Me RP Dunlop thought that it would be highly desirable for the Colony to have something in a way of a recognised Laboratory.
· The suggestion that such a Laboratory would be of very limited use does not seem valid as such facilities have not been generally available before and the demand for sound certificates for goods and materials passing into and out of the Colony would certainly grow its
as
worth came to be appreciated.
The question of the economies of founding such A Laboratory is, however, another question.
The staff would require to include highly qualified and reputable scientists covering the fields of Chemistry. Engineer- ing. Physics, Metallogy, Ceology and possibly even Biology. Their equipment would require to be modern and of the highest grade, involving primary and secondary standards which would be beyond dispute, and the accommodation would require to be adequate.
The expense of running such an organization would be very considerable and it appears to me that it would be possible only if the Testing Work was simply one branch of a much wider field of activity.
One comes back therefore to the suggestion that the University, with its highly skilled technical staff of undoubted standing and its specialized equipment, both normally utilized for teaching, might be equipped to tackle the requisite Commercial Testing.
The Tests would be made and the certificates signed, by the qualified staff and not, as one speaker has suggested, as part of the student training.
This suggestion is bound up with the future development of the University which is a matter largely beyond our control. For more immediate use. I have another suggestion to make.
There are many firms and organisations in the Colony who already have small, and usually highly specialized, laboratories adapted to their own needs.
If this Society could compile a list of these organisations, detailing the facilities of each and their willingness and ability to undertake tests for others not so equipped, a very useful start might be made in enabling our members to have odd tests carried out when required.
In conclusion. I would ask the meeting to pass a very hearty vote of thanks to Dr. King for so ably opening this discussion."
GAMMON (MALAYA) LTD. OBTAIN A
CONTRACT IN HONG KONG.
We understand that the contract for the re-surfacing of the runways at Kai Tak Aerodrome was let to Gammon Malaya Ltd., who have started work with their usual efficiency and despatch. The contract includes the laying of a 21′′ thick Bit-mac course, with a 1′′ thick impervious asphalt covering, and the necessary stormwater drainage ducts and culverts.
Gammon ‹ Malaya) Ltd. have undertaken to do the work within six months, commencing 1st November, 1949. Since the area to be surfaced comprises over 200,000 sq. yds. of each course with an additional 45,000 sq. yds. of 31′′-1′′ feather coat, quite a considerable amount of equipment will be required.
This equipment is being brought up from the Com- pany's stores in Singapore and consists of a stone crushing plant with primary and secondary crushers and vibrating screens, all electrically driven; a large production Barber- Greene drying and mixing plant, and spreaders and tampers of similar manufacture.
The granite face allotted to the Company by the Public Works Department is at Ngau Chi Wan, just beyond the eastern limit of Kai Tak. This quarry had never been worked before and a great deal of preliminary work of stripping the overburden will have to be done. The Com- pany estimates that they will be able to crush and screen up- words of 250 cu. yds. of 11" to dust stone per day. The preliminary work both at the quarry and at the airfield will take until the middle of December.
Similar work is being done by the Company at Changi Airport in Singapore, and the Company's trained men will be transferred to Hong Kong to operate the equipment and supervise the work. Mr. Lovett, Gammon's representative, will be in charge of the work.
With Geo. Wimpey & Co., Ltd. working on the Bank of China building and Gammon Malaya Ltd. working on the aerodrome, our own local contractors will have to look to their laurels when big jobs come up for tender in the future.
The use of the fluorescent tube for interior lighting is supplanting the incandescent bulb. See how well lit are the machines in the above illustration. PHILIPS TL FLUORESCENT TUBES are to be found in homes and factories, and are available in three standard colours
WHITE for general lighting DAYLIGHT for excellent colour matching WARMWHITE for cosiness
Ask for the booklet "PLANNED LIGHTING" from the Agents:-
MANNERS ENGINEERING LTD.
7 Queen's Road Central
Tel. 341744
58
"HOMELITE" Portable Gasoline Engine Driven Pumps for:
EXCAVATIONS,
MANHOLES,
FLOODED CELLARS, etc.
Sole Agents
INNISS & RIDDLE (CHINA) LTD.
Tel. 31711
67 69 Des Voeux Road, C.
HONG KONG.
Cables: POWERFUL
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