SHIPPING NEWS.

Otago Witness, Volume 01, Issue 2123, 1 November 1894, Page 39

SHIPPING NEWS.

COLONIAL AND FOREIGN. ARRIVALS.

October 24 —Omapere, s s.. 352 tone, Fleming, from tbe West Coast. Walhora, s.s., 1269 tons, Neville, from Sydney, via Cook Strait. October 20.— Hinemoa, C.G.S., 286 tons, Fairchild, from L>ttelton. October T.-~ Flora, s.s., 838 tons, Bernech, from the nor h Wakatipu, s.e., 1108 tons, Ewan, from Melbourne, via Hobart and the Bluff. October 28.-Invercargill, b.s , 136 tons, Sundstrom, from the south. Tarawera, s.s , 1269 tons, Sinclair, from Sydney, via the East Coast. October 29.— Crimder, ship, 1058 tons. Burton, from Liverpool, via Wellington. Merkawortb, b.s , lt's tons, Pearsen, from Weßtport. DEPARTURES. October 25.— Waihora, s.s., 1269 tons, Neville, for Sydney, via the Ea»t Coast. October 26.— Omapere, i.8., 352 tons, Fleming, for the West Cnast. Hinemoa, C.G.S., 2SC tons, Fairchild, for Iha Bluff. October 29.— Napier, s b., 48 tons, M'Gilvray, for Owaka. Flora, s.b., 838 tons, Rernecb, for Lyttelton and Wellington. Wwkatipu, s.s., 1258 tons, Ewan, for Sydney.via Cook Strait. Tarawera, h s., 1200 tons, Sinclair, for Melbourne, via the Bluff and Hobart. October 30.— Invercareill. s.s., 136 tons, >Sundstroru, for Preservation Inlet, via Invercargill. THE DIRECT STEAMERS. The R.M.S. Gothic left Capetown on the afternoon of the 21th ult. for Wellington, via Hobait. She is due at Wellington on Wth November. Tho s a. Maori arrived at London on the 25th insr., after a smart run of 47 days, with her cargo of frozen meat in good condition. THE PORT MELBOURNE. The Union Steam Ship Company have received advice that the Port Melbourne arrived at Calcutta on Saturday. 27th iost. She leaves on November 17 for New Zealand, via Singapoie and Townsville. THE P. AND O. COMPANY'S CALKDONIA. The Peninsular ami (Mental Cotnpany'K new Bteaninhip Caledoni ■ •- said to bu the lateßt "ocean triumph." bi:i *w\ etigintd by Messrs CairJ and Co., of Greeij.,uk. Tho Caledonia, built wholly of iui;d ctetl, and in accordance with Lloyds hithest rcquirumeiits for a spar-decked

