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Shipyard's Good

Record

Building Ships From Scratch In Wartime

A REMARKABLE war-time perfor mance was put ud by Green Point Naval Dockyard, Sydney, whose ad vertisements recently have been directed to Pacific Islands shipowners.

Immediately after the Japs invaded the South Pacific, early 1942, a private com pany, under Australian Navy direction, created a new organisation to mass-pro duce Fairmile natrol vessels—fast little ships 112 feet long, which chased submar ines, strafed barges, shot up enemy shore installations, fought raiding aircraft and led landing parties ashore.

Plans were made in February, 1942; in April, the site was selected at Mortlake, Parramatta River, Sydney; timber, work men, buildings, slipways, machinery fol lowed with incredible speed; the first keel was laid in September; the hull was afloat in November; the first Fairmile was commissioned in January, 1943. With rhythmic precision, vessel followed vessel at fortnightly intervals—l 2 were under construction at once. In December, 1943. the 20th little shin was delivered—a most remarkable record.

Subsequently, with the same smooth efficiency and astonishing speed, this yard produced 17 Fast Supply vessels for the Americans, and 22 trawler type ships for the Australian Navy.

Latterly, the Australian Navy took the yard into its own control, with Mr. C. E.

B. Boden as managing agent; and in 1947 the Australian Government leased Green Point to Mr. Boden as a going concern, and he is now running it as managing

director of Green Point Shipbuilding and f E^ oen f ng . Ltd ; J* 16 ya f d I > as facilities for all kinds of ship construction fast efflcient W work a reC ° rd ( ° r last, efficient work.

An event ot cultural importance to Port Moresby and the Territories generally, was the recent arrival of the Officer In charge of Library Services in the

Territory, Mr. Parnell It is undersionri he will Plan three main regional hbra?^ at Lae, Rabaul and Moresby f

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Moresby library already has a good range books, many of which were taken over from Army Education. Future require-

LibraryCanberraNational

in nart of th» T ?in'??« llb T a S at Ha Beach the H9I ..Sfth 8 ?i ub half ’ RSL uses the other