SHIPPING.

Southland Times, Issue 16841, 18 September 1911, Page 4

SHIPPING.

TIDES—SEPT. IS. Bluff .. 9.51 a.m. 10.31 p.m. !;:•> cicargill .. 10.33 a. in. 11.11 pan. Ki'.ertoa .. 8.53 a.m. 9.31 pan. BLUFF HARBOUR. There was no arrivals or departures Bt Uns port yesterday. The s.s. Mt-ai.u left Hobart at 2 p.m. on Friday, and is expected to arrive at Bluti' about 10 this morning. The s.s. Wniteinata has been delayed On the Coast and will not reach Bluff till Monday. 25th hint. The Tyson sunnier Indralema is to leave Wellington to-day for Bluff, and after loading Homeward cargo, proceeds thence to London, via Las Palmas. The Whangapo sailed from Banbury on Friday for Bluff and Dunedin, via Hobart. An English firm (Messrs C. H. Walker and Co.) has secured a contract to build a new dock at Buenos Aires. The contract price of the works is about £4,750,000. The contract is to be signed within three months from the date of the acceptance of the proposal, and the works are to be commenced within six months from theulats of the signing of the contract, and are to be completed within five years under a penalty of fSSBO per month. The conditions call for a sufficient depth of water In the channels and docks to permit the entrance of vessels drawing 30ft. of water. . The Union liner Manuka was fitted by the Australian Wireless Company, at Sydney, with a complete Telefunken system of “wireless.” She is the first of the Union Co.'s steamers engaged In the Intercolonial service to be fitted with wireless, although she has carried a wireless outfit In the Vancouver service. The Moeraki and Maheno are also being fitted with wireless plants at Sydney. A relic of the old days of Auckland bas been met with in the course of digging a drain opposite the Brltomart Hotel in Custom street. The excavation Is fairly deep, and right in the track As the hull of a small boat, apparently a dinghy. The wood Is kauri, and although It must be fully half a century since it was covered up in the course of reclamation, the timber is as sound as ever. A small crowd assembled to watch the process of sawing through the hull, and' one old hand remarked, “It’s one of old Fred Archer’s hookers. There used to be a timber wharf just opposite here, and the boats were pulled up on the mud. Further along -was an old whaler, called the Kasper, which was stranded near ‘Jacob’s Ladder,’ and a man called Wall converted the hull Into a blacksmith’s shop.” Japanese firms have recently secured some fine types of British-built steamers. and as it is known the nation is still in the market for more, many inquiries have been made as to what trade Japan intends to employ them in. Of course, It is known, and admitted, that the trade, both Inward and outwards, of the country has expanded very rapidly during the last decade, and the possibilities of further expansion are so great that the nation must eventually be one of the leaders in maritime business. But the purchases being so large and the development being only in the embryo stage, so to speak, it seemed that the buyers were indulging In a great flutter of speculation. Now, however, a different complexion appears. A report from the East shows that, as with China, Japan is seriously considering the advisability of conducting more services to oversea markets. Several schemes are well advanced, and one is likely to arouse much interest in Australia. Briefly, It is to establish lines to link up Australia, Java, India, Oceania and the Pacific Coast, and in other quarters where mail services are not run. Naturally in some quarters the proposal is subjected to severe criticism, one authority contending that although to-day things seem bright enough, the severe competition to be met In dull times, when they come, is likely to bring about great financial loss; that Is, of course. If the proposal actually materialises. U.S.S. CO. STEAMER MOVEMENTS. Monday, 18 th Sept.—Manuka arrives from Sydney via North about 4 a.m. and leaves for Hobart and Melbourne on arrival of 2.80 p.m. train from Invercargill. Monday, ISth Sept. Moana arrives from Hobart and Melbourne about 10 a.m., and leaves for Sydney via North on arrival of 1.45 p.m. train from Invercargill. Monday, ISth Sept.—Kaituna arrives from Newcastle about 4 a.m., and leaves for Oamaru. EIRECT SHIPMENTS FOR BLUFF. The following are sailings from London Tor Bluff direct : —From Liverpool.— July 22 —Kent, due October 12. Oct. 14 —Drayton Grange, due Jan. 4. (Per United Press Association). SYDNEY. Sept. 17. Sailed, yesterday—Ulimaroa for Wellington : Indrabarah for Auckland. MELBOURNE, Sept. 17. Arrived— r Warrimoo from New Zealand. AUCKLAND. Sept. 17. Arrived —Saturday : Northern Chief (barque) from Newcastle : Handa Isle (barquentine) from Newcastle : Crete (aux. schooner) from Gisborne and Tauranga.—Sunday ; Wimmera from Sydney ; Victoria from Southern ports. Sailed—Satur ’ay : Cape Breton for Sydney ; Waitemata for Westport and Bluft ; Ruapehu for Wellington ; Tarawera for Southern ports ; Squall for Tolaga Bay and Gisborne. INCIPIENT FIRE ON TAINUI. CHRISTCHURCH, Sept. 17. About four o’clock on Saturday morning fire was discovered on the main deck of the Shaw. Savill and Albion Company’s liner Tainui, at No. 3 wharf,' Lyttelton. A basket containing rubbish, principally waste from the bottom of the hold, was standing on the fore main deck opposite No. 2 hold and directly under the officers’ eiuarters and the vessel’s bridge. By some means the contents became ignited and the flames shot up. The tire was observed by one 01' the Harbour Board’s night-watchman, and an alarm was raised on board the liner. With the use of the up-to-date fire fighting plant on the Tainui the flames were immediately extinguished. An inspection showed that, beyond the scorching of some paint on the ironwork of the officers’ quarters, the vessel had sustained practically no damage. The origin of tire fire is a complete mystery ; but it is thought that it was caused by a match accidentally thrown by someone into the basket the previous evening.