THE EXHIBITION FLEET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19692, 20 January 1926, Page 4

THE EXHIBITION FLEET.

MODELS OF SHIPS. NAVAL AND MERCANTILE. A WONDERFUL DISPLAY. Whenever a ship is built the makers also construct a scale model, a perfect replica in every detail, of the vessel. In most shipping offices these models are to be seen under glass cases, and one wonders sometimes just why these apparently useless, ihough itndeniAbly marvellous, miniatures are made. If it were merely to give the public an idea of the type of vessel that til© company controls, or if it were only a sort of habit, founded on tradition, such as that of laying a foundation stone, one would not expect to see such a remarkable attention to detail. But these little boats fill a deeper purpose than that. Everything about them, including their weight, is to scale, and tha.t is their essential feature. When a boat for no very clear reason, or when she develops a weakness that renders her unsafe, the owners lift the scale model out of its glass case and place it in a tub of water, where they play with it for hours. Very often their experiments with the model provide the lookecl-for solution to the mystery. In various parts of the pavilions there are about 10 of these miniature ships—quit© a fleet, in fact, and they represent ships of the mercantile marine and ships of war, some of which are afloat to-day and one or two others at the bottom of the deep blue sea. In the Australian Court there is the P. and 0- vessel Cathay, which trades between Australia and England. In the General Exhibits Pavilion (No. 3), where Lhc Union Company has its display, is a model of the fine new motor ship Aorangi. Auckland Court has a model of the Auckland Harbour Beard’s bucket hopper dredge Hapai, and in the space which is partly occupied by the Otago Court’s freezing cabinet is a small model of the Federal Line steamer Dorset. It is in tin; Imperial Government Court, however, that one sees the most fascinating marine display, which occupies a portion

of the naval gallery. The silent service is represented by several types ol ships, and queen of them all is the mighty Malaya, a vessel of the Queen Elizabeth class. It is a wonderful ship and conveys an idea, ot terrific power, with her long 15-inch guns sticking out aggressively for all the world like terrible f:<ngs, and her network ot overhead wires, her turrets, her compact superstructure, and her eyes, about a dozen of them, which are searchlights. Her great bulk gives the other smaller ships an appearance of insignificance and impotency which is not deserved. Close by is one of the mysterious, dazzle ships that nearly ruined the eyesight of German submarine commanders, while in another quarter is the little torpedo boat destroyer, Teazer, a type of vessel that can be exceedingly unpleasant when there are hostilities. It is a- neat little craft, built for speed, and there is nothing superfluous or unnecessary about her. Most Dunedin people have seen the Dauntless, which was in this harbour some months ago, and a miniature of this serviceable destroyer forms part of the naval display. Then there is the Good Hope, an old-fashioned dreadnought which was sunk by Von Spec, off Ooronel. A model of the Raranga, a vessel in the mercantile marine-, completes the display.