INUNDATION OF THE ALFRED GRAVING DOCK, MELBOURNE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 219, 11 April 1872, Page 6

INUNDATION OF THE ALFRED GRAVING DOCK, MELBOURNE.

From the Australasian. A disaster occurred on Wednesday which will considerably retard the works connected with the Alfred Graving Dock, at Williamstown. Early in the day, the coflVr-dam, which had been built to protect the dock during its construction from the encroachments of the sea, gave way on the north-west side, and in a few hours the whole dock was flooded with water. 'I he coffer-dam i3 a semicircular barrier placed in front of the seaward end of the dock, so as to keep out the waters of the b y until the works are completed. The plan adopted in constructing the dam was one which has generally proved efficient. At a suitable distance from the dock, piles were driven down as far as they would go. Beside these piles came a row of sheet piles, and both sets were planked across with redgum timber. The cavity formed by the two sets of piles was filled in with clay puddle as far as the usual level of the water, but after that the filling consisted of silt, or any other material that was at hand. Had the dam been well puddled throughout, there is reason to think that the mishap of Wednesday would not have occurred. In this affair the Government bear no responsibility. The contractors for the last section of the dock, Messrs Irons and Co., were allowed a certain price for the construction of a coffer dam, and were permitted to build it as they pleased, at their own risk. Whatever loss is now sustained falls, therefore, upon the contractors, and not on the Government. When the dam had been erected, it was pronounced perfectly substantial and secure, and until Wedues day the dock had been kept safe and dry. The equinoctial gale, the unusually high tides in the bay, and the bay, and the rain, are the influences which are supposed to have brought about the disaster. The deluge swept everything before it, and travelling cranes, trucks, wheelbarrows, ropes, and other gear, were instantly submerged. The water speedily found its level, and when the tide was at its full, had reached tc within sft. of the sill of the dock, 3ft. higher than it would have been with a lo\t tide. Fortunately there was no one a1 work down in the dock when the fina] catastrophe took place, for their chances of saving their lives were small.