The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-05-25
RAPID WORK BEING DONE ON
THE LINE.
How the Different Divisions of the 5000
Miles VIII be Laid-Special Gable
Ship Being Constructed.

r. +. Peake the British cable en-
gineer who passed through here on the
Miowera, is now working at the Aus
tralian end. He is the man who drew
up specifications for the cable and he
gives in the Sydney News the follow
ing particulars regarding the enter
prise
The offer of the Telegraph Construc-
ton and Maintenance Company to car
ry out the work at a cost of one mill
| lion and three-quarters sterling was
accepted, and the contract was signed
| in December last year. 1t is tolerably
! certain, however that the total cost of
/ line will reach two millions sterling. AS
| the contract was only signed in De-
cember last IL is apparent that no time
/ has been lost in getting to work Peake
/ had, previous to joining the Miowera
for Brisbane, visited Vancouver Island
and selected the eastern shore of Bar
clay Sound as the most suitable site for
| landing the Canadian end of the cable
/ Here a large block of land has been
purchased. on which the telegraph sta
ton and offices will be erected.
The British war vessel Egira has all
ready surveyed the route for the cable
from Vancouver to a point seventy
miles north Of Tanning Island and
Peake's visit to Australia al the present
juncture is to select suitable landing
places for the cable on the coasts of
Queensland and New Zealand, also to
carry out a survey of the route from
Australia to the point where the north
ern survey terminates to the north of
Tanning Island. From Barclay Sound
on the western coast of Vancouver ISL
and, the cable will be laid direct to
Tanning Island in the mid-Pacific, then
on to Suva Fiji, thence to Norfolk ISL
and, whence it will bifurcate, one
branch traversing the ocean bed almost
due south to the New Zealand coast
and the other arm striking out in due
westerly direction towards the Queens.
> land coast.
Some time ago it was reported from
! ! London that the Australian terminus o.
! the cable would be at Southport, IL
Queensland; but it would appear tina
: the statement was premature, as the
l selection of a site has still to be made
, by Peake, and he has not yet decided
: upon the exact locality, although ther'
= is no doubt the landing place will be OF
Z the Queensland coast. and at a poin
probably not great distance from
Brisbane. The total length of cabl,
y between the termini will be S272.5 nau
: teal miles. The manufacture of tn,
? cable will probably be commenced som
time this month or early in June, an,
the first expedition will lay the Soutl
Pacific portion of the cable, which com
prises those sections from Queenslan,
n to Norfolk Island to Fiji.
e The second expedition with 1850 nauti
e cal miles of cable to be transported an
Z laid by one ship, which is being spe
$ cially built will leave the Thames ahou
5. August next year, and will pay out ca
u BILE from the Vancouver end of tn
/ route. The contractors have under
taken to have the cable laid and /
he working order by December, 1902, an
- unless some unforeseen difficulty inter
l. venes, the work may be accomplished
J. and communication established be
tween, Canada and Australia befor
the stipulated date. Peake is now /
consultation with the Queensland COY
eminent as to the selection of landin
place"fOr the cable, and to make al
rangements for the telegraph static
and requisite buildings. He intends
proceed to sydney where he viii NEE
the steamer Britannia which is to cor
vey PeaRe who, under the terms of I'll
contract is responsible both for I'll
selection of the landing places and tn
route of the cable, to those points h
may consider it necessary to visit i'm Oh
der 10 carry out the duties devolvin
g., upon him.