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pagepage4Historic Gas Times%u2022 Issue 108 %u2022 September 2021 %u2022NEW ZEALAND (SOUTH ISLAND) Concluded.The editors apologise that due to an editorial error, some of the photographs of Christchurch appeared previously in HGT 107.CHRISTCHURCH%u201cThis capital city of the Canterbury District, with a population of nearly 70,000, appealed to the writer as the nearest approach to an English cathedral city. It originated in 1849 from the Canterbury Association which, with the Archbishop of Canterbury at its head, purchased over two million acres of land in the district for colonization by Church of England emigrants. The great scheme, however, was not a success; but it established English traditions here, while Dunedin is more Scotch, and Nelson more particularly Welsh.The writer had just arrived at the gas-works (which belong to and were established in the year 1863 by the Christchurch Gas, Coal, and Coke Company, Limited), when a 20 H.P. motor car, with Mr. Robert English driving, entered the gate. Everybody who knows Mr. English will be pleased to hear that he is as enthusiastic and as busy as ever, with hardly a moment to spare. After the Old Country had been talked over, the conversation turned on his work. Mr. English is not only the Engineer and Manager of the gas-works, but is interested with his Directors in many subsidiary and allied branches of trade, which is sound business in a Colonial town like this. The Gas Company are also general fire-brick manufacturers, and the writer had the opportunity of inspecting some fire-clay just arrived from their mine, and of seeing in process of manufacture their bricks, blocks, and terra-cotta work, such as ornamental chimneys and glazed fountains.Their brick-works plant is a complete one; and the fire-clay material was equal to that of any English production. The manufacture of forks for incandescent burners proved a great success, as well as the making of all kinds of gas cookers, grills, meat safes, &c. Coal, also, has been found within a few miles of Christchurch; and Mr. English is interested in its development.Prior to his arrival in the Colonies, Mr. English had held important positions with the Gas, Light and Coke Company and the South Suburban Gas Company, had taken an important part in many matters of chemical research and Parliamentary consideration of Bills. He has now almost entirely reconstructed his present gas-works, and was chosen by the Corporation of Dunedin as Consulting Engineer for the reconstruction and extension of the gas-works there.A walk through the three retort-houses showed that everything was carefully designed and arranged so as to get the best results. The new retort-house is a handsome building of the stage-floor type. It will be equipped with Mr. English%u2019s regenerator settings and furnaces, adapted for being worked by the De Brouwer projector and pushing machines, together with hotcoke conveyor, coke tanks, and screens, supplied by Messrs. W. J. Jenkins and Co. The adjacent coal-store holds 3000 tons, and is fitted with elevator and conveyor and crusher. Taken altogether, the installation will soon play havoc with the high rate of wages paid to stokers and yardmen, and will effect large savings. The projecting annexe contains the mess-rooms and baths.There are two batteries of Walker%u2019s water-cooled condensers, and two of Waller%u2019s exhausters, which are nicely arranged and the %u201cshow piece%u201d expected in a gas-works. Following on is a onemillion %u201cStandard%u201d washer, and eight purifier boxes, 30 ft by 20 ft, filled with oxide.The four gasholders contain about 1,000,000 cubic ft, which is the maximum daily make of the works, the yearly output of which is 245 millions. The blue water-gas plant, built to Mr. English%u2019s designs by the Economical Gas Apparatus Construction Company, is regularly used, and can produce 300,000 cubic ft of gas per day.Turning to the bye-products, liquid and anhydrous ammonia are made, as it was found that there was little market for sulphate of ammonia; but owing to the large number of meat freezing works, there is a good demand for the former products.There is a machine shop, which also does a large amount of sheet-metal work for orders in connection with cooking utensils, &c.; and the mechanical part of the mechanics%u2019 shop is ample and sufficient to repair any sort of machinery. In addition, all the gas-lamps are made at the works; and lamps are also sold to other towns.After inspecting everything in the works, Mr. English remarked: %u201cThe gas engineers in England think we are a countryfied, sheep-farming lot, who don%u2019t know what%u2019s going on and are out of date. Now you have been here, what do you think?%u201c To which the writer could only reply that it would do a lot of English gas managers good to come out here and see the splendid works, magnificent management, and business-like methods%u2014the outcome of a broad-minded policy.HIGH-PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION%u201cMr. English kindly placed his motor at the writer%u2019s disposal and took him round the city and suburbs. There is a highpressure main, 10 in. in diameter and 4 1/2 miles in length, which starts from the works and feeds all the other mains. It is at 20 in. pressure, and on the other mains are placed governors fixed at 30-tenths, so that directly any part of the consumers%u2019 main falls below this, the governor opens and the deficiency is made up. This plan has given every satisfaction and keeps the incandescent burners in the best of condition. The boosting plant consists of a De Laval turbine-engine of 1O B.H.P., connected direct to a Sturtevant blower; and the arrangement appears to work well.The incandescent lighting, both in the houses and the streets, is certainly a striking feature of the place. All lamps inside or outside public buildings, hotels, or shops are attended to gratis,ROUND the WORLDAND SOME GAS WORKS, BY MAURICE GRAHAM