ARRIVAL OF THE HAWEA.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1672, 28 June 1875, Page 2

ARRIVAL OF THE HAWEA.

(From the Otago Daily Times ) The signal made yesterday morning of a steamer to ths southward was intuitively, as it were, regarded as ! the harbiDger of the expected Hawea, the first of the new vesse s built to the order of the TJnion Steam I Shipping Company- And so it proved, for very shortly afterwards the steamer herself hove m slgnt between the Heads, and her name being in the Commercial Code was spelled by signal. She soon steamed inside, was boarded by the officHls, and passed as clean, and in dv» tixne.moored alongside the Eailway Pier. Free comments were made upon her appearance as she steame* up the harbor, the general verdict being that she was the right kind of boat for the interprovincial service, and at. enlarged edition of the steamer Bruce. Her plumb stern good sr. ear, and somewhat full lines led to this conclusion, which was fully borne out by the arrangement of her deck appointments when she was inspected afterwards. Considered as a ljcally-owned vessel, the Hawea is an immense credit to the port she hails from, and is. without question, vastly superior to any steamer hailing from the colony of New Zealand. Built by Messrs Denny Bros., of Dumbarton, her construction, associated with the name of that well-known firm, is sufficiently guaranteed asthorough in every particular and of the best material. She is of iron throughout, heavily plated, and admirably appointed, and is a roomy comfortable boat, combining all the latest improvements effected in modern steamboat building. As regards size she heads the list of New Zealand Bteame-s her registered toDnage being 461, and her dimensions as follows:—Length, 215 ft.; beam, 27ft.; depth of hold, 14ft. She has a full poop and topgallant forecastle, with a two-thirds hurricane deck between ; gangways leaning. across the main hatch from the poop to the hurricane deck, and from the latter to the forecastle by the fore hatch. Her boats, four in number, are stowed on the hurricane deck, in swinging davits, and the deck is also the bridge, with the steering apparatus forwards; and abaft that the captain's house, and abaft that again is the engineroom skylight. On the forecastle deck, a roomy space are the usual apartments and one of Napier's patent windlasses, workable either by steam or hand, and a capstan, also workable by steam, is just forwards of it- The poop is a noble deck 80ft. long over all and has a central house 26ft. long br 9ft 4in. wide It is equally divided into two compartments, the after one being a smoking-room-so termed— elegantly and comfortably fitted up, with velvetcovered settees, table, &c A handsome silver-plated lamp depends from the centre, and a timepiece is fixed in the after end. The sides of the apartment are panelled in satin wood and teak, with silt mouldings and demi-entabletures. Although associated with smoking, the room can be converted into a commodious sleeping apartment with berths for eiebt sleepers The other half of the house, the saloon companion is one of the most commodious we ever passed through Its sides are finished off precisely similar to those of the smoking-room, and a large and handsome lamp swings over the staircase At the lore end of the house is a gentleman's lavatory, and the room wh :re the signal flags are kept. As we are so far aft we may as well visit the saloon. If. is entered from above down a broad safe flight of stairs leading from forward art straight, and not winding, as is the rale in mpst steamers. At the bottom of the atairs is a slight bulkhead with a sliding centre, which when shut, is a handsome mirror facing the main saloon, and wnen open is an aperture through which the whole length of the saloon is visable from the stairs' Doors on each side of it lead into the saloon Thus the saloon is divided into two parts, of which the smaller is right under the companion. On the starboard side of it is the ladies' cabin, a commodious, elegantly fitted up apartment having accommodation for eight occupants. Abaft it are offices On the port side of the staircase is another ladles" cabin, smaller, but equal in other respects to the larger, the furniture being covered with crimson velvet, while the conches, cushions, &c, are of the softest. It opens into a lavatory and office. Abaft the latter is a gentleman's bath-room. Forward of the smaller cabin but more amidships, is the pantry, very commodious and conveniently arranged, with a steam pre's on one side where courts disbes. and plates can be kept warm—no trifling consideration at sea *nd in cold weather. A. dispUy of very handsome platedw*re was visible in a glads fronted recess. From the forward part ot the chief cabi •w« passed into the main apartment—a noble room. B4ft 4in Ing by liti 2in wide. All that skill and taste could devise id the way of eleg*noe and comfort w*s lavished upon It. Hand ome mahogany tables, with crimson velveicovered settees on either side, run down the centre, , and the settee* are so constructed as to be readily [ converted into sleeping berths, A line of swing trays intersected by halt s. dozen handsome paraffin lamps, [ _ ' ■liver-plated, depend from the ceiling above. At the Jjfcfe forward end Is a magnificent sideboard, surmounted by the mirror above mentioned and another lamp ■ Tne aides ol this bnautiful apartment are In blrd'sM eye maple, teak and sutmwood. with mahogariy fretI work, gilt and fluted pilasters, surmounted by elaborately carved and gilt entabletnres. Blue and B gold moulding, exquisitely designed, surmounts the panelling. The recess aft, formed br the overhantr of m the stern, is capacious, and turned to good account A semi-circular settee Is in front of It. and at the aldMf are lockers, devoted to a variety ot purposes

