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1946 NEW ZEALAND

MARINE DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1945-46

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency

Marine Department, Your Excellency,— . Wellington, 22nd July, 1946. I do myself the honour to transmit for Your Excellency's information the report of the Marine Department for the financial year ended the 31st March last. I have, &c., Jas. O'Brien, Minister of Marine. His Excellency the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand.

REPORT

The Secretary, Marine Department, to the Hon. the Minister of Marine. Sir, — Marine Department, Wellington, 10th July, 1946. I have the honour to submit the annual report on the activities of the Marine Department for the year ended 31st March, 1946. I take this opportunity of placing on record the war activities of this Department, which could not be published for security reasons during the war years. They in themselves depict a war effort on behalf of all concerned which calls for special mention. SHIPBUILDING AND SHIP REPAIRS IN NEW ZEALAND, 1939-46 It would be wrong to say that ship-construction in New Zealand commenced during the last war period. It would be more correct to say that shipbuilding was rejuvenated with a vengeance. Ship-construction is not by any means a venture tied to the present century, as in the early days of New Zealand, wherever there was a kauri forest, there was a small shipbuilding effort on wooden vessels. Most of our earlier traders on the coast were built in New Zealand, and later, when good heart kauri became more scarce, very creditable units were constructed both in composite design (steel frame and wooden planking) and in all steel. The best examples of our composite built vessels are the ferry boats of the Ferry Co. at Auckland. In 1937 one of the present vehicular ferry boats was constructed with Diesel engines. Farther south the s.s. " Earnslaw," for Lake Wakatipu, was built by Messrs. John McGregor and Co. at Dunedin. The tug " Dunedin " was built by Messrs Stevenson and Cook at Port Chalmers in 1914, and the present motor-ship, " Hokitika," was built two years later by Messrs. John McGregor and Co. Many other examples could be quoted, but the above are given merely as an indication that small craft have been built in New Zealand right throughout the last century.