NEW HYDRAULIC HOPPER PONTOON. Auckland, June 11.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 377, 15 June 1889, Page 6

NEW HYDRAULIC HOPPER PONTOON. Auckland, June 11.

At the meeline of the Harbour Board this afternoon Air .J. Boylan, C.E., reported on a new local invention ab follows :—": — " I have this day inspected the working of one of Mr J. J. Hasluin's patent twin self-dis-charging pontoons, and have carefully measured the quantity of silt conveyed by her, the time required to discharge her load, and the time required in getting her clear of her load when this is deposited in shallow water. The pontoon, when closed, measuied approximately 21 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 22 inches deep. With a load of 4* tons of silt, she drew 16 inches at one end and 17^ inches at the other end, the depth of water being 19 inches. Her bottom would therefore be 3 inches from the ground at one end and 1J inches at the other end. When the pontoon had been placed in position for unloading the load was deposited, and this was done with ease by a young lad in less than one minute ; hauling the pontoon clear of the deposited load occupied one man for 2 1 ! minutes. I am of opinion, therefore, that a strong lad, after a little practice, could unload the pontoon and haul her clear of her deposited load in three minutes under the above-stated conditions. The gear for working the pontoon is simple, strong and effective, and there can be no danger, with proper care, of any damage being done to it through the pontoon taking the ground on an ebb tide or otherwise. The twin pontoons are securely fastened together so that they cannot work away from each other, and no danger need therefore be feared of any silt dropping through, unle&s when discharged in the usual manner. The top of the load when deposited was 6 inches above the water level. This is a very important consideration in regard to . self - discharging pontoons, as the area of land which may thus be reclaimed, depends mainly on this feature. In conclusion I have to state that I regard Mr Haslam's invention as a valuable one, and one that is especially suitable for reclaiming land with a shallow depth of water, where a hopper dredge could not enter to deposit her dredgings. The cost of working should compare very favourably with that of any other system.— John Boylan, Assoc. M. r ln6t. C.E."

The export of frozen fish to Australia continues by the s.s. Mararoa, which left for Melbourne yesterday. 169 cases of frozen fish and 7 cases of frozen pheasants were sent to that port, where previous shipments found a ready market.