. A. Millar, who had accepted the charge of formally declaring tho dock open', were grouped Mr E. G. Allen (chairman of tho Otago Dock Trust), Mr W. Barclay (chairman of tho Otago Harbour Board), MiJ. H. Walker (Mayor of Duncdin), Mr D A. do Maus (Mayor of Port Chalmers), and many others. Mr E. G. Allen (chairman of tho Dock Inist) said they were met together lo witness t-ho opening of the graving dock at Port Chalmers. He noctl hardly say it had been a vory important undertaking, and they would see for themselves that it was a work of considerable magnitude. Tho name had been considered t-ho previous night by tho trust, and several names had teen suggested, but as a distinctive name was necessary it was thought that " Otago Dock" would suit ail purposes, and they decided to ask Mr Millar to give it that name—(Applause.) The Hon. J. A. Millar was received with applause on stepping forward, and said that i'. gave Aim great pleasure to be present at what was an epoch-marking event in the history of Port Chalmers and the whole of Otago, and even beyond Otago. They were celebrating the opening of what was, outside of Sydney, the largest dock in Auslral-asia.-(Applause.) He remembered the first ships going into tho old dock, though he could not carry, his memory hack as "far as the old floating dock; nnd.when one considered the changes since then it was an object-lesson of how flic Dominion had developed. When the old dock was built it, was believed that it would be capable of all the requirements of New Zealand for very many years to come. To-day it was found 'that the old doqk was absolutely valueless to dock the ships that now visited our shores. Wo nad now consummated what had been attempted for many years. He again,, congratulated them on tho completion of this great work, and said ho had much pleasure in formally naming it the Otago Dock. Otago was a name wmch had over been prominent throughout tho history of Nc.v Zealand, and with this new work completed it would be well able to maintain and improve upon its position. On the conclusion of tho 6peoch three hearty ohecrs rang out from the audience, expressive of tho gratification felt at tlie appropriate naming of tho completed work. THE LUNCHEON. At the close of the function at. the doJk about SO gentlemen, at the invitation of tho, Dock Trust, sat down to luncheon on board the Malicuo, .Mr E. G. Allen occupying the position of chairman. The Maheiio had been generously placed ac the disposal of tho trust for the purpose of holding tiio luncheon. The Hon. J. A. Millar proposed thetoast of "The Otago Dock Trust," which he said, ho regarded as a, very pleasant duty imposed upon him. As they were all aware, they were present as the guests of the Dock Trust, and it was not necessary for him to dilate upon the reason for their being met together, as they had all been assisting at Uie primary cause-the opening of the dock. .One bad to ko back a considerable time to realise wlut the life of tho Dock Trust bad boon. Many years ago the dock was tho property of tlie Provincial Governuv>nt and subsequently became, part of tho Marine" Department, and was finally vested in the Dock Trust, which had been created by acl of Parliament. Since then shipping 'business had been carefully watched over, and he must say the trust had been fortunate in the class of men that had 1-eon ou it because they had given their cervices wholeheartedly, and the result had been success. In the early days, when'an attempt was made to float loans there had been .severe opposition, and the attempt had been a failure. It was then decided to devote <w pus revenue to other purposes. The land ii oiigsido them was made out of that surplus revenue, »nd the freezing works hud been partly built from tho same source, so that the wliolo surplus revenue had been spent in a manner that benefited the trust lhe trust could never have realised i's hopes had ii, llo t been for t-ho Union Steam fclnp Company-!" Hoar, hear "),-becau«e without th* kiud syni!n a(,h v um) intcrc . t winch the company has always evinced towards Otago and the Port, the trust could never havo bean in the happy position it was m to-day. It wowd have been impostiblc to build its dock without assistance and tho Umou Company had, when th« position was laid before it, rriyen £1000 a year for 20 years towards the payment of interest, on tho !caii.-(App!at8 2 .) S 0 they would see the trust had been very fortunate in havrog- the company working -with it in entire sympathy.—(Applause.)

