Slip For Rabaul.

Messrs. Carpenter Tackle an Old Problem.

BY placing in Rabaul Harbour an up-to-date slip, capable of taking all vessels which regularly trade inter-island, Messrs. W. R. Carpenter and Co. have provided for a long-felt want in New Guinea.

The slip was made in Sydney after lengthy enquiries, and has been shipped to Rabaul. The idea of providing a slip to permit the overhaul of inter island vessels near their own ports— instead of sending them on a 1,500 miles trip to Australian ports for over haul —has been receiving attention for a long time; but the difficulty has been always the soft material (decomposed coral, etc.) which comprises the sloping shores of most Islands’ harbours. It was not practicable to lay upon this bot tom the rails which support the ap

paratus, which carries the ships out of the water on to dry land.

Messrs. Carpenter wrestled with the problem for some time, and eventually decided to lay down a special bottom on top of the natural bottom, to carry the rails. For this purpose, a surface of solid sheet iron, 250 feet by 20 feet, and five T eighth of an inch thick, was prepared and despatched, to become part of the slip; and the rails of the slip will be laid on top of that.

It is the intention of Messrs. Car penter to place the slip at Toboy, on the shores of Rabaul Harbour, if that is practicable.

Don’t worry when you stumble remember a worm is about the only thing that can’t fall down.