- Author
- Gillett, Ross
- Subjects
- History - general, Early warships
- Tags
-
- RAN Ships
- None noted.
- Publication
- September 2023 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
By Ross Gillett
As an island nation, fleet arrivals and naval reviews have formed a major part of Australia’s naval history and tradition. Sydney Harbour and Port Phillip have provided the backdrop to the majority of the events, with the other capital city ports also hosting large concentrations of naval ships during both war and peace.
For the Royal Australian Navy, seven major Fleet Reviews have been held since 1911. The first was the arrival of the new Australian Fleet into Sydney Harbour on Saturday 4 October 1913. His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales reviewed a massed Australian Fleet in Port Phillip in 1920, and during 1938 Sydney hosted another impressive naval demonstration entitled ‘Fleet Week’. For the Navy’s Golden Jubilee in 1961, Fleet units sailed into Sydney Harbour in an impressive display of the naval tradition. Then in 1986 arrivals and reviews were held in most major ports in celebration of the RAN’s 75th Anniversary and in 1988 for the Bicentennial celebrations.
The last major Fleet Review, and the most recent, was held in Sydney during October 2013, in celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the newly created RAN Fleet comprising the battlecruiser Australia, three cruisers and three torpedo-boat destroyers.
The First Fleet 1788
The Royal Navy’s First Fleet sailed from England on 13 May 1787 for the ‘lands beyond the seas’ – Australia. The Fleet comprised two men-of-war, six convict ships and three store ships, carrying 550 officers, Royal Marines and ships’ crews and their families, plus 756 convicts (comprising 564 males and 192 females). The ships called into Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town, for fresh food supplies.
The fleet arrived at Botany Bay on the Australian east coast on 18-20 January 1788. However, this area was deemed to be unsuitable for settlement, so they proceeded north for Port Jackson. By nightfall on the 26th, Phillip’s convoy was safely at anchor in Sydney Cove. The arrival had been an extended event, with the embarked crews and the indigenous tribes of the Sydney region the only witnesses to this historic event.
The flagship Sirius was supported by the armed tender Supply, the store ships Fishburn, Borrowdale and Golden Grove plus the six convict ships, Alexander, Charlotte, Friendship, Lady Penrhyn, Prince of Wales and Scarborough. By July 1788, all these vessels except Sirius and Supply had departed for England.
Surprise ‘Review’ 1839
Throughout the 223 years of European settlement in Australia, Sydney Harbour has provided an almost perfect amphitheatre for most types of maritime events. From the mid-19th century, the numerous headlands and public gardens allowed excellent viewing of many important naval visits and events as both the colony and its naval presence developed.
One of the earliest opportunities to view a fleet of foreign warships on the harbour occurred in November 1839, when five American ships, comprising the United States Exploring Expedition, sailed unexpectedly through the Heads in the hours of darkness. The vessels included the sloops-of-war Vincennes (780 tons) and Peacock (650 tons), the brig Porpoise(230 tons), stores ship Relief (468 tons) and the schooners Flying Fish (96 tons) and Sea Gull (110 tons).
In command of the expedition was Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, who commented later on his arrival in Sydney: ‘Had war existed, we might, after firing the shipping and reducing the greater part of the town to ashes, have affected a retreat before daybreak in perfect safety’.
After seventeen days in port the ships sailed for Antarctica. As a result of the surprise visit of the Americans, moves were begun to construct a credible harbour defence, including Fort Denison which opened in 1857, and later, shore gun emplacements on many of the prominent headlands.