Mr E. G. Allen then proposed tho toast of "The Union Steam Whip Company,'] which was received with applause, lie said he was certain there was no toast that could Ik; proposed at any gathering, he might say, in >s'ew Zealand ili.it would | be received with greater heartiness than tin* Union Steam Ship Company- 'the company had grown with the growth of Now Zealand. It had been identified with New Zealand from its earliest history. It had been successful, and no adults in the country would .contradict him when he stated that on board the company's steamers excellent cccomniodation, safety, efficiency, and civility were met with. Port Chalmers had been closely identified with the company in the past, and he hoped it might lw in the future. The Dock Trust since 1885 had bcon in close touch with the company, and, on behalf of tho trust, he could say that any reasonable request made by the company had always been granted, because the trust recognised that the com puny should l>e encouraged in every possible way. Very few people realised the difference, it would make if this company had it headquarters outside Duncdin or in Australia. Thousands of persons were directly or indirectly oonnooted with tho company, and, having thoir homes here, an enormous quantity of produce was consumed, and most of the repairs to steamers were effected here. Now (he work for providing facilities for the company and others had been accomplished, and lie hoped the profits from the dock would be materially increased. Sir James Mills, in responding to the toast, gave an interesting speech dealing with the view of tins company to t-ho proposition of a dock and incidentally, with ihe growth of the company itself. After cordially returning thanks for the honouring of th« toast, ho referred to the occasion of tho laying of tlie foundation stone of the (lock by Mr Soddon some few years ago, whon he (Sir James) had had to confess that those who advocated the initiation of a new dock had seen further ahead than lie himself had. When he represented tho district in Parliament in the years previous to 1893 the dock question was always well to the fore under tho guidance of Mr Allen and his friends, but lie (the speaker) supported the matter rather lamely, because it seemed to hhn that, looking .-it matters as thev then stood, I hoy could go on with the first dock' for some years; but tho growth of shipping had been such that, at the laying of the foundation stems, ho had confessed himself as having been loss correct in his views of the futuro than Mr Allen. Sir James then gave an interesting set of figures indicative of the growth of the company during the past 15 voire. In 1893 tho company's fleet totalled" 52 vessels, of a gross tonnage of 57,196; tho present figures wcro b\ K-isele, of a tonnaee of 157,444. . In 1593 the largest vessel was tho Monowai, of 3433 tons; now the Makura, with a tonnage of 8075, held that title. J ho average tonnage of the fleet was then 1100 tons, ,and was now 246G.-(Applause.j her quite a number of years it had been necessary for Iho docking of their vessels to be done elsewhere, and this, in view of the repairing being done at Port Chalmers, meant much additional expense. Ho then quoted further figures to show the general increase- of trade. During tho last 15 years the ships visiting (he Dominion had increased from 600 vessels, with a tonnage t I£h $to Tl6 vossck ' with a tonnage i-f I,UoH,O(w last year. As concerned Otii<>o, the figures were: 349 vessels, with « tonnage of 196,140, in 1893, as-against 275 vceseis, with a tonnage of 739,541, last year. The avenge tonnage of ships was increasing from day to day, noecssitKinir the provision of t.rcper da-king accommodation to a similar extent. There was no doubt, ho said, that the work of tho Dock Iniet would bring trade to'the country, and, the Dock Trust having done ils duty, it remained for tho community and the Government to aid it in bringing about increased trade. Continuing, Sir' James said tat probably with the retrenchment in ue air there would lie fewoi- inspectora-tlaugntei-),-and ho would say that inspectors _ powers m inspecting a ship should be simply to see that (ho ships wore efficient and eafe-not to I make it necessary ■or tho company to undergo more expense than was sufficient to secure that, object, the tendency with the multiplication of inspectors was the multinlication of exactions upon shipowners in* tho way of repairs and in connection with surveying, lhis latter was mo hardship which' the shipowners of New Zealand laboured und«r in that it cost- more to get a- ship snrveveii m New Zealand tlan it did in Australia and this not because it was a more efficient survey horo than there, but bocaura tlia surveyors on the other side exercised sound jiH.-gmsnt in scring (hat the f ,1,.; 1:s wevc (■lndent and what tho public had a ri<dit to expect. Eulogistic reference wa s then made to the services of Mr Allen. Other toasts appropriate to the occasion were duly honoured. FATAL FIRE AT BLENHEIM. MOTHER AND SON LOSE THEIRLIVES-. BLENHEIM, July 3. A fire, attended with fatal results, occurred at a few minutes after midnight. The scene of the outbreak was a fiveroomed house in Whitnov street, owned ] by Mrs Joseph Taylor, sen., and occupied by Mr Joseph Taylor. The servant gill (Miss Berry) first discovered that the house was on fire, being awakened by a picture falling down in her bedroom and muling the bedclothes in llames. She «ot. out the two children, who were sleephi" with her, and then afeinpted to return for Mrs laylor and the other two childien but was driven back by the ilames. A paser-by rushed in and rescued the youngest child, but it was so badly burned that it died m the hospital t-lris mornin* Mr laylor mved ] lom to fmd fare bursting , m t everywhere. Ho smashed a window ana endeavoured to a«S his wile though, but her clot-hin" gave way, and the Hamas drove him back itre laylor s body and that of her son Joseph, aged about 10, were found in the debris after the iia-mes had subsided. The m-e brigade was prevented by lack of water from rendering any assistance. Mr laylor was badly cut and burned ti ♦ \" ""V, 1 tllD hos P ital - II is feared that he will lose his reason