The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1889-08-07
THE NEW AUSTRALIA.

The steamer Australia was out on
the bay of San Francisco for her
1rial trip on July 14th. The Aus
tralia arrived there from Honolulu
on March 22d, and her owners,
prior TO this time, had determined
to put her on the dock for repairs.
An examination of the vessel devel-
oped the fact that she was in need of
far more extensive repairs than were
at first intended. A survey of the
steamer was then made, and the
Risdon Iron Works, of San Fran
cisco, awarded the contract for
overhaulng her and putting in new
machinery. She has been laid up
ever since, and has undergone the
most extensive repairs ever made to
any steamer, and is pronounced to
be in better condition than she
ever was.
The old compound engines were
displaced by new engines of the
triple expansion type. The old
boilers, which carried rs pounds of
steam, were replaced by new ones
to carry pressure of 100 pounds
per square ince.
The hull of the ship was thor
oughly overhauled, even TO new
frames and keelsons; the cost of
the entire repairs Gncluding hull,
machinery, electric light and refrig-
Grating machinery, will not fall be-
low 1925, 100000. Her staterooms,
cabins, saloons hurricane, upper
and lower decks, and all wood work
and fittings, have been rebuilt and
remodelIed. She has been furnish
ed throughout with electric incan-
descent lights.
The result of the trial trip was
more than satisfactory to all con-
cerned, and shows that the Pacific
Coast is now able to do work of any
description. The Australia is now
one of the fastest ships on the Pa
cific, and the results of the trial trip
show that she will now run II miles
per hour on consumption of ten
tons of coal less per day than form
erly. The greatest credit is due
to Mr.. John d. Spreckels for taking
the initiative in the adoption of the
latest improvements in machinery
his firm have demonstrated that il
pays to spend money in the right
direction. If, at any future time,
it becomes desirable to send the
Australia to the Colonies to compete
with the Canadian Pacific or White
Star steamers, the Australia will be
found to be superior to the best OF
them as regards speed, economy
and comfort.
Among those present at the tria
trip were Theodore Cramp, of the
ship-building firm of Philadelphia
Captain C. NJ. Goodall, representing
the Pacific Coast Steamship Co.
John ID. Spreckels, Adolph Spreck'
els, Charles Hugg, Captain Douglas
r. S. Moore, Captains Freeman
Thayer and Potter, Con O'Connor
George Fritch and about $50 others
A brass band accompanied tn,
steamer and discoursed music
throughout the trip.
Chief Engineer human states tina
: on the voyage down from San Fran
cisco, the machinery worked admir-
> ably and beyond all possible expec
= tations for the first trip, the Goa
consumption did not exceed &c ton
per day, while with the old machin
, cry the average was hbout AZ tons
. The successful operation of the en-
= gines and boilers certainly reflect
great credit on the builders.
: The Risdon Works is one of tn
- Oldest and largest engineering es
= Establishments on the Pacific Coas
- and has been identified with mos
: all the leading engineering enter
y prises of California and the Hawa
ian Islands, among which are tn
large mills at Spreckelsville with
e daily capacity of l20 tons of suga
= perhaps the largest in the world
- the vast pipe lines of the Sprin
- Valley waterworks, the prodigiol
, machinery of the Combination shat
- Virginia City; the submarine piI
~ across the bay of San Francisc
., and, last but not least, the Austr
} lia's boilers and engines of 2,4(
horse mower each mower alOI