The ‘Flying Squadron’ 1869
In addition to the deployed ships of the Australia Station, Australian ports also provided the perfect setting for the visits by two Royal Navy Squadrons on world cruises during the years 1869 and 1881. On 25 November 1869, the ships of the ‘Flying Squadron’ arrived in their first Australian port, Melbourne. The local press reported: ‘Arrived off Melbourne. Found the Scylla here. Knocked about in a gale of wind for two days waiting for the Endymion, then the Admiral got impatient and made a signal for the ships to proceed into Melbourne except the Scylla which had to remain to look for the Endymion. Fleet hove to and took in pilots. Nothing worthy of note about the Melbourne heads except the entrance is very narrow and the harbour a very large one. You see some splendid large ships here. As soon as we anchored, we had invitations making us honorary members of all the clubs, balls, parties, picnics etc.’
The visit by the six ships of the Particular Service or Flying Squadron was described by the Sydney Morning Heraldas: ‘The most glorious sight ever witnessed in Port Jackson and with the pyramids of proud white canvas tight swollen with Britain’s pride’. Upwards of 40,000 ‘colonials’ made their way to the harbour foreshores to view the might and majesty of Britannia.
Sailing from Portsmouth on 18 July 1869 for a round-the-world cruise, this early form of ‘flag-waving’ was also designed as a major training deployment and a test of the capabilities of these new steam-driven wooden warships undertaking long voyages under sail alone. To facilitate the training aspect, additional crew were embarked in all ships, much in excess of the normal ships’ complements.
A report in the Sydney Mail described the arrival on Monday, 12 December 1869, inter alia: ‘Arrived off Sydney Heads after five days’ pleasant sail from Melbourne. It must have been a fine sight for the crowd of people assembled on the heads to see the squadron beating up under all plain sail with a number of yachts sailing around them…at half past four anchored in the sound or outer anchorage the tide not being high enough to admit of our going up that evening’.
Under the command of Rear Admiral Hornby the six ships included the flagship and screw frigate HMS Liverpool(completed 1863/2656 BM tons) and HM Ships Endymion (1866/3200 BM tons), Liffey (1856/3891 BM tons) and Phoebe (1859/3677 BM tons), all screw frigates, and the screw corvettes Barrosa (1856/2187 BM tons) and Scylla (1862/2302 BM tons). Aboard Phoebe was Midshipman William Rooke Creswell, who would later serve with a number of Australia’s colonial navies, the Commonwealth Naval Forces from 1901 and in 1911 become the RAN’s first Naval Member.
The Sydney Mail report continued: ‘Squadron weighed under steam and proceeded up the harbour for Farm Cove. We took the Endymion in tow. The moving of the squadron was a signal for every boat in the harbour that could boast of a sail to get under ‘weigh’ and
follow the fleet which steamed slowly in two lines for the anchorage. Farm Cove is a little land-locked cove just large enough to hold about ten ships. Found here HMS Challenger and HMS Virago. The harbour is very pretty, and you can hear the band in the Botanical Gardens playing of an evening from any of the ships.
‘The town is very different to Melbourne it being much older and the people not such a go-ahead lot but, however, we were very well received. The public picnic was rather a failure as it rained nearly all the time (this picnic was to Clontarf, the place where the Prince was shot at).
‘Christmas Day came at last, not such a day as you might expect in England it being very hot, although the inhabitants of Sydney sent a large steamer full of beef, vegetables fruit etc. for the blue jacket Xmas dinner’.
Largest of the group was the 3891-ton Liffey, Scylla the smallest. The youngest ship was Endymion, built in September 1866 and Liffey and Scylla, the oldest, in service since May and June 1856. By the time the ships returned home in November 1870, all vessels had sailed approximately 53,000 nautical miles.
‘We left Sydney under steam followed by steamers and the same sort of procession of boats as when we arrived. After we rounded the Heads, we made sail with all the bands of the fleet playing Auld Lang Syne. Had a very fair passage to Hobart Town, seven and a half days. [On Sunday 2 Jan] Arrived off Hobart Town. Crowds of people down by the waterside watching us come in. In fact, the churches were empty, and they say the bishop cut his sermon short by saying, “Dearly beloved brethren the Flying Squadron are coming in and I must be off to see them”.
