INUNDATION OF THE ALFRED GRAVING-DOCK, MELBOURNE.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1163, 20 April 1872, Page 2

INUNDATION OF THE ALFRED GRAVING-DOCK, MELBOURNE.

[AUSTRALASIAN.] A disaster occurred on Wednesday which will considerably retard the works con? nected with the Alfred Graving Dock, at Williarostbwn. Early in the day, the cofferdam, which had been built to protect the; dock during its construction from the en] croachments of the sea; gave way on the north-west side, and in a few.houra- the whole dock was flooded with water. The coffer-dam ia'a semicircular barrier placed in front of the seaward end of the dock, so as to keep out the waters of the bay. until the works are completed, The plan adopted m constructing the dam was one which has generally proved efficient. At a suitable distance from the dock, piles were driven as far as they would go. Besides these piles came a row of sheet piles, and both sets were planked across with redgum. timber. The cavity^ formed by the two sets i)f piles was filled in with cjiay puddle as fur as the usual level of thVwater, but after that the filling consisted of -silt, or any other material that was it hand.' Had the dam been well puddled throughout, there is reason to think that the mishap of Wednesday would not have occurred. In this affair the Government bear no responsibility. The contractors for, the ■last section' of the dock, Messrs Irons and Co., were allowed a certain price for

;|he ptonstruction of a coffer dam, iaod J%ere permitted- to build it as they*^ pleased, at their own risk. -Whatever loss is now sustained falls, therefore, upon the contractors, and not on the Government. When the dam had been erected, it was pronounced perfectly subatantM'andTje^BreY^frd^ntil Wednesday. the.,dock, had been kept safe and^dry; • The' equinoctial gale| the unusually high tides in the. bay and the supposed to hAte brought about the disaster. The deluge swept everything before it, and travelling cranes, tracks, wheelbarrows, ropes, .fand other gear were instantly^slibmer||aif The water speedily found its-^lev^'aifdwhen the tide was at its full, had reached within the dock, 3ft, higher than it would have been with a low tide. Fortunately athera was no one at work -in the dock ;when the final catastrophe took place, for their chances of saving their lives were very small. .;' ■ :'■■ X;;-'-'.":'{:J ; ' : O