A BIG CONTRACT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2773, 31 March 1910, Page 2

A BIG CONTRACT.

•THE NEW FREEZING WORKS AT TOKOMARU BAY.

The establishment of freezing works at Tokomaru Bay marks a distinct forward movement on the East Coast. To those familiar with the grazing potentialities of this favored portion of the Dominion, it was recognised that the starting of works of this description were an urgent necessity, and could not be long .delayed. The East Coast has long been looked upon as one of the most fertile pastoral districts in New Zealand, and its annual output of wool and beef and mutton lias helped greatly to swell the output of the Dominion. The absence of a market for tlieir fat Stock and however, has been a severe handicap to pastoralists in the past, as by the time the mobs of cattle •or sheep reached the Gisborne works after their long drive over .roads which were none of the best, they were only in store condition. It was only in the natural order of things that the progressive settlers on the Coast would take steps at the earliest opportunity '•to get full value for their fat stock and lambs, and last year saw the formation of a company to start freezing works in a central .position. .After the. battle of the sites had been fought, Tokomaru Bay was eventually selected, and all appear thoroughly satisfied now that a wise choice has been made, for its central position and harbor facilities.

A representative of the Gisborne ‘‘‘Times’’ last week paid a visit to Tofcomaru, and by the-courtesy of-Mr. T. G. Buchanan, the secretary of the Tokomaru Farmers’ Freezing Company, •was enabled to have a good look over •the works in course of construction. Tokomaru Bay lies in the form of a half-crescent, stretching about seven miles from point to point. There is very little flat- country along the foreshore, the hills rising abruptly almost from the beach, right round the bay. In a sheltered nook at the northern •extremity of the Bay the site of the works is' situated. A perpendicular cliff several hundred feet high here rises sheer from the beach and runs at right angles eastwards, while the high hills to the south and west effectually shelter the site and make it an ideal one for a safe port. On arriving at the site, a scene of bustling activity unfolded itself. One could not help being struck with the transformation -which was being effected to this sterile spot by the hands of man to meet the needs of commerce. Trucks rumbled ceaselessly up and down the three-quarters.M a mile long tramway line bringing material from the wharf and .brickworks, the snorting of engines and the whirr of machinery resounded, while over all was the tap-tap of the bricklayers and the hammer-hammer of .the carpenters'. Even the mountain sheep gazed down from the cliffs in wide-eyed wonderment, and the seagulls screamed a pathetic protest that the calm tranquillity of the spot should be so rudely disturbed. . The contract price for erecting the freezing works was £40,000. and the pressman was introduced to the central figure in this scene of industry, Mr. H. j Bull, senior member of the firm of Messrs. Bull IKos., of Napier, the contractors. This firm is well known throughout New Zealand for the successful and expeditious manner in which they have completed many big undertakings, and the smooth manner in which everything was proceeding proved that the senior member of the firm knew how to control and direct a large body of workmen. At the time. of the visit last week, 76 men were busily employed on the works. Mr. Bull expects to have 100 men on by the end or next month. Among the workmen are men of divers trades and callings. The contractor willingly gives employment to any man if he is prepared t-o work, and turns no one away. At present, Mr. Bull stated, he could do with another dozen carpenters, and about the same number of laborers. . These brickworks are quite a large industry in themselves. Three large kilns arc kept going night and day. The maehinerv and stone-crusher is driven by a 12-horse-power portable engine. Sixteen men. aro employed nt the works, making about 12.000 bricks per day. Altogether it is estimated that a •million and a-quarter bricks will be required for the construction of the ■works. The clay is most suitable, and

the bricks turned out are of a very good quality. The freezing-block, engine-room, etc., are well under way, and will be ready for the machinery in about six weeks’ time, and Mr. Bull expects that everything will be ready to enable freezing to start an November.