‘Eight days later, on the 10th: Very light winds and a steamer was advertised to follow the squadron down Storm Bay. The steamer was crowded and the wind being light the flagship nearly went onshore when the steamer gallantly towed her clear. But as we sailed down the bay the wind freshened, and we fell foul of the Scylla bashing all her starboard side in and doing such damage to our head gear. But the most unfortunate part of all the accident was whilst furling sails afterwards a man, one Thomas Beaver, fell from aloft on top of two marines. Beaver was never conscious after and died in three days. The marines were much hurt. We made a good passage to Lyttleton – eight days, nothing’.
The Detached Squadron 1881
Twelve years later memories of the previous visit by the ‘Flying Squadron’ were rekindled with the arrival of five all iron, screw and sail warships, comprising the Detached Squadron. More than 100,000 people viewed the arrival into Sydney Harbour as the ships proceeded from the Heads to Farm Cove. Ships of the Australia Station provided the welcome afloat, with the local flagship of the Australia Station, Wolverine, the sloop Miranda and the schooners Conflict, Renard and Sandfly present for the 14 July 1881 entry.
The squadron consisted of the flagship and screw frigate Inconstant (completed 1869/5780 tons) and four relatively modern screw corvettes, Carysfort (1879/2380 tons), Cleopatra (1878/2380 tons), Bacchante (1878/4070 tons) and Tourmaline (1876/2120 tons). Captain of Inconstant was Charles Cooper Penrose Fitzgerald.
Sailing from Spithead on 17 October 1880 the warships conducted port visits to Vigo (24-31 Oct), Madeira (6-10 Nov), St Vincent (20 Nov), Montevideo (22 Dec-9 Jan 1881), the Falkland Islands (24-25 Jan) and the Cape of Good Hope (16 Feb-9 Apr). The first Australian landfall was Melbourne on 22 May, then Adelaide on 9 July, Sydney between 14 July and 9 August and finally, Brisbane, 16 to 20 August. Departing from Queensland, the ships proceeded to Fiji (3-10 Sep), Yokohama (21 Oct-1 Nov), Kobe (4-12 Nov), Shimonoseki (14-16 Nov), Shanghai (23 Nov), Amoy (15 Dec), Hong Kong (20 Dec-11-Feb 1882), Singapore (2 Mar), Anjer in Java (6-8 Mar), Capetown again (16 May), St Vincent (20-22 June) and finally, back to Spithead on 10 October 1882.
Embarked in Bacchante and undergoing midshipman training were two Royal visitors, Prince Albert and Prince George. Prince George returned to Sydney again in mid-1901, sailing aboard the Royal Yacht HMS Ophir as the Duke of York. The arrival of the ships of the Detached Squadron marked the second Royal visit to Australia, with HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria, aboard the wooden screw-corvette Galatea in early 1868.
As part of the visit to Sydney, units of the Detached Squadron, together with Wolverine, staged a sham fight with Fort Denison as part of the visit programme. Inconstant would eventually survive an amazing 87 years and after long harbour duties from 1898 was not broken up until 1956.
The ‘Unknown Review’ 1890s
The New South Wales Naval Force was not a large ‘naval force’ in any sense of the word, but in 1889 it reached its peak, with six vessels staging a rare ‘fleet’ review. The assembly of the ships was staged after the annual or Easter exercises, which most of the colonial navies held each year. For the ‘unknown review’ of the early 1890s the force included the torpedo boats Acheron and Avernus, plus the auxiliaries Ohm, Miner, Neptune and Rhea.
However, the review was not held in the busy parts of Sydney Harbour, but in the almost unpopulated waters of the adjacent Middle Harbour. Here the warships conducted a series of manoeuvres, practice torpedo runs and landings ashore. The manoeuvres also involved the ‘fleet’ challenging an imaginary enemy at Sydney Heads and ‘attacking’ the forts located along the harbour’s foreshores.