ship, was launched on the lfith May last, her construction having occupied a little under 10 months. The dimensions of the vessel are asi follow :-Length, 486 f t; breadth of beam 54ft, depth, 37ffc 7in ; displacement at load draught* 11,200 tons' and gross registoied tonnage, 760Q tons. She has been Buppliml with triple expansion engines of about 12,0(10 h»rsi>-p->wer, tneßß having five cyliti<]<'!s-tw<> hißh pres-mre, one in tei mediate, and two low presMiro. The boilers are fitted with Ho mien's pnteut sy«tem of forcecj draught, the Bhafting throughout ia of Vicker'g Bteel, and the propeller is furnished with large manganese bronze blades. The deck machinery embraces all the latest and most approved applb ancea, and in this connection it may be stated that the cargo gearing is all hydraulic, practically noiseless in its working, and has been supplied by the well-known firm of Messrs Armstrong;, Mitchell, and Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne. The windlass and steering gear are worked by steam furnished by Messrs Harfield and Co., of London, and Messrs Muir and Co., of Glasgow. The Caledonia is the largest vessel ever built at Greenock, and tho largest and most powerful ever constructed for the P. and O. Company, At her trial trip on tho Clyde on August 25 the results went to show that she will bo one of the fastest vessels engaged in the Eastern trade, and she is expected to excel theremarkable record-breaking per* formances of the Himalaya and Australia, which Mossra Caird had the honour of building for the company two or three yeara ago. There are five decks— viz., orlop, main, upper, lower, and hurricane—and a great attraction is the magnificent promenade on the upper deck, extending a lone distance on both Bides, and wide enough For eight or ten persons to walk abreast. She can carry 500 passeneers (first and second class), the accommodation tor v, horn is of a very superior character. The saloons have been designed by Mr T. E. Colcutt. the eminent architect of the Royal Imperial Institute, while the beautiful wood panelling and carving in the saloon, music room, first- class smokiDg room, library, Ac, have beett designed and executed by a well ■ known Italian artist. The ceiliugs are covered with rich plaster work by Messrs Jackson, London, and all the passenger compartments have been luxuriously furnished by Messrs J. G. Rowan and Co ,of Greenock. The music room ia a revelation, and the first dining saloon, wl'h its lofty doom in beautifully stained glass, is a work of art. In short the Caledonia is nothing more nor lesa than a floating palace. The ship is lighted throughout by electricity by Messrs Siemens Bros., of Liverpool, and a large refrigerating chamber has been supplied by Messrs Haslam, of Derby, She will carry a crew of officers and men of between 200 and 300, of whom Hi are connected with the engine room staff. ! During the week ending October 28 10 vessels, with a total of 5976 tone, arrived at the Dunedin wharves, and eight vessels, representing 4444 tons, left them. The ship Crusader, from Liverpool, via Welling* ton, ar.ived off the heads yesterday afternoon, and was tendered by the tug Plucky, which brought her up as far as the lower harbour, when the Koputai ranged alongside and she was towed past the Port to Dunedin. She loft Wellington v on tho 23rd met. Captain J. E. Stephens, master of the b.s.* Lady Barkly. on Wednesday last passed his examinaV tiou for a certificate of competency as master of a Home-trade pasneager ship. This is the 534 th •tudent under Captain yon Schoen to obtain his certificate. The P. and O. Company have ordered five new vessels of the Japan type. They are all intended for the China and Jap*n trade, and will be deli* vered in the course of tho uext 12 months. Each vessel will have a deadweight capacity of 6500 tone, engines of about 3500 indicated horse-power', and a jpeed of 11J knots. On /September 1 Messrs Hawthorn, Leslie, and Co. launched a large qteamer at Hebburn-on-Tyne. The vessel is a sister ship to the Perthshire and Buteshire, and her dimensions are 430 ft by 54ft by 82ft. She is built to the order of Messrs Turn» bull, Martin, and Co., of London and Glasgow, for their Australian trade, and is specially fitted for carrying frozen meat, with duplicate refrigerating machinery on Mosars Linde 8 system. The machinery consists of a set of triple-expansion engines capable of indicating upwards of 3000-h.p» Mrs J. H. Ridley, of Wellburn, named the vessel Banffshire. ! By the death of Admiral Sir Edward InglefiVa a famous figure is removed t oux naval liio. The career of that gallant officer possessed a diversity almost romantic in its character, and for nearly 50 yeare honouru were being virtually showered on him. His servico was rendered in nearly every sea, and tho ordinary Admiralty routine was richly interspersed with the hardy expeiience of exploration in the icy regions of the North Pole. On three successive occasions did he go out on mis-sons of auccour to the gallant crews who had sailed in the vain effort to find Sir John Franklin's party, and each time his pluck and perseverance were lichly rewarded. In his country's battles by water Six Edward Inglefield played an equally creditable part, and he retired from the service in 18:6, crowned with some of the highest laurels that fall to the lot of the brave officer Tho Trinity House, an ancient corporation, datiDg from 1514, in addition to perfoimmg other duties, ia the general lighthouse authority for En».land and Wale?, and, as such, is empowered by tho " Wrecks Ren- oval Act of 1877" ('lO and 41 Viet. c. 16) to raise, remove, or destroy vessels sunk, stranded, or abandoned in any fairway, or on the Bea shore. For the destruction of wrecks^ stores of explosives are kept at diiforont points", aad, ordinarily, a diver in tho employ of the corporation is Bent to superintend the woik Occasionally, when the wreck is wA in deep wo tor, the services of the diver have isot beeu called into requisition, and the dispersion hns been effected i under the direction of the Trinity superintendent I or local atjent of the Trinity House in the particular district. The maaters and men of tbe various Hghtbhip3 when on Bhore on relief from their vessels luvo usually been employed in assisting tho diver or superintendent. In view of possible contingencies, Fays a Pans telegram, the Government is taking measures to ensure f".e rapid armament of the Urge steamships trv'.ns with the E^st which have beeu built t-j ;••.•:. as armed cruisers in time of war. The Pilj i.j.tK?), which leaves for Australia, will carry all ' < v guns and stores ready for upe. She ha 3 f.mv fi-.'jvy guns and 10 Hotchkiffl quickfiring guns and takes 58 tons of all kinds of war material, including 300 shells. On arriving at Noumea, in New Caledonia, her guns and Btores will be di> embarked and stored in a Government depot for uso as required. Similar precautionary measures will be taken with tho boats trading to China and Madagascar. . The largest dredger of its type afloat is the new hopper Percy Sanderson, built by W. bimons and Company, of Renfrew, for the European Danube Commission; and she recently underwent her trial trip on the river Clyde. .She IS built of steel to Lloyd's lattht mjuirenieiits, a>:d has a capacity in tbe hopper for 1300 tons of d^n* Her dimenHions are-length 227 ft, breadth 40ft, depth 17ft. At tho trial the buckets tilled the hopper with clay and mud at the rate or IWU tond per hour. They can dredge to a depth of 35ft below the water line. In addition to tho buckets a powerful centrifugal pump is provided capable of lifting 1000 tons of sand per hour at the same depth. At Skelmojlie, where the trial took place, a mean f.peed of 10J knots was obtained when fully loaded, this being considerably ia excess of that contracted for, and &dowb the vessel to be one of the fastest of her ""type ever built. Only a few years since the barque Elizabeth. Graham was a household word here auiongjst people connected with the shipping, aud the advent of her genial commander, Taptain J. G. Morden, was alwaya a-ixiously expected by the many pabs.enKer.s he had bi ought from the mother country to thi». After the Elizabeth Graham was takei> iff thel\st, of u'gultir tra<'cr.< to this p ,rt Captain Morden was tir«n-t\r>«d w> the ship Auckland, and finally rcliuqnibhed ihe practice of his profession, retiring aud living with hisfamily at Catford in Kent, fhpbiin Jlorden, who had b»en in declining health for Home little time past, waß struck by paralysis toward-, the end of July, and died on the 31st of that month. His bis will not ou)y b; deeply rigielted by hia immediate circle, but by the numerous friendß he had in these colonies.