Red-Letter Day for Taranaki.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 77, 9 July 1910, Page 5

Red-Letter Day for Taranaki.

The New Plymouth Harbor Board's new dredger, the Paritutu, left Wellington yesterday afternoon at one o'clock, and the mas'ter expects to be alongside the wharf at Moturoa this afternoon at two o'clock. For the past week or two the dredge has been in Wellington, where she was docked upon her arrival from Glasgow, overhauled, and fitted up for dredging. This work was protracted owing to the very unfavorable weather, else the vessel would have been here some days ago. The Paritutu replaces the Tommy King, a little vessel which has done remarkable service at the port. • The present dredge was built in England and shipped out to Xew Zealand in sections for reconstruction here. At that time she was designed-sis a barge to be used/ in layinsr the concrete blocks in the original breakwater contract, but she was found unsuitable. When it was found that the sand was interfering with the progress of the block-laying, the boat was fitted : wiih the grab-bucket dredging apparatus. About the year 1896 the sand-pump -was fitted, and the two plants have been kept hard at work, as each was required, ever since. The Tommy King must have been very well built, for she has worked continuously, and during 1899 and 1004-5 double dredging shifts Were worked in order to cope with the inroads that the drifting sand was making and to keep the berths dredged out to tjje 'proper depth. At one time the eastern side of the wharf was quite useless, and the drift of sand threatened to silt up the'port altogether. The accumulation of sand was cleared away, and since . that . time the old | dredge, certainly no beauty, has done j remarkably efficacious work. It is interesting to reproduce the returns of the amount of sand removed from the harbor since 1892:—1803. 15.800 vards; 1894. 22,615 yards; 1895, 39.680 vards; 1896. 67,136 yards: 1897. 11.4.309- yards; 1893. 135,290'vards; 1899, 232.730 yards; 1000, 134.278 vards; 1901, .95.380 yards; 1902, 103,320 vards; 1903, 153,190 yards; 1904. 200.088 'yards; 1,005, 203.042 vards: 1906, 91,920 yards; 1907, 111.900 yards; 1908, 75,720 yards: 1909, 87.840 yards. But the Tommv Kins and the Paritutu are two totally different propositions. The Tommy King was a wooden barge fitted up as a dredge. The Paritutu is a modern steamboat in appearance, with the top-hamper of the bucketladder added. From'* the photograph in this issue, taken whilst the vessel was at her moorings in Wellington harbor, it will be seen "that the vessel has very attractive lines, whilst the specifications prepared by Mr. F, W. Marchant. C.E.,

for Jier construetion provide for the most modern dredging equipment. The PaVitutu is known as a twin-screw stern-well-bucket and suction-hopper dredge. Designed by the Board's consulting engineers, the construction of the vessel was let to Messrs. Fleming and Ferguson, Ltd., a well-known firm of shipbuilders at Paisley, Scotland. The tender was let in April of last year, the coutraet price being £33,(100. The contractors agreed to deliver the vessel at New Plymouth in ten months from the date of the acceptance of .the contract, but owing to the parties to the negotiations being at opposite sides of the globe some delay took place right at the start, and nine out of the ten months had expired before the vessel was launched. Then the superstructure and fittings had to be added. The contractors submitted the vessel and the dredging plant to the usual rigid tests, and the trials were verv satisfactory, the buckets working well at a depth of 40ft, and the vessel steaming at slightly over the contract speed of eight knots an hour. The vessel had then to be stripped and put into ocean-going trim, and it was not until 24th March of this year that the little vessel commenced her journey across the world, coming via the Suez Canal, Colombo, Albanv, and Wellington. Captain John Mcßeath was engaged as master, and he has to bring the vessel to' New Plymouth. Arrangements have been made by which the crew of the vessel will be paid off to-day upon arrival, and Captain Mcßeath will hand over charge to Captain J. MacMahon, at, one time an officer in the Union Steam Ship Company's service, later in charge of the dredge at New Plymouth, and more recently deputvrharbormastpr here until the Board decided on its retrenchment scheme. The deputy-harbor-master's services were dispensed with, but there was an understanding that lie would be sriven the option of taking charse of the new dredger. Tt was not until Saturday last that the Harbor Board knew definitely that a fresh crew would have to be engaged for the 72 days' trial here, and Captain MacMahon was immediately communicated with. The engineer-, of whom Mr. Knowles is chief, and the builders' representative, will remain on the vessel until the expiry of the 72 davs' maintenance period, i\t the end of which the vessel must be handed over to the Board in a perfect state of repair. The final payment of ten per cent, of the contract money is not pavable till then. The Paritutu is a hopper barge of mild steel, the hopper to hold not less than 8000 cubic feet measured to the level of

THE DREDCE PARITUTU. TO ARRIVE AT NEW PLYMOUTH TO-DAY.

the main deck. Her length is 185 ft over all, or about the langth of the Rarawa, with a beam of 35ft and a depth of 13ft. She is driven by two sets of triple expansion surface condensing engines, capable of developing 000 horsepower,' and fitted so as to work the dredging gear as well as for propulsion of the vessel. The sand-pump is ingeniously fitted, so that when not in use it rests above the hull of the vessel, protected from injury br bumping against a wharf or mooring. The diameter of the nozzle of the suction pump is 20in, and there is a rotarv cutter for cutting into hard around and also making greater nroTro-s "\ t'v -'Hklv formation. The bucket-ladder has a chain of 37 buckets, each of a capacity of 8 1 /-, cubic yards, and capable of "being run at a speed ot sixteen buckets per minute. Here, again, there is special plant for dealing with hard formation such as the conglomerate which has to be cut and dredged out at New Plymouth. Electric light is generated on the vessel, and the current is supplied to the masthead and side-lights as well as for the engine-room, cabins, etc. There are three boats—a lifeboat, an anchor boat, and a dinghy. Combined

steam and hand steering gear is provided, and a full set of navigating instruments. Much of the equipment had to be specially complete owing to the dredge being-required to make the journey from, the shipyard in Scotland to her home in Ne\}' Plymouth. Everything is provided for, and as the vessel has been erected by a firm with a world-wide reputation, and under the supervision- of highlv competent shipbuilding overseers, the Board may he safely assumed to be getting good value for the ratepayers' moncv.

At the commencenient of this article was given a detaile-' statement of the quantity of sand removed bv the old dredge for a period of seventeen pears past. Tliis works out at an average of about tons a rear, or, taking a more recent period, 135,300 tons a year for twelve years. The Paritutu' snoukl be able to remove from the bottom of the harbor about seven or eight times that amount in a year. Reliable figure 8 , however, will be' available during the trials of the plant. There will no doubt be a good representation of the ratepayers and general public at the wharf, to-day when fte iParitutu steams alongside. As far as has been arranged at. present, there will be no ceremony, but probably at 'the expiry of the maintenance period, when the dredge becomes the Board's actual property, there will be some celebration of the event.