The most powerful units of the ‘fleet’ were Acheron and Avernus. Preceding their British built contemporaries in the Queensland, Tasmanian and Victorian colonial navies by more than six years, the boats were armed with two modern 14-inch ‘fish’ torpedoes, one each dropped from the port and starboard sides. The remaining units on show were an odd collection of harbour craft including a hopper barge, two tugs and a steam launch, all classified as auxiliary gunboats. Onboard Ohm and Rhea field guns were mounted aft of the boats’ superstructures. These were probably placed ashorefor the Naval Artillery Volunteers to fire their weapons. Neptune and Miner carried their guns at the bow.
The Auxiliary Squadron 1891
The Auxiliary Squadron, consisting of HM Ships Wallaroo, Mildura and Ringarooma, (cruisers), and Karrakatta (torpedo gunboat) and with HM Ships Katoomba and Tauranga (cruisers), and Boomerang (torpedo gunboat) to be placed in reserve, arrived in Sydney on 5 September 1891, to begin operations in Australasian waters. The squadron, designed as a counter to ships of the Russian Navy, was a boost to the existing Imperial Squadron (comprising varying numbers of ships) already based in Sydney. All six Australian colonies, plus New Zealand, contributed to the upkeep of the Squadron on a population basis. The arrival was another gala affair for Sydney Harbour with a tumultuous welcome from the local citizens on all headlands and in Farm Cove.
The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday, 7 September 1891, described the event: ‘A spectacle well worth viewing must have been the verdict of the crowds who, having braved the discomfort of rain, watched the entry of the seven ships of the Australian (Auxiliary) Squadron into Port Jackson, on Saturday. Heavy showers of rain, an occasional peal of thunder, and clouds that overhung both city and harbour up to lunch-time, afforded ominous indications of what the afternoon had in store, and doubtless deterred not a few from venturing out, but happily by three o’clock the rain-clouds had cleared away, and a glorious sunshine had given to the capital city and to the water which washed its shores that beauty of appearance for which Sydney is so famed.
‘The New South Wales flagship Wolverine steamed towards the Heads, and saluted the Admiral with 13 guns, and the English warship Curacoa, lying at anchor off Garden Island, fired a similar salute as the Admiral’s ship rounded Bradley’s – compliments which were acknowledged with a salute of seven guns. Beyond this ceremonial did not extend, and as a matter of fact it was not necessary that it should be extended, inasmuch as the ships of the first Australian fleet possess in themselves features of absorbing interest.
‘They are indeed magnificent specimens of the shipbuilder’s art, and possession of them may justly be esteemed a source of honest pride to the Australian. Many were the admiring remarks made as on Saturday afternoon they passed between the Heads in single line, and then forming into two lines off Shark Island, Katoomba, Tauranga, and Wallaroo, and Ringarooma, Mildura, Boomerang, and Karrakatta steamed slowly to their anchorage off Farm Cove. Of a certainty what will come when those splendid engines of war, over the possession of which Australia is making glad, will become practically obsolete by reason of the never-ceasing developments of inventive genius, but for the present, at any rate, they stand at the head of a class of ship that was designed but yesterday, not for aggression but for defensive warfare, and which by reason of great speed and strength, and quick-firing armament, is eminently suited for the work marked out. The very appearance of the warships which entered port on Saturday is suggestive of great speed, and equally great strength.
‘The fast cruisers Katoomba, Ringarooma, Tauranga, Mildura and Wallaroo are of the following dimensions: Length between perpendiculars, 265 ft; breadth, extreme, 41 ft; draught, extreme, 15 ft 6 in; displacement in tons, 2575: indicated horse-power, 7500; maximum speed (measured speed), forced draught for a short period, under favourable conditions, 19 knots per hour; maximum speed, natural draught, 16.5 knots per hour; coal complement, 300 tons; deck armour over machinery space, 2 in.
