NERVY” WORK

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 969, 12 May 1930, Page 10

NERVY” WORK

Steeplejack Operating in Auckland MOUNTING SPIDERY LADDERS -V tall smoke-stack rising slenderly from factory buildings. At its bastare a few coils of rope, a heap of steel spikes, and a sack of cement. Rising up one side, and clinging to the brickwork like a long ivy shoot, is a line of ladders. A head appears over the lip of concrete at the top. An arm waves cheerily. One holds one's breath as two legs dangle over the void and grope for the top rungs of those spidery ladders. Now a man is climbing down with the swift caution of a cat. He is dressed in overalls and round his waist is a broad leather belt, immensely strong, and equipped with a heavy steel hook. Light shoes of-the type an athlete wears completes his outfit. The bottom ladder quivers as it takes his weight, and he springs to the ground, a grin on his smokegrimed face. Meet William Meyer, the man with the most “nervy” job in Auckland to-

day—the man who pays a 20 per cent, premium on his life insurance. Mr. Meyer is a steeplejack, and a member of the firm of Charles Meyer and_ Sons, of Sydney, the only organisation of its kind in Australia or Xew Zealand. TRAINED AT SEA Charles Meyer was a Lane and began life as a sailor in the "wind-jam-mer days. His training “aloft,” in wind and calm, when men fought their way up taut rigging and took in sail under conditions that would terrify landsmen, stood him in good stead when he established his now prosperous business ashore. “People think the work of a steeplejack is risky, but my father found it simple enough after his life at sea” William Meyer told The Sun this morning. The interview took place at the premises of the Dominion Laundry Co., where the steeplejack, who is representing the firm on one of its periodic visits to Xew Zealand, is engaged on repairs to the big factory smoke-stack. “The firm consists of my father, myself, and my two brothers. Lad trained us to the work from childhood, for the difficulty in this game is to get employees. Chaps who are out of work don’t exactly rush us.” William Meyer was climbing chimneys and steeples before he left school. W r hen lie was seven years of age he made his first ascent with his father’s lunch in a package tied to his waist. Tl }. e ? vo^ k is now second nature to him. “It’s just a matter of keeping cool and taking care,” he explained. “Once you are sure your ladders are right, you can feel that you’re safe. We take no risks. If it begins to blow too hard, we call off the job until the wind drops.” The biggest and most difficult undertaking of this firm of steeplejacks was the repairing of the huge smoke-stack on the Sydney powerhouse. MENACE OF ACID FUMES “It is 250 feet in height, and 60 feet in circumference at the top,” said Mr. Meyer. “It carries a cast-iron top. weighing 35 tons, which needed repairing, as it had been damaged by weather and lightning. Four of us worked on the stack at a time, and we placed round it steel bands each weighing 30cwt. “One of our regular jobs is the repairing of ventilating shafts for Sydney’s sewerage system. These are each 160 feet in height. We repaired four of them recently, putting 10 tons of steel on each. It was necessary to examine the brickwork on the inside, which had been eaten away. “Another difficult job was that of repairing the stack at a big Sydney chemical works. The acid fumes had damaged the inside of the chimney which had to be relined. We used 3,000 ft of rope on that job, for rope lasted only a day after the acid fumes had got through with it. Our overalls were eaten away and filled with holes.” When the steeplejack begins his ascent of a chimney or steeple he places the first ladder in position, - mounts it and fastens it securely with J' 0 ?® to spikes driven into the enckwork at points as far as he can reach on either side of the top rung. LADDERS LASHED ON The next ladder is carried up, fitted into a slot at the top of the first one and lashed to another set of spikes So lt »°es until the top of the- structure is reached. The ladders are immensely strong. but of minimum weight, as the steeplejack must hoist them high above his head while grippjng them below the lowest rungs. Vv hile doing this he is supported by the hook on his belt. When in position the ladders are held several inches out from the brickwork by short wooden “legs.” Sometimes, when the chimney is equipped witn a wide lip the top ladder actually slopes outward. Another factor which goes to make ihe job, shall we say, interesting, is the sway which all tall stacks develop breeze. One Australian stack. high, sways four feet and. peculiarly enough, the sway is always at iight-angles to the direction of the wind. Thus if a breeze is blowing from the south or the north, the stack sways from east to west.

TV illiam Meyer and his brothers have made several visits to Auckland, and their work here has included repairs to the gasworks stacks and the tall stack of the Kauri Timber Companv. \\ e find that a large number of stacks- in Auckland are not equipped with lightning conductors,” he added. ■'This is a mistake, as is proved by the L’.et that many of these, when examined. show traces of having been struck and damaged by lightning.”