WHARVES OF FUTURE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 690, 15 June 1929, Page 1

WHARVES OF FUTURE

ADDRESS BY HARBOUR ENGINEER PLAN FOR THREE-DECKER A dip into the future of wharf construction was made by the engineer to the Auckland Harbour Board. Mr. 1). Holderness, addressing members of the Engineering Society of the Auckland University College last evening on “The Construction of Wharves.” Mr. Holderness outlined, among other things, a new scheme for a ferro-con-crete export wharf which would have three decks. It would embody the very latest developments in the mechanical handling of cargo, and would be one of the most progressive steps ever made in IMew Zealand toward enabling a ship to be a ship, and not a harbour ornament. Large freighters would no longer have to wait for weeks while sufficient cargo to fill them was collected. The chain of electric motors would disgorge 3,000 tons of cargo a day into the ship’s hold. The engineer said that the provision of a wharf for the bulk, handling of imported commodities such as coal and phosphates was also contemplated. As soon as these cargoes were drawn out of the holds of the ships, they would be delivered straight into long lines of railway trucks and carried away. Mr. Holderness illustrated his interesting address with numbers of lantern slides and diagrams. He described variations in the practice of wharf construction in other ports, showing how the design was strongly influenced by local conditions and requirements.