The .men mostly sleep in tents, and quite a little canvas'town dots the hillsides. A large cook-house, capable of accommodating 110 men, serves the employees as a dining-room. An excellent water supply has been installed from the Wailii creek. The water is pumped into a" reservoir containing 4000 gallons, .from which it reticulates through about a mile of piping over the whole of the works. THE HARBOR WORKS.

The work of constructing a harbor is being carried out by the company by day labor. Mr. Edgar Austin, the foreman of wharf works, kindly showed the pressman over this very important undertaking. A wet dock is being built. The walls run out 640 ft into the sea. Two wharves 4re being constructed, one for handling frozen meat and the other for .general merchandise. The former is of concrete, 240 ft long by 261 b wide, and the latter 240 ft long by 15ft wide. Between the wharves there as a width of 110 ft of water, and rockblasting will give a depth of 10ft at low water. Two acres of larwl hove been, almost reclaimed about the wharves. The necessary rubble has been mostly obtained by dynamiting the face of the cliff, and the remainder required will be obtained from rock-blasting in the dock. Grabs are used to remove the broken rock. The walls of the dock constructed of turpentine and totara piles, filled in with concrete, which gives a very solid wall Oft at the bottom and 4ft on top. Advantage has been taken in constructing the harbor works of a natural reef which runs out at right angles from the cliff face, and behind which there is 60ft of perfectly calm water when the roughest sea is running. Recently when a heavy sea was running the Kiritona lay. calmly in this safe anchorage, as safe from the elements as if in dry dock. By enlarging the works a deep-water harbor could easily be constructed which would accommodate the largest wool boats, and no doubt this will come when the growth of the port warrants the expenditure. THE WORKS. At the time of the visit, Mr A. S. Mitchell, of Wellington, the architect, was paying a visit to the works, having arrived from South by the steamer on Friday. Mr. Mitchell is regarded as one of the foremost architects for freezing works in the Dominion, and the company acted wisely in selecting such an expert in freezing works architecture to design the .plans for the new undertaking. Since work on the contract commenced on October 3rd last, Mr. Mitchell has made several visits to Tokomaru. The architect expressed satisfaction at the progress that was being made by Messrs. Bull Bros, and ■the faithful manner in_ which they were •following the plans. Mr. Mitchell obligingly showed the “Times” representative the plans for the building, and courteously spent some time in thoroughly explaining tli e designs of tho different departments. pGThe works are erected on tup terraces, the upper one being 27 feet above the lower. On the upper one the slaughter-houses, chilling-room, and offal sorting-room are arranged, enabling tlie carcases and bye-products to gravitate to the buildings on the lower level. The sheep slaughterhouse is 130 feet long by 35 feet wide, and accommodation is provided for 25 butoliers. Adjacent and parallel to the sheep slaughterhouse, and at the same level, the cattle slaughterhouse is arranged, and is fitted with electrically-driven winches and tackles capable of dealing with about 80 cattle per day. One end of the cattle slaughterhouse is arranged as a cooling-room, where the carcases are hung after being dressed and halved. Across the end of these buildings runs the beef chilling room, into •which the carcases, still in halves, are run on overhead,tracking from the beef cooling space. At the end of tlie chilling room, the halves are quartered and weighed, after having spent about 12 hours in the chilling room. This chilhiicr rocm is an insulated room, with 'piping arranged overhead, through which the .refrigerating medium (ammonia) is circulated. In the weighing room, which is common to both slaughterhouses, the carcases are graded and weighed, and are then passed to the cooling room in the case of sheep and to theTrcezing rooms in the case of beef, while still on the tracking, through a covered-in inclined corridor, about ICOft long, connecting these buildings. Both slaughterhouses are of brick, with concrete floor. Under the sheep slaughterhouse and connected thereto by a series of slmtes7 three travelling belt conveyors,receive the offal, fat. and skins, conveying the two former to a sorting table in the offal room immediately beneath the chilling room. Here the offal is separated from the fat. and sent to the digestor house and manure works. The skin conveyor receives and conveys the skins to the wool-washing and fellmongery departments. The offal room is arranged at such a level as will allow the products therefrom to gravitate to the charging floor of the digestor house, where No. 6 large steel digesters receive the offal, and, after treatment, deliver it in the form of tallow and manure. The latter, however, is not yet fit for the market until it is pressed, dried, and ground, and mixed with “kainit,”' superphosphates, or other imported chemical manures, being then bagged ready for sale. The tallow also requires further refining and salting before being cashed for export. The tallow and manure works are arranged in three bays, one of two storeys, 80ft x 40ft. the ether two covering about 80ft x 60ft. This building is also of brick, with concrete floors. The sheep cooling room is arranged above the wool store and fellmongery at an elevation slightly above the freezing rooms, which are eight in nuraoer, .and are situated on the third storev of tlie freezing block. After hanging there till frozen, a period of from two to five days respectively for sheep andTeef, the carcases are bagged and lowered through hatches to the two cool stores below, where they are