‘The ships are built of steel throughout, and are provided with a cellular double bottom through a considerable portion of their length. The armament of each ship consists of eight 4.7 in. quick-firing guns, eight 3 pdr. quick-firing guns, one 7 pdr. m.l.r. gun (boat and field), four 0.45 in. five-barrel Nordenfeldts, besides 12 Whitehead torpedoes and a proportion of electrical and submarine mining stores. The complement of officers and men carried is about 217.
‘The two torpedo gunboats, Boomerang and Karrakatta, are of the following dimensions: Length, between perpendiculars, 230 ft.; breadth, extreme, 27 ft.; extreme draught at keel, 8 ft. 6in.; extreme draught at screws, 10 ft. 6 in.; displacement in tons, 735; indicated horse-power, 4500; maximum speed (measured miles, forced draught for a short period, under favourable conditions), 21 knots an hour; maximum speed (measured mile, forced draught for a short period, under natural conditions), 19 knots an hour. It is estimated that under favourable conditions, the radius of action at 10 knots per hour, with the normal complement of 100 tons of coal, is 2500 nm. The total coal capacity of the bunkers is, however, 160 tons, and the whole of this could be filled in case of emergency. The armament consists of two 4.7 in. quick-firing guns and four 3-pounder quick-firing guns. Each ship carries eight Whitehead torpedoes. The complement of officers and men is about 91.
‘The vessels had no sooner made fast to their moorings than they were surrounded by numerous small craft and closely studied, but beyond this inspection did not go. The Mayor (Mr. W.P. Manning), with the Town Clerk (Mr. H.J. Daniels) and a number of the city aldermen, including Mr. Jos. Martin, Mr. A.J. Riley, and Mr. C.E. Jeanneret, visited the flagship, and gave greeting to the Admiral and to Captain Bickford and his officers, and were afforded the opportunity of inspecting the vessel.
‘Each of the ships was in turn boarded by a representative of the Herald, and inquiries made as to their seagoing qualities, and from each was received such an account as cannot fail to give satisfaction to the owners. A splendid sea boat, steady as a rock, easily handled, and beautiful engines was in brief the verdict of each concerning his vessel, and other information was gleaned which goes to show that the doubts engendered by the discovery of defects when the official trial tests were made, and by the reports that the decks were never dry when at sea, and that the stokehold and engine room were insufferably hot, are absolutely without foundation. When officers and men alike are pleased with their ship, then it may fairly be taken for granted that the ship is a good one. It has been arranged that the squadron shall leave on Saturday, the 19th instant, for Melbourne, and after a couple of weeks’ stay there proceed to Adelaide, and then to Hobart. During this week each vessel will be docked at Cockatoo. With the exception of the Boomerang, one of the boilers of which got injured between Thursday Island and Brisbane, the attention required in dock is only such as is generally required after a long voyage. In the case of the boiler referred to, the water was through some oversight or other allowed to get too low, and the crown in consequence suffered. The vessels were all thrown open to inspection yesterday afternoon between the hours of 1 and 4, when they were thronged by admiring crowds. They will be open daily between the same hours during their stay in port except on Sunday next and when the presence of visitors would be inconvenient.’
The Great White Fleet 1908
The visit of United States Navy’s battleships to Australia in August and September 1908 may be seen as a calculated step on the part of the Australian Prime Minister Alfred Deakin to ‘nudge’ the British Government into a position of support for Australia’s naval aspirations, while at the same time furthering the cause of closer US/Australian co-operation.
The ‘Great White Fleet’ as it was popularly known, consisted of sixteen pre-Dreadnought battleships – practically the whole US battle-fleet. The names of the ships give an instant geography lesson of the United States: Connecticut, Kansas, Vermont, Minnesota, Georgia, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Louisiana, Ohio, Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky and Kearsage. Sailing with the fleet were several auxiliaries including a hospital ship.
