COCKATOO DOCKYARD.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17114, 8 April 1921, Page 7

COCKATOO DOCKYARD.

ALLEGATIONS IN FEDERAL PARLIAMENT. (By Cable—Press Association—Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) MELBOURNE, April 7. In the House of Representatives, Mr Mahoney, speaking on the motion for the adjournment, referred to the long delay in the construction of the cruiser Adelaide. Thousands of pounds' worth of material had gone astray, and private shipping companies had had work done which had been charged against the Adelaide. Sir Joseph Cook replied ; that the charges would be sifted to the bottom. He admitted that the cost of reconditioning a transport had been wrongly charged against the Adelaide, which was being built as cheaply at Cockatoo Island as she could be in England. He regretted the wholesale dismissals which were not warranted. The motion lapsed. . It was stated, in reply to a question, that the cost of the Adelaide would be £1,050,000, and a further £IOO,OOO would be required for her completion. fA Sydney message received last month stated: —It is suggested in some quarters that the go-siow methods at the Cockatoo Island dockyards (which have been closed) made the cost of naval shipbuilding' almost prohibitive. Unofficial "estimates show . that the cruiser Adelaide has already cost £1,000,000, and, owing to the length of time she has been building, Bhe will be out of date when she is ready for commission. Her sister ships, built in England, were completed long ago at a cost of £450,000 each.] *