stacked, and remain, until shipped. The cold stores have a capacity of about <60,000 freight carcases of about OOlbs each. This building is of brick, insulated with pumice, the dimensions being 100 ft x 110 ft x 40ft high, with a dormer arranged above the freezing rooms containing the air battery, which 'is the method .adopted for freezing the carcases.

■Adjacent to the freezing block the engine-room and boiler-house are situated. the dimensions being 50ft x 100 ft, divided by a parti-wall to ensure the cleanliness of the machinery. The fellmdngcry is arranged in two storeys, in the upper of which the process of washing, painting, spreading, and pulling are carried on, the lower storey containing wool-drying and pelttreating plant. This building is of brick, and covers an area of 110 ft x 90fi, with aspbait floors to the upper storey and concrete floors at ground ievul.

A complete system of travelling conveyors and labor-saving plant is being installed, enabling the carcases and other products of the works to be delivered into the lighters with a minimum of supervision and labor. accommodation for the staff and workmen has the special care of the company, and fin this connection a manager’s residence of eight rooms, ten cottages of five rooms each, and a brick ’barracks accommodating 54 men, with large dining-room and kitchen attached. are in course of construction*^ 1 ' The 'fater obtained from a (creek adjacent to the site, and drainage Wil/discharge into the sea 30ft below the level of the works.

/ The maclmery to be installed at the works will be an up-to-date steam-elee-/tric plant of the most economical type. This plant lias been adopted as being the most reliable aiid economical for tile works under consideration, in spite .of the many advantages put forward in favor of suction gas. _,,-Mr. A. S. Mitchell, of "Wellington, ' the architect for the works, has for the past seven years made a special study of freezing works architecture, anu h:r; success lias been largely due to the fact that in addition to being an architect 'lie is also a certificated engineer. Mr. 'Mitchell designed the freezing works at Nelson, now in their second season, and lias also in hand works for the Wellington Fanners’ Meat Company at Waingawa, near Mastertsn, contracts for which have just been let. These works are expected to be complete at the end of the year, and will have a capacity of 1501) 'sheep daily. Mr. T. G. Buchanan, as secretary of the company, has had a great deal of work thrown on his shoulders in successfully floating the company, and attending to all the.details in connection with an undertaking of so large a nature. He informed the pressman that 54,700 shares of the 100.000 which it is the company’s aim to allot had already been taken up, and that it was highly probable that as the works progressed further applications for shares -would be received.

The machinery for the works will be supplied by Messrs. -J. Chambers and Son, and their tender of £29,000 for installing part of the machinery has been accepted. A Haslam freezing machine will be put in, and it is expected that they will commence erecting it in about six weeks’ time. Along the line of tramway are stacked thousands 0 f feet of timber, SO,oooft M which will Ho used on the contract. It is estimated that 300,000 ft of kauri, 300,000 ft of Oregon pine, 100.000 ft of West Australian jarrah, and 100.000 ft of matai will be required. The timber is thrown over from the ship’s side, and pieces are to be seen coming tsiiore all along the beach. The heavier timber has to be rafted ashore, as it will not float.