THE AUCKLAND GRAVING DOCK.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5434, 27 August 1878, Page 3

THE AUCKLAND GRAVING DOCK.

(From the New Zealand Herald , 21st inst.)

The entrance of the s.s. lona into the graving dock at II a.m. yesterday was an episode in the' maritime history of the port which ought to have been marked with more than ordinary interest, but, on the contrary, there was no indication of anything unusual, and the whole thing was accomplished without display of any kind. It is expected that the formal opening will take place at a future date, hut to all intents and purposes, the dock is opened. The Harbor Board, we believe, have not taken over the dock officially, as the contractors have to maintain it for a short period of three months. A few minutes before 11 a.m., everything being in readiness, the lona was towed up close to the entrance by one of the North Shore Perry Company’s boats, and the windlass being attached, the steamer was hauled into the dock, and there made fast. The pumps, when set to work to empty the basin, accomplished it in one hour and fourteen minutes, the machinery working like clockwork, and without the slightest hitch, throwing about 16,000 gallons per minute. At the time the steamer passed over the sill of the dock there was 14 feet of water, a draught sufficient to enable the majority of vessels which come into port to be docked. During the day the lona was visited by hundreds of people, and as it was perfectly dry, it afforded au opportunity for seeing the work of the contractors, Messrs. Jones and Ware, and so far as the uninitiated were concerned, they were not backward in expressing their opinions as to the quality of the work performed. It is worthy of remark that the lona, which has had the honor of being first docked, is an Auckland built vessel, having been launched about four years ago by Messrs. Nicol and Son, of the North Shore, and the owners have entrusted the steamer once more to the firm, with whom the responsibility of docking her rests. The steamer has been running all that time without being out of water, and she will now undergo a thorough overhaul. The next vessel to he docked will be the brigantine Roderick Dim, and on the disharga of her Loudon cargo the barque Martha Pisber will probably go in.