AMONG THE DREDGES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXII, Issue 4355, 14 December 1921, Page 3

AMONG THE DREDGES.

WORK ON HAURAKI PLAINS.

: MODERN DEVICES EMPLOYED.

/ . Though over 40,000 acres of land l or.

the Hauraki Plains has been opened up by the Lands and Drainage Department, there are still large areas of swamp lands approximating 50,0C0 acres yet to be made fit for settlement. The modern devices recently employed by the Department, have greatly facilitated and accelerated the great work of draining the Hauraki Plains, better known in the old days as. the Piako Swamp. ' The work of the Lands and Drainage Department has by no means been wholly confined to draining works ; roads Have been formed, when possible by spoil taken from canals, but when this has been impracticable clay has been carted from distant hills —a costly work.

THE DREDGES. , The primary work of the Department is to construct drains and canals, and this work, with the advent of the new types of machinery recently acquired from America, is going ahead much quicker than with the former methods. A visit to Kerepeehi, the Plains headquarters of the Department, shows a section of the work in operation.

The .first of the four new dredges which arrived recently is at present in flull working order. This is the Michigan walking dipper dredge, which is digging a receptacle drain, 16ft wide and 7ft deep. Its progress is exceptionally rapid, excavating 1% tons of earth at each dip,- and digging two chains of this drain each day.

This receptacle drain, which runs parallel with the-Piako River, is ope into which flow all the main drains in that vicinity. The waters are then released by means of flood-gates. The number of flood-gates, required when a receptacle drain is in use is far less than if the smaller drains flowed direct into the river.

The walking dipper dredge engaged on this work rests on four huge skids, two at each side. The inner skids are 28ft long, the outer ones measuring 30ft;, while epch one has a width of! 36in. The .digging is done by a bucket on the end of an arm 28’ft long, which takes 1% tons of earth at each scoop. The bucket arm is supported by the boom, 35ft long. Inside there is a mass of huge wheels and.*cogs worked by wire cables and driven by a 35 h.p. Charteris ohmcylinder- kerosene engine. When the machinery is working the whole affair quivers and shakes as if an earthquake were in progress. Three men are employed on the dredge, two to juggle with numerous levers and another to attend to the engine and to mark out the course of the drainThe machine straddles the dr,aih, having an inner span of 32ft, and is capable of digging drains 25ft wide. Thpugh no night; work is/ being done with this particular dredge at present it is equipped with 16 electric lights, in case it is necessary to operate at night. Its "winking” propensities are really great, the whole . affair moving forward bodily on the two sets of •skids. The outer skid in each case is first pushed forward, then the whole machine is raised on two “dog’s- legs,” the weight resting on the two outer skids. The machine moves forward' to the desired position and gently settles down in its place.

CONSTRUCTING NEW MACHINESA Bucyrus dredge has recently been completed and is now helping in the construction of a road. This Bucyrus, machine is a very compact' one, and unlike others of its kind in other parts of the country is driven with a 55 h.p. Westman engine, capable of driving at 4000 devolutions per minute. It is fitted with an electric self-starter. To it is also attacned a Delco light plant with a double circuit’and two sets of accumulators., A 250-candle-power flood-light is fitted on to the base of the boomer night work. The usual length of the boom* on one of! these machines i? 35ft, but this particular one is to work witjh a 15ft extension, making the length 50ft, so as to enable it to throw the spoilt-further away from the drain. To enable it to “walk” it moves on “caterpillars,” and can go over any class of country. Another Bucyrus dredge, identical to the one explained in this paragraph, is being constructed at .Ngarua,

Yet another type of dredge is in the course of construction, being assisted by the already completed Bucyrus. This is the rood machine, a. ditch digger, moving on rails wihic’i are carried on skids. It is self-pro-pelling, but can move one way onlyIt is expected to do valuable work, being described as a very efficient machine. •>, WORKS IN PROGRESS. At present there are four dredges actually at work 'on the Hauraki Plains under the Lands and Drainage Department. No. 1 dredge, a Priestman, is engaged in the Waitoa canal, about three miles of which has been completed. • No. 2 dredge, also a Priestman, is working on the WaitakarurueMaukoro canal, the spoil from this work being utilised in constructing a road to the soldier sections adjoining, while from a drainage point of view this canal will exercise a most beneficial effect -on the land between the drain and the hills. This land has always been difficult to drain. Another Priestman dredge, No. 6, is continuing the construction of the Awaiti cana\ The Michigan-Walker dredge, No 19, is doing very valuable work constructing a receptacle drain above Kerepeehi. FUTURE INTENTIONS. With the addition of the three new dredges, two of which are now under course of construction and one already completed, there will be a total Of fceven dredges at work on the Hauraki Plains by the end of January next or by the beginning of February. are also two more machines

expected to arrive, so that there will be altogether nine on the Plains. . Among the future works outlined by the Department is the complete draining and stop-banking of the Awaiti Block. It is also intended to build a stophank and road alongside the Piako River from Kerepeehi to Ngarua, and later from Kerepeehi to Ngatea. •>