One of these prntoiD a fmsll tut fncUri* usly self ct* library. A grta'. many b-ds conlJ b« made up on a pirch np'"in th<j trinsom Tli» ordinary "leeping accommodation of the oaloon is frund ia live cabins of a side. <?a<ih containing wo * erths Hnd a sofa, with appliances for irtcieasinj; the number if berths tn four, excepting the case of th<" -wo aft«r cabins There is thus sleeping acco « modation for thirty-.«ixpeople.and ■when the transom tnd settees are ut'lised. half as many more can be "shaken down" comfortably for ihe n'elit '(he side cabins are 6ft Bio square, by 7ft 7in high, that, of corns'-, being the heUht <.f tinsaloon. TheT are mo<t eotnfoitfcbly fit ed up in ever* tpspec- In f*ct. taking the H*we*'s sa'o n righ through its eqnal is not, be fonnd in any bo*t tha trades here. Much ingenuity h-s been applied to it, to wit, the lower part of the settees are lockers, in whi'h bedding, table furniture, *c, ffre stowed. She has a comfortable fore-ca v>in. constructed to accommndxte from twen<y to thirty pesons, with pan'ry, office's *c, extra attached. The officers of the ship are berthed on de- k The chief engineer and chief officer, tho fi re side of the poop ; the second and third officers in a forward house, whilst the captain, as we before stated, has bis quarter.- on tbe bridge Mr Baunatyne, formerly of the steamer Ma <ri, is chief eig neer, with Mr Brown 2nd. and Mr Cameron 3m. Mr Conwa>, who wax here many ye*r3 ago in the ship Cecilia is chief officer We thank both these gentlemen for their ready courtesy in exhibiting and explaining. We made a tour of the engine room with Mr Bannatyne, and had the pleasure of inspecting one of the most complete and effective compoundeDgines that ever found its way aboard a vessel. It was built by Messrs Denny and Co, of Dumbarton, and comprises two cylinders, the high pressure one 3*>in in diameter, and the low pressure 60in; length of stroke. 3ft; nominal power, 165 horse ; and indicated power 900. The engine is simple, and yet complete as possible. A notable feature about it is a patent governor by Weir and Co, of Glasgow, which Mr Binnatyne avers is one of the best he had' ever tried. The main shaft is in three sections, of which the crank shaft is lOjJin in diameter, the intermediate sh»ft lOin, and the propeller shaft. lOJin. The shaft passes from tne engine to the stern pipe through a watertight tunnel communicating with the engine-room by a water-tight door. The object of this tunnel is to preserve tho steamer from danger in the event of her stern pine leaking. The tunnel is easily traverseable from end to end. The propeller i<s four-bladed and 12ft In diameter, with a variable pitnh ; for, by a peculiar adaption of the blades tn tho boss, the pitch can be va<ied from jLCft 3in to 18ft 6in. A boiler of six furnaces, three in each end, supplies steam to the engine. It weighs about 47 tons, and is 17ft 6in long, by a mean diameter of 12ft Sin Orders from the pilot or officer of the deck are transmitted to the engine-room by one of Chadburne's instruments—an ingenious and effective affair— consisting of the usual dial, with the centre innicator and another working on the outer edre of the circumference of the dial. The latter is the deck telegraph, whilst tho centre one is ■worked from below in response to thp decfe commands. Thus'the officer in charge is instantly made aware ■whether his order bad been heard and understood. Two donkey engines are attached to the boiler, and on the main deck are two steam winches— one at the main hatch, the other at the fore hatch; the latter works the windlass as well As the Hawea ' brought no cargo out, having only room for coal, wo are unable to estimate her carrying capacity ; but we may observe that she had CG" tons of coal on board •when sbe left 8t "Vincent, thus her capacity is good As our readers are aware, the Hawea is commander! by <'apt&in Whe«ler. late of the Taranalu, a genial and popular commander and most skilful seaman. The Hawea is not the first steamer brought out by him from England The magnificent Kaikoura, one of the old Panama Company's boats, was commanded by him on her outward trip. We were pleased to ■welcome him back, after a very short absence—only four months and twenty days having elapsed since Captain Wheeler left Port Chalmers, en route to Britain to take charge of the Hawea. He was ready with a jnke (and we must say it was a most abominable pun) before the steamer was fast to the wharf. Taking off M 3 Scotch cap, the jovial skipper shouted to his friends on the pier, "How's Hawea?" thereby skilfully blendiDg the time-honored Hcotch salutation with the name of his vessel. On her pa«s»ge out, her best day's work was about 265 milea. She consumed at the rate of about 9} tons of coal per diem, and upon thr\t consumption a speed of 9J- hnots could be kept up. But upon the maximum' consumption of 12 tors it is calculated that she will travel 12 knots her hour, and, indeed, approached that. rat« whilst Tunning from the Solan(?er to Cipe Paunders Hlowever, she has done very well. Her maiden trip occupied CO dnys from Glasgow, all stoppages included, bin her absolute running time was only 62 daps. We may observe tint the Hawea is brigantine rigged, with double topsail yards, but no topgallant sail.