The main purpose of the world cruise of the fleet was, primarily, to show the flag. In addition, however, the fleet became an instrument of US foreign policy designed to overawe the Japanese who were, following their defeat of Russia in 1904, the chief naval rivals to America in the Pacific. When Prime Minister Deakin invited the Fleet to include Australia on their itinerary, the British authorities were very concerned because, by strict protocol, the invitation should have been issued through the British Foreign Office. However, the British authorities, faced with the fact that the invitation had already been issued, overcame their consternation at Australia’s show of independence and confirmed Deakin’s invitation. The enthusiasm of the public welcome given to the Fleet in Sydney and later in Melbourne fully justified the invitation. The welcome in Sydney was a dress rehearsal for the arrival of the first RAN Fleet unit in 1913.
The ‘Great White Fleet’ arrived in Sydney on 20 August 1908. Sydney had been transformed with $50,000 worth of bunting, wood and plaster. Plaster eagles perched on every lamppost in Pitt Street, renamed American Avenue for the week of the visit. Plaster arches were also built along the street, each topped by either a model of a battleship or a WELCOME sign. A replica of the Statue of Liberty rose to a height of five stories in front of the Daily Telegraph building.
The actual arrival of the fleet was well reported in the press. They spoke of the ‘wave of enthusiasm which swept around the harbour as the fleet made its stately entry’, which was witnessed by nearly 500,000 people. Franklin Matthews, an American reporter who travelled with the fleet, commented: ‘It is almost impossible to put into words anything that will tell the story of the enthusiasm and the sentiment that inspired a demonstration which overwhelmed not only those who received it but those who gave it also…On every point up the harbour there seemed to be a band playing The Star-Spangled Banner and from headland after headland, hill upon hill, slope after slope, there came a burst of cheering which lasted all the way in…and lasted the whole week…’
Connecticut, the fleet flagship, was moored off Kirribilli Point with the other ships in parallel lines down the harbour, brightly illuminated at night. The visit was jampacked with marches, ceremonies and speeches by the 13,000 visiting sailors and their hosts. In one amazing spectacle at the Sydney Cricket Ground 7000 Sydney School children formed the words ‘Hail Columbia’ and crossed American and Australian flags on the oval, with their own bodies taking the place of paints!
In addition, the sailors marched and attended a State Banquet. There were numerous side excursions to the Blue Mountains and other tourist spots and as well some upsetting incidents during the exhausting visit – reports of a sailor from the Kentucky threatening some locals with a razor and complaints from some local merchants that some sailors were using Confederate money. However, these incidents were played down. Reflecting on the busy week, Matthews continued: ‘The reddest blood that runs in Anglo-Saxon veins runs here and all this energy had apparently been bottled up for weeks and months and let loose with a volcanic force when the fleet arrived…’
…After another impressive visit to Melbourne, the ‘Great White Fleet’ sailed from Port Phillip on 5 September, but the infamous rolling seas of the Great Australian Bight did not help the sailors’ physical state. Luckily, however, the Fleet had to call into Albany, Western Australia, to replenish coal. This operation took six days and although the local authorities of Albany apologised for not having the entertainment resources of Sydney and Melbourne, that was exactly what the Americans wanted – a rest from the social whirl. However, the visit of the ‘Great White Fleet’ was not just a social success. The visit gave notice to the British authorities that Australia’s desire for her own fleet was genuine. The visit also showed the Australian people the greatest number of battleships they had ever seen – a fact that somewhat embarrassed the British. The visit of the fleet was one step towards the transition from the Commonwealth Naval Force to the Royal Australian Navy (1911) and did much to engender popular support for that cause. Another success of the visit was the contact it provided between the Australian and American people.
The Australian Fleet Unit 1913
The entry of the first RAN Fleet Unit into Sydney Harbour on 4 October 1913 illustrated a number of significant points in Australia’s defence policies and naval plans at that time. These included the local political consensus undertaken in Australia in response to increasing international tension which in less than a year’s time would manifest itself in the outbreak of the Great War. However, the most obvious thing illustrated in the Sydney press at the time was the tremendous popular enthusiasm which the entry of the RAN created.
