Читать книгу Harbour Tales: Book 1 - David Hobson - Страница 3

On the west coast of the island of Spudina was the City of Mandville, which had a large, natural harbour. The harbour was very busy with ships, barges, tugs, cranes, trucks and planes. It was controlled by the Harbour Master, Dr. Diana Davenport, who was known as ‘She Who Must Be Obeyed’.

Dr. Diana Davenport was tall with red hair and was dressed in a black jacket, dark grey skirt and black shoes. She made sure everything that needed to be done was done, and that everyone in the harbour was in the right place at the right time.

At the entrance to the harbour was the Mandville Harbour Bridge, which allowed cars and trains to go between the City and the northern part of the island. Ships had to pass under the bridge as they entered the harbour and as they left to go out to sea. People from all over the world knew of the beautiful bridge and many came to photograph it when they visited Mandville.

Around the south and east sides of the harbour were lots of tourist attractions such as museums, theatres, restaurants, a market and hotels. The north shore was more industrial with special areas called terminals for grain, oil, coal, chemicals and timber. There was also a huge area specifically for containers.

Dr Diana Davenport with Beryl and Brenda beneath the Harbour Bridge

These containers were filled with all sorts of products being sent to or coming from other parts of the world. Trains and trucks constantly brought the containers from around Spudina to be loaded onto special barges. They also collected containers of items being brought to Spudina.

Huge cranes were needed to load and unload the containers from the ships. One such crane was Granville. He swung his big, strong arm out over the ship and lifted up the containers one by one and then, carefully placed them on the back of a large truck or train. Granville had to work very fast because the container ships needed to be unloaded and reloaded so they could get back out to sea and on to their next destination. Granville was known as ‘Grumpy’ because he often shouted at everyone if they were not doing what he thought they should be doing. “Move that truck. Fasten those chains faster. Get that engine out of my way.” But, deep down, Grumpy Granville was a really hard worker and was always ready to help anyone whenever he was needed. It was just his determination for speed and efficiency that made him sound angry. Really, he was a gentle giant.

Grumpy Granville working hard

Stan was a truck that pulled a trailer. Granville placed a container onto Stan’s trailer and he drove off to deliver the contents. But, Stan had a rival. Derek the diesel engine was always teasing Stan.

“I am much stronger and more powerful so I can pull more containers than you,” he said.

“Ah yes,” said Stan. “But, you can only take the containers to stations and then you still need trucks like me and my little brother, Trevor, to take the items from the station to the stores.”

Stan and Derek liked to tease each other because, secretly, they each knew that they had to rely on each other. If they didn’t, Dr. Diana Davenport would have words to say to them both.

Stan and Derek chatting after being loaded up

The harbour also had lots of other characters. There were Beryl and Brenda, the water taxis, or bobbing busses as they were lovingly known, and there was Marina, the whale-watching boat whose job it was to take people on trips to see the whales passing the harbour out at sea. Sydney the submarine, retired from the Navy, attracted people to see what life might be like under the water, while Doris, the Dinner Cruise Boat, gave people an opportunity to eat as they sailed around the harbour in the evenings.

There were also other characters such as Samantha, the seaplane, and Harry, the helicopter, as well as a variety of visiting ships, vehicles and trains. Life was never dull in Mandville Harbour and there were plenty of tales to tell.

Harry, Samantha and Marina