Gangway No.1 Spring 1976 - BlueStarLine.org

News from
Australia
Visitors
The preceding three months have been
rather quiet, W F La mbert of Blue Star
Port Lines, Wellington, NZ was our only
overseas visitor.
Office happenings
Barbara Kendrick has left us, and her
place at the book-keeping machine has
been taken by R ob yn Wal1ace.
Dor een Darga n of our Accounts
Department received a colourful bouquet
of flowers to mark 25-years' service with
Port Line, Joint Cargo Services, and Blue
Star L ine. DOfeen is an avid stamp
collector and regularly swaps Australian
stamps with her colleagues in the London
office.
The PorI of Brisbane slory
A little bit of history
Back in the early 18205 the Brits decided it
was time to establish a branch office away
from Sydney. They were particularly
interested in that big, empty hunk of
unknown land up North. They were concerned---or
so the story goes-that those
hordes of people in South East Asia might
sweep down and seize the land before they
could officially 'acquire' it for King and
Empire from the local population.
British diplomacy being what it was in
those days no one got around to telling the
aforesaid local population that there was
going to be a change in management. CA
mere technicality, old boy', one admiral
was heard to splutter.)
The bloke they sent north was named
Oxley. He was a product of the Royal Navy
and British to the yardarm. It showed
through in everything he did. For instance,
when he sailed into Moreton Bay he
automatically headed for the most inhospitable
spot for a settlement. He worked
on the premise that he probably wouldn't
have to live in the joint-so why should he
care?
High motives
With these high and mighty motives to
urge him ever forward, he spurned more
promising foreshore sites and bumped his
boat over the sand, mud and rock bars at
30 years old and still going srrong
One for the engineers
We found this British-built Lister twin
cylinder diesel engine at Mookerawa, near
Wellington, NSW. It was installed in 1946,
and has not required a single service or
repair during its 30-year life.
The unit is fixed permanently to a tree
fork which is then bolted to a concrete
foundation. It is a simple matter to free
the unit, whip a rope around the fork, and
tow it to a new location. The engine is
kept in constant use pumping water for
irrigation and milling timber.
the mouth of the Brisbane River and
resolutely headed upstream.
Oxley obviously came from the Nelson
school of thought, which held that 'if you
can't see it, it won't hurt you'. So, he
turned his back on the noise of rattling
spears and scorned the unwanted attention
of the swarms of flies, mosquitoes, sandflies,
and bities.
14 or 15 miles upstream, he ordered the
anchor to be tossed overboard, sent one of
the braver crew members ashore to hoist
the flag, and announced to the world:
'It's time for my afternoon tea. This is as
far as I bloody well go'.
The year was 1824 and Brisbane was on
the map!
The Port of Brisbane today
Today Brisbane is a major port of national
and international importance, with a population
rapidly approaching the one million
mark. I t is the capital of Queensland and
the third largest city in Australia.
Brisbane is about midway between the
northern (Cape York, Queensland) and
southern (South Cape, Tasmania) extremities
of Australia's eastern sea-board. The
climate is pleasant sub-tropical. A low
(winter) temperature would be 10°C, and
the maximum (s ummer) is usually about
2SoC to 29°C.
Early port facilities were established well
upstream, close to the heart of the growing
Ignition!
With valves lifted, the engine is swung
at a fair rate: at a call, the right cylinder is
given compression and invariably fires first
time. The left is then dropped in and away
she goes, with the operator disappearing
in a cloud of black smoke.
These engines are used far and wide
throughout Australia fo r many jobs, though
principally as a source of power in shearing
sheds. Surprisingly enough, even in the
heat of summer and after eight hours
continuous operation, the water tank
remains relatively cool at the intake level.
city. However, with each succeeding
generation, the port, its wharves, sheds,
and general facilities have edged further
downstream.
At the moment, the main port activity is
centred on the Hamilton and Bulimba
reaches ofthe river, about 15 km upstream.
Port limits embrace the whole of Moreton
Bay (about 2700 square km) and the
navigable waters of the rivers and creeks
communicating with it. The port is
managed and operated by the Port of
Brisbane D ivision of the Harbours and
Marine Department.
36 berths
There are 36 berths in the port, providing
about 5500 m of wharf frontage. These
wharves are mostly operated by private
companies and include 16 for general cargo,
a container terminal, three container/Ro
Ro terminals, seven for oil and petroleum
products, two for bulk handling of grain,
two fo r meat, one for cold storage, two for
chemicals and fertilisers, and two more for
repair work.
The port handles between 1300 and 1400
ships a year and total cargo movement is
increasing steadily. Blue Star Line ships
are frequent visitors. They service several
routes and are linked to important trade
partners and pacts, working under such
names as PACE, ACT A-ANL, and Blue
Star/Salen Reefe r. These services bring