The new fleet consisted of Australia, a 20,000-ton battlecruiser, the light cruisers Sydney, Melbourne and Encounter (a light cruiser on loan until Brisbane was completed) and three torpedo-boat destroyers, Parramatta, Yarra and Warrego. The people of Sydney congregated at every vantage point to see the fleet’s arrival. The crowd was especially heavy at South Head: ‘Great armies of sightseers…the tram service on the south-head line was dreadfully congested. Every car looked like a hive of bees packed to suffocation. The roofs of the cars were not crowded, only because after the visit of the American Great White Fleet new regulations forbidding such practice were introduced.’
The Sydney Mail continued: ‘The memory of 16 American battleships had taken the edge of novelty from naval demonstration but that was hardly the point.
‘The sight of the fleet meant more to the Australian people than the visit of any foreign fleet. It was the public’s expression of Australian patriotism ships of defence bought in love of country and empire…’
The arrival of the fleet was witnessed by ‘many thousands’ ashore and afloat. Those ashore were congregated not just at South Head but also at Farm Cove and Macquarie Point where the scene was ‘picturesque and animated and the popular enthusiasm unbounded…’
Also, on the north side of the harbour ‘all the headlands…were thickly thronged and there would have been more on Bradley’s Head and Georges Head…had the tram service been able to cope…’ In fact, people were on headlands as far south as Maroubra and Long Bay. These spectators however were to be disappointed because the entry of the Fleet was calculated to stir the imagination and create an impact, so the ships stayed away from the coast.
Weather for the entry into the harbour was perfect: ‘the sun…shining brightly and the harbour waters…as peaceful as a lake…’ One slightly jarring moment occurred during the fleet’s entry when a man ascended in a balloon at Watson’s Bay and proceeded to throw out ‘bombs’ in order to demonstrate the possibilities of balloons in wartime. However, this spectacle only held ‘for a minute or two the attention of the people who in their thousands were crowding the foreshores and the boats that lay within the harbour…’ Australia (the largest warship to ever enter the harbour) was described as ‘majestic and beautiful, yet a grim portentous thing.’ In a sense, this remark could equally apply to the fleet as a whole. The entry of the fleet was a brilliant spectacle but, equally, it was a sign that the international situation was tensing and preparing for what would be known as the Great War.
St George’s Sound 1914
Not exactly a Fleet Review, but a mighty fleet, nonetheless, at anchor in St George’s Sound, Albany, Western Australia. Known as the first Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) Convoy, the force comprised 42 ships, comprising four naval and 38 merchant ships, 20,000 troops and 7500 horses. The convoy crossed the Indian Ocean for the Middle East and then to the European area of operations.
On 1 November 1914 the first ANZAC convoy sailed, protected by the cruisers Melbourne, Sydney and HMS Minotaur, and the Japanese cruiser Ibuki. Earlier, another convoy of ten troop transports had crossed the Tasman Sea withIbuki and HMS Pyramus, to join the convoy at Albany, the largest ever to leave Australia up until that time. The New Zealand and Australian convoys merged in King George Sound on the extreme SW corner of Australia. The entire convoy anchored in the Sound and came into the Princess Royal Harbour in twos and threes, to take on water, coal and provisions. Troops aboard the transports were transported ashore for training.
During transit, Sydney destroyed the German cruiser SMS Emden at the Cocos Islands, the first ship-to-ship action by the RAN. The AIF was initially sent to British-controlled Egypt, to pre-empt any attack by the Ottoman Empire and with a view to opening another front against the Central Powers. His Majesty’s Australian Transport (HMAT) A3 Orvieto (12,130 gross tons, with a cruising speed of 15 knots), was owned by the Orient SN Co Ltd, London and leased by the Commonwealth of Australia until 29 December 1914. As part of the first AIF convoy, Orvieto also transported the crew from the beached raider Emden. The prisoners were offloaded in Egypt and imprisoned.