Harbour Board Reconstruction Work

People visiting the harbour lately may have been intrigued by the huge chunks of masonry on a ten feet high platform. We were, so investigated its purpose. Before the steal piles are placed in their permanent positions, they must be thoroughly tested. Accordingly, a large platform is built capable of taking a 50-ton weight. The pile to be tested is then driven into the ground below the platform and a 50-ton jack used to exert pressure on it. The test places more than double the strain the pile will need to withstand. This is another of the preliminary jobs necessary before work on the actual reconstruction begins. Ron Allen, foreman fitter, can be seen reading the pressure dial.

The picture below left, shows two Harbour Board riggers with the end of a tow-rope they have just completed for the tug Hikurangi. They are, Marcus Walkins, holding the splice, and Bill Edwards.

Winter (Affected) Street.

Some crude notices were seen on the grass verge in Winter Street recently. They served to distract the motorists' eyes from tha potholes in tha road surface, which, like many other roads after prolonged wet weather, had suffered badly. However, on the bright side of the street, was a nice, long, straight, concrete footpath. Many older streets do not enjoy this amenity.