Ships

Copra Factory

Practical Economics of the Plan

Letter to the Editor ON looking over my file of the “PIM”

I came across Mr. Richard Howard’s letter about a “Copra Factory Ship’’, dated Navua, Fiji, 8/10/40.

A year or two ago a party in NZ tried to form a company for copra products, and included in their plan was a factory ship. No doubt it is a splendid idea, but could it be managed now that we are at war? I have my doubts.

The introduction of the factory ship to the South Seas copra industry would be productive of even greater changes than those already effected by modern whaling enterprise in the Antarctic.

Throughout the Dominion, the public press has lamented New Zealand’s “lost opportunities’’ in the latter industry, which has been productive of £10,000,000 worth of whale oil annually. But the rationalised production of vegetable oil under modern methods presente equal, if not greater, possibilities. The South Seas copra industry, especially, which at pre sent attains the figure of something like £3,000,000 annually, is capable of almost unlimited expansion.

Expression Of Oil

In brief, the copra would be crushed on board the factory ship, the coconut oil run into storage tanks, and the resi due converted into coconut meal, all at the one operation. A ship of from 2,000 to 3,000 tons gross, oil-burning (to ensure reliability), and capable of a fair speed (say 10 to 12 knots per hour) would be fitted with the most up-to-date

oil-expressing machinery.

The ship’s machinery would be situated aft, and the factory section amidship, in the lower hold. The oil crushing plant would be fed by gravitation from two hoppers, situated above the factory, and the oil would be automatically pumped through filters into specially-constructed tanks, which would be maintained at a

constant temperature. From the storage reservoirs the oil would be pumped into a second series of tanks for the final filtering process, and then into contain ers ready for export.

The residue coconut cake would, in its turn, be passed through a pulverising machine, and the resultant meal weighed and bagged ready for export.

Production

The net average production in terms of crude coconut oil would be 90 tons a week, plus a total of 50 tons of coconut meal.

Before the war, a ship of the above tonnage would have cost about £30,000.

And the expressing machinery fitted in and ready for working would cost a fur ther. say, £B,OOO.

I have no doubt that, if a company could be floated, even to-day (especially in the Fiji Group) with such a factory ship, which could also work the out lying islands, together with Tonga, it

would certainly pay. This crushed coco nut is perfect chicken feed and the coconut cake is good for pigs—much better, in fact, than crude copra.

I am, etc.,

Mataka.

Auckland, NZ, 2/3/41.

Mr. John McKay, of Wau, who arrived back in New Guinea in February from a visit to Sydney, will shortly return to Australia to take up duties with the RAAF. Mrs. McKay intends to live in Melbourne while her husband is on active service.

Mr. J. Kruschnitt, chairman of directors of New Guinea Goldfields Ltd., visited Morobe Goldfields in March, accompanied by his daughter, Mrs. Barbara Welch, of San Francisco. After a fortnight’s stay, during which time they were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. K. B. Gross, Mr. Krusch nitt and Mrs. Welch returned to Mount Isa, Qld., on March 23.

Mr. R. Hyne, Chief Magistrate and Legal Adviser in the Solomon Islands, recently arrived in Australia on leave, accompanied by Mrs. Hyne.

Mr. George H. Morgan, formerly mana ger of the trans-Pacific department of the Union SS Co., of NZ Ltd., died in Sydney on March 17, aged 72. Mr. Mor gan commenced his career as a clerk in the Tasmanian Steam Navigation Co., and was chief clerk when the company was taken over by the USS Co. After serving at several branches, he was transferred to NZ as manager at New Plymouth. Prom 1906 to 1914 he was manager of the Suva, Fiji, branch; then he returned to Australia as manager at Newcastle. In 1916 he was appointed manager of the trans-Pacific department in Sydney and retained that position until his retirement in 1934.