The Institute of Marine Engineers.

Progress, Volume V, Issue 5, 1 March 1910, Page 157

The Institute of Marine Engineers.

The future of the Dominion belongs to the engineering profession, and more particularly to that department of it which has its life and being in ships and in iron foundries. Elsewhere in the present issue we show the extraordinary results of American kill in dealing with the difficulties of the iron problem which may be summed up in the one word distance. "We refer to the distance between the ore site and the seat of manufacture. Bui in this country there is no such difficulty, for the sites of production and manufacture are close together, m the neighbourhood of deep water. Neither will there be any coal difficulty, for the substitution of electricity for other processes makes available the vast waier power fields whHi are cK^e lo the sites of the ore bodies. As electrically smelted iron is going to be the cheapest, i* is obvious that the cheapest manufacture of iron and steel will at some future date be the metal turned out in the Dominion of New Zealand. From which it follows that the ships of tbe future, in use in the Pacific world at all events, u ill in all probability be built in the Dominion of New Zealand. As the carrying trade goes largely with the building trade it requires no ghost to make us see the high position which is destined for the Institute of engineers, which has built the handsome Institute in Aitken Street, which was opened by the Minister of Marine and the Mayor of* Wellington on the 11th of last month. In this connection there is, of course, but one thing to be Sriid. It is that the past of the Marine Engineers of the Dominion is the best guarantee for their successes of the future. There are some fine stories of heroic work at sea, equal to anything shown by the engineers of the world anywhere. These entitle us to say that for skill, readiness of resource, abundance of contrivance, and the courage that looks death in the face unmoved by aught but the firmest sense of duty, the engineer of the Dominion can take his place with the best of his profession from any part of the world. Strolling in to the new building, the .stranger will, after receiving the proverbial hospitality of the management, see the library of the Institute, which attests the serious study of their profession by the members; lip will be taken Avith their fine rooms, in which they do their reading and take their pleasure ; he will feel that he is in a building designed to combine elegance with usefulness and comfort, a building in which the ornamentation is subsidiary, not one of those which seems to have been built for the purpose of carrying out some bad dream of plinths and pediments ; a building worthy of the great and growing position held by the profession in the Dominion. Such were, we feel sure, the feelings of the 500 guests who met on the 11th to see the opening of the Institute's new home and enjoy its pleasant hospitality. Notes of the Building and the Builders. A circular corner with bay windows gives it a character and distinction all its own, and the details of ornament are well chosen and well carried out. The design is pure classic of the Eoman Corinthian order. The six pilasters are surmounted by well-proportioned caps supporting the entablature, consisting of architrave, frieze

and richly ornamented cornice, and finally finished with an open balustrade, which gives splendid protection for the promenade roof. The windows on first floor are surmounted by pediments and pilasters of the lonic order. The absence of over ornamentation, with the exception of its classical lines, gives the building a bold and dignified appearance, which is rarely met with. The structural interior decorations are also classical, in keeping with the general design of the building. The principal rooms have Entablatures with richly ornamented cornices. The ceilings are plain, relieved only with richly ornamented centrepieces. The building consists of three floors and basement. The ground floor over a basement is reserved for offices of the Institute and chambers for professional men on either side of the hall. The whole of the first and

second floors are occupied by the Institute. The first floor contains a library and read-ing-room of grand proportions, well lighted and ventilated, and chastely decorated in keeping with the structure, also a committee room, writing, smoking and recreation rooms, kitchen, dining-room, bathroom, and lavatories, approached from corridors opening out from landing of main staircase, while a private stairway leads to staff rooms. The whole of the second floor is devoted to billiard-room and lecture-hall, 93ft. x 27ft., the billiard-room being separated from the lecture-hall by a folding partition supported by the McCabe ball-bear-ing door hangers, a floor of truly noble proportions, commanding an uninterrupted view of the harbour and picturesque bits of garden feature in the immediate vicinity. All the decorations are most pleasing and restful to the eye. These tables are very noteworthy for finish and solidity, and the marking cabinets and seats are of special design, as are the seats which harmonise in the general effect. The tables and furniture are from the factory of Messrs.

Wright, Ranish and Co., who may well be credited with having established one of the best-lighted and furnished billiard-rooms in the Dominion. The roof, 90ft. x 27ft., is designed for promenade purposes, and will become a favourite resort for afternoon tea parties, etc. The contractors for the building were Messrs. Campbell & Burke. The sub-contractors were as follows: — Plastering, Messrs. Foley & Sons ; painting, Messrs. Jackson & Co. ; electric lighting, Messrs. Turnbull & Jones ; leadlights and embossed glass, Messrs. Smith & Smith ; ceilings, The Carrara Ceiling Co. ; plumbing, Messrs. Judd & Rfindell ; flat roof, Limmer Asphalte (Mainland & Barr; billiard tables, Wright, Ranish & Co. ; furnishing, Ed. Collie. Clerk of Works. T. Carmichael. Architect, H. Andrews, Harcourt's Buildings, Wellington. The view from the roof is the most com-

mantling in Wellington. To the north lies Thorn clou in the foreground, and beyond the harbour stretches to the Petone beach, above which rises the valley of the Hutt from the mouth of the river to its sources under the Rimutaka range dominating the picture in that direction. AVith this mountain as background and the hills as a frame, the view ;s; s one of the finest in the Dominion, and it is of a variety changing with every hour of the twenty-four., Sydney is superior at the water level, but for boldness of skyline and richness of mountain effects, that harbour can not be named in the same day with Wellington. To the west the view is shut in by the Tinakori Range, the whole portion* of the city to the foot of the hill on that side being visible. East and south the city seems to wander over the Victoria Range, to be camped in the Te Aro Valley, and to be climbing over the Brooklyn Range. In the centre of this picture are the wharves, while in the foreground is Lambton Quay and the reclaimed ground. Three parts of this view form the subject of our illustration.