General News

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 68, 22 March 1935, Page 9

General News

New Tug for Auckland’. The Auckland Harbour Board decided at a meeting recently to accept the tender of Messrs. Lobnitz and Company, of Renfrew, Glasgow, of £26,366 for the construction of a new tug for the port. Messrs. E. H. Mitchell and Company, consulting naval architects, of Neweastle-on-Tyne, reported that they had received 22 tenders for the construction of the vessel, the amounts ranging from £26,366 to £41,950. The construction of the tug will be commenced almost immediately. It is anticipated that the vessel will arrive in Auckland early in the New Year. The tug will be of 150 tons register, with a length of 125 ft. beam of 32ft., and mean draught of 13ft. She will be driven by twin triple-expansion engines totalling 1500 horse-powe'*, giving her a maximum speed of 12 knots and a static pull of 14 tons. Woollen Mill Sideline. For some years past most of the material used as lining for horse and cow covers has been imported from England, but at the instigation of Mr. W. G. Grave, cover maker, Oamaru, the Oamaru woollen mills some short time ago manufactured a cloth to take the place of the imported article, and the result has been, in the opinion of many, most satisfactory, reports the Dunedin Star. Mr. Grave, who has been using the local fabric, stated that it is superior for its purpose to the English material, by reason of the fact that it is not so hard in the quality or so coarse in the finish, and would, therefore, be more comfortable and warmer for the animal. It is considered that the wearing quality of the material would be quite as good. Mr. Grave supplies large quantities of covers to outside territories, and similar expressions of appreciation have been received from these customers. New Aeroplanes Four of the Vickers Vildebeest aero-; planes ordered by the New Zealand Government for the Royal New Zealand Air Force have been shipped from! England for delivery at the Hobson-; ville Air Base, Auckland. Four more of the machines will be despatched for Wigram Aerodrome later in the year. A new hangar to accommodate the machines is now being built at Wigram Aerodrome, and tenders have been called for another of similar type. Altogether, the Government will, it is expected be spending about £30,000 on' rhe new hangar accommodation. The Vickers Vildebeest is fo-r coastal de-' fence. In its normal form it carries a torpedo, a machine-gun and bombs. It can be fitted as a seaplane or as a landplane and as a two-seater or a three-seater. In New Zealand it is not intended to have the torpedo-carrying attachment fitted. Maheno’s Last Run. The Union Company’s Maheno, on Monday completed her final run from Melbourne to Bluff. Since she resumed the service in October of last year she has carried hundreds of passengers who have viewed with enthusiasm the scenic charms of Southland. Her calls at Milford, were always popular and many overseas tourists planned their tours so that they could catch the Maheno and see the Sound on their wav to New Zealand. From Dunedin the ship proceeds to Lyttelton and Wellington, and although no official announcement has been made, it is understood that she will return to Dunedin to lay-up for the winter months. The Waitaki takes over the Maheno’s run as far as cargo is concerned and she leaves Bluff for Melbourne next week. Material for Busby’s Life. Among a quantity of material collected in New Zealand by Mr. Eric Ramsden, of Sydney, for a life of James Busby, British Resident in New 1 Zealand from 1833 to 1840, is a draft of the Treaty of Waitangi in Busby’s handwriting. It was found among documents in the possession of Mr. Busby’s descendants at Tokoinaru Bay. The manuscript, which is being prepared for publication, includes a series of important letters which passed between James Busby and his brother, Alexander Busby, of Cassilis, New South Wales, from the time the elder brother took up his duties in New Zealand. These were discovered in Australia, and have not hitherto been available for publication. Among other interesting material found during Mr. Ramsden’s visit to the East Coast are the original journals compiled by Mr. Busby during a visit to Spain in 1831, when he selected 500 varieties of vine for cultivation in New South Wales.