SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 41, 8 June 1876, Page 2

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

PORT OF OAMARU. . ♦ VESSELS lIT POET. JtJXE 8. Barque—William Gifford. _ . Schooners Garronne, Maid of Cftago, Janet Ramsay. Ketch—Anne.

The Union Company's steamer Samson left the bay yesterday afternoon, at 4.30, for Dunedin. The following is the list of passengers:—Mrs. and Miss Eche, Mrs. Peyman, Messrs. Derrett, W. Gardner, Cormack, Peyman, G. Gardner, and twelve in the steerage. + A STEAM DREDGE. The first steam dredge that ever left Glasgow for the Australasian Colonies—the Erskine—arrived safely in Lyttelton harbour at 4 p.m. on Saturday last. She frill be used in dredging the harbour. The following description of her is taken from the Christchureh "Press" :—" Her length is 133 ft., with 22ft. beam, and her depth of hold Sft. ; she is as a threemasted schooner, and has proved herself a splendid sea boat during her run out. Ouly drawing 3ft. om. forward and 7ft. aft, and having 100 tons of coal on board, her adaptability for dredging in shallow water must be evident to all. Her engines arc a duplicate of those in the hoppers, with the exception of a governor, being compound surface condensers of 35 horse-power. Her consumption of coal was four tons daily (about), and this propelled her in fair weather at an average speed of six knots. Her machinery for dredging will have to be fitted here, so it will probably be some considerable time before she is in working order. She goes on the slip, and her false bottom and deck will be removed, after which the main framing will have to be fixed, and the bucket ladder, which weighs 30 tons, put together. (This part of the machinery, and in fact nearly all belonging to her, is being discharged from the Pomona.) When the gear is fixed, she will be worked by the following means:—The buckets are fastened to an endless chain, worked by the engines through spur and level wheel gearing: there are 30 buckets on the chain, and they are capable of lilting 200 tons of stuff from the bottom per hour, thus being able to fill each hopper barge in that space of time. The machinery was made by Messrs. Rait and Lindsay, of Cranston Hill, Glasgow, and tne hull b\* Murdoch and Murray, of Port Glasgow*. We may mention that the dredge had all her much men* iixed whilst lying in the Clyde, and was tried in the presence of Mr. 11. Turpin, the chief engineer, and successiully raised over 200 tons within the hour. The mud, when raised by the dredge, is delivered by a shoot from the side of the vessel into the hopper barges. If the hopper barges have to take the mud outside the Heads, they will not be able to keep the dredge going. The Erskine had eighteen hands on board all told. Canterbury may be congratulated on the safe arrival of the whole of the dredging plant in Lyttelton without mishap. The contracts tor the three vessels were in tne first place £21,000, and on tenders being called tor at Glasgow for bringing them out thev ranged from £7,000 to £IO,OOO.