NEW STEAMER FOR LAKE TE ANAU.

Otago Witness, Issue 2320, 18 August 1898, Page 38

NEW STEAMER FOR LAKE TE ANAU.

The Dunedin Foundry and Engineering Co. have on the 3tocks a steamer specially designed for the Lake Te Anau tourish traffic. The dimensions of the little steamer, which will be of steel throughout, are: — Length of keel, 70ft; ■beam, 12ft ; depth, 6ft 6in ; height of cabin, Bft Gin. Her displacement will be 50 tons, so that she will bo a handy-sized boat for the lake. The engines will be 129 horse-power indicated, and the boiler, which is being built for a pressure of 1051b to the square inch, will give an excess ovof the engine power of about 15 per cent. The propeller will have a diameter of 4ft, with a pitch of sft, so that the steamer should be able to develop a good speed. She will be nicely fittc.l up inside. There will be a ladies' cabin aft wit'i sleeping accommodation for 15, and a general saloon forward of the engine-room, and berths to accommodate 20 gentlemen. The whole of the work, with, the exception, of the plates, which are coming from Home, is being doae by the firm. As soon as the plates come to hand the steamer will be completed as speedily as possible, and conveyed in sections to her destination. She will be provided with a mast and mainsail and jib, which may be nscrl as the occasion arises to supplement her steam power. The new steamer will be named the "Tawera" (Anglice "Morning Star"), and should suit the requirements of the Lake Te Anau trade for a long time to come.

WELLINGTON, August 11.— The "barque Coromandel, which has been lying submerged in the harbour near the railway wharf for over two yoarp, during which time several unsuccessful i« '-.tempts have been nude to raise her, was at 1 >"t rr-fitjtii"il to-day. She waa found to bo quit" wvU-rUyhl, but pr' rj f-nt'i a most unsightly u.\ti>';;if,<rii I-, }>i'm") t\) ly, di' rri'iiitlcd, and mud-

LOjV'DO;*.", Au"<j"<f, '). Arrivffl 1 Canterbury, ship, from l)iui"Un, !'<■•// Z»-aliurl (April 10).

Tho iron whip \'><-u< I'-n^li, w-H known liorc, lins rJ"o bnen hold to vn lU'ir.in rowpdiiy for son.elhing like £4000.

Tho Union fttonm £Jjip Co.a nlfanrhip T:iluuo stoamnd down to Port ChalmorH on Wedne'idpy forenoon, and left tho, I'owfn pier in thr> afternoon for Sydney, via Cook Strait.

The Dolphic, from T/yttollon (June 20), arrived at London on Wednesday afternoon, after a 46 clays' passage, with her meat in good condition.

The Rangatira, from London (July 7), left Capetown on the 9Lh inst. for Port Chalmers and Lyttelton.

The new steamer Mapourika, for the Wel-lington-West Coast trade, was launched by Messrs W. Denny, and Sons from their yards

at Dumbarton on Jiuie 29. She is 220 ft long, 35ft broad, and has a depth of lGft Gin. She has a straight stem and elliptical stern, a promenade deck, and topgallant forecastle, and is schooner rigged, with double bottom and tli3 xisual watertight bulkheads. There are threo cargo hatches with steam winches and double derricks, tho after winch having extended ends for warping the ship and raising the boats. While having a large dead weight capacity, tho Mapourika has accommodation for 150 first-class and 34 second-class passengers. Recent advices state that the Mapourika left Glasgow on June 30 in charge of Captain Gray, who brought the Kini to New Zealand, and is due here nbout the 21lhe mst.

Tho Union Steam Ship Company's steamship Monowai, Captain W. H. Chatfield, from Sydney, via, Cook Strait, with a large general cargo and 75 saloon passengers, arrived at the Bowen pier at 9.40 a.m. on Thursday. She left S3 r dncy at 6.30 a.m. of tho 2nd insfc.

The Ilinemoa, which is on her return trip Iron) 11)0 outlying islands, goes to Westport to loid pi copers for Dunedin, returning from hero to Wellington. The. Union Steam Ship Co.'s s.s. Monowai left Port Chalmers on Friday afternoon for Melbourne 1 , via the Bluff and Hobart.

11.M.5. Amphitrite was to be launched from Iho yards of Messr3 Vickers, Son, and Maxim, at Bairow, early in July. She is a first-class protected ciuiser, of 11,000 tons and 1800 indicated horse-power; her dimensions being — Length between the perpendiculars. 435 f t; breadth extreme, G9ft; mean draught, 25ft 3in. Her speed will be 21 knots, and the aimament will consist of 16 Gin quick-firing guns, li 12-pounder quick-firing guns, 8 machine guns, and 2 torpedo tubes — altogether a formidable armament.

The Huddarl-Parker Co.'s s.s. Westralia, Captain Thorpe, from Sydney, via the East Cosst poits, arrived at the Port Chalmers wharf at 9 a.m. on Sunday. She loft Sydney on the 3rd inst.

The s.s. Manapoun and Rotorua are undergoing then" customary overhaul at Port Chalmers.

The P. and O. Company's new steamer Osiris, recently launched by Messrs Caird and Co., of Grec-nock, has a speed of 21 knots, and is intended for the Mediterranean express service.

Messrs Hawthorne, Leslie, and Co. are building the first two of the new Canadian mail steamers, at their yaids, Hepburn-on-Tyne. These vessels aie to have a 10,000 tonnage, a speed cf 21 knots, and large and luxurious accommodation for the first and second and steerage passengers. They will be modified turretdeckers, specially designed to meet the requirements of the Atlantic passenger Irade.

The rapid development of the gold dredging industry has given quite an impetus to the Dunedin boat-building trade-. Mr M'Lellan has a couple of large boats on the slocks — one for the Magnetic Gold Dredging Company and the other for the Unity Company. He has built five boats for dredges lately, and has orders on hand for several more. lie has also on tho stocks a yacht from the designs of the English yacht Sorceress, which won many events some years ago. The dimensions of the yacht pic — Length, 30ft; beam, Bft; depth, 2ft; with a draught of 9in. She will be fitted with a large centre-board, and from her design ought to be able to carry enough sail to develop great speed in a fair breeze.

The United States and Australasia Steamship Company, which is composed of the four New York freighting firms — namely, R. W. Cameron and Co., H. "W. Peabody and Co., Arkell and Douglass, and Mailler and Quereau — have evidently decided to afford every facility to Australian importers in the way of steam tonnage. Their first steamer, the Queen Christina, left New York on May 20, and was followed by the Bretor on July 9, while the Archtor followed her on the loading berth. A regular service will be maintained, and the class of steamers to be employed will be of the same high standard as thoce already mentioned. In addition to those steamers, the same firms will continue to despatch their sailing vessels as heretofore. The present fieight war is not confined to those colonies, as the New York freighters have attacked the English company trading with South Africa, and have already dispatcned the Kensington, while they have also a second steamer on the berth.