Developing Australian Naval Forces

Author

A.N. Other

Subjects

History - general, History - pre-Federation

Tags

Royal Australian Navy, Creswell

RAN Ships

None noted.

Publication

June 2011 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)

 

In celebrating the centenary of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) we should recognise the

RAN was born at a most turbulent time in our recent history. The turn of the 19 th century

being the subject of physical change with the end of the long established and stable

Victorian age and its associated shorter Edwardian era but more importantly was the

fundamental change from a traditional to a modernistic society. The traditional being urban

based, accepting of autocratic rule and focused on long developed cultural values; while the

centralised modern, is better educated, more aggressive and places values on technology

and freedom of choice and expression. The resulting friction from these opposite camps

causing sparks that ignited Europe into the catastrophic First World War. In recent times in

the Middle East and North Africa we continue to witness this form of conflict. Australia has

also witnessed remarkable changes in the political landscape with the decline of

homogenous empires and their replacement by smaller democratic states giving rise to a

shift in allegiances.

 

To fully appreciate the events leading up to 11 July 1911 an understanding is required of the

continuum of naval history from the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. At that stage the

European maritime powers of Britain, France, Holland, Portugal and Spain were still

engaged in a battle for supremacy over control of their valuable trading posts in the Indian

and Pacific regions. Direct European seaborne trading links with this vast area was first

promoted in the 17 th century by the Portuguese, who without making exclusive territorial

claims established a system of fortified trading posts stretching from Lisbon via the southern

tip of Africa to India, China and Japan with the Indian port city of Goa becoming capital of

this eastern empire. They were followed by the Dutch whose main possessions were the

Cape Colony, Ceylon and most of the East Indies with their capital at Batavia. France also

laid claim to possessions on the east coast of Africa, the island of Mauritius and along the

eastern seaboard of India with a Governor General at Pondicherry.

 

Other than an early foothold at Bombay, which was ceded from the Portuguese in 1661,

Britain preoccupied with its American colonies was a late comer to the east. As British

maritime power grew so did the desire to recover from the loss of her North American trade

and seek alternative opportunities. Most importantly by the late 1700s she had prised most

of India from the French and by 1796 both the Cape Colony and Ceylon had been ceded

from the Dutch. In 1810 the French annexed the Netherlands which brought the Dutch East

Indies under French control. Britain acted in haste and in 1811 secured Java and shortly

after the remainder of the Dutch East Indies possessions and the last significant French

possession of Mauritius (Isle de France) was taken in 1810. With the end of the Napoleonic

era the Netherlands regained its independence and its East Indies colonies were restored.

Through treaty negotiations with local rulers Singapore became a British possession in 1819

and Hong Kong in 1842.

 

Much of this vast British Eastern Empire was administered by a Governor-General at

Calcutta who was supported by land and naval forces. The Royal Navy established a number

of locally based squadrons usually under command of a commodore afloat, but when

upgraded to flag rank accompanying shore headquarters were provided and in time these

became known as naval stations. Commanders were appointed to squadrons operating off

the Cape Colony and the East Indies based at Madras early in the 1800s and a China

squadron was later established initially headquartered at Singapore. A South American

squadron (later known as the Pacific Station) was also established at Valparaiso in 1826 and

later in 1859 transferred to Esquimalt at Vancouver Island. It was relatively late in these

developments in 1859 that Australian could boast its own Station which then included New

Zealand.

 

Terra Australis Incognita an immense land stretching south of the equator towards

Antarctica was strategically placed at the juxtaposition of the Indian and Pacific oceans but

remained largely unknown and unwanted. The Dutch disliked what they found, the French

were hesitant, the Portuguese remained content in their Timorese enclave and the Spanish

were preoccupied with their American and Philippine colonies. It was left to the more

adventurous British to claim this land when in need of replacement for the lost American

penal settlements and also provide a strategic position from where watch could be

maintained upon important Dutch and Spanish interests.

Royal Naval forces came to Australia in 1788 with Captain Arthur Phillip’s First Fleet and

retained a continuous presence for the next 125 years until the flag of Admiral Sir George

King-Hall was lowered on 4 October 1913. However during its formative years the colonial

administration felt much neglected often having to rely on the presence of a single warship

with a chain of command extending from the Admiralty to the Commander-in- Chief of the

East Indies Station. To overcome these difficulties some small armed colonial vessels were

acquired to carry stores and transport troops, prisoners and passengers between various

settlements. These were usually manned by free men to avoid the risk of convict escapes. In

answer to pleas from Governor Macquarie for more economical naval ships which better

met the needs of the Colony the Admiralty purpose built two 10 gun, 220 ton brigs Her

Majesty’s Colonial Ships Emu and Kangaroo. Emu (I) never arrived as in November 1812 she

became victim of a heavily armed American privateer. Kangaroo arrived on station in

January 1814 and a replacement Emu (II) in February 1815.

 

While the early colonial governors had autocratic rule this only extended to areas under

their immediate command and the Admiralty jealously maintained charge of its ships.

Following much discontent with this command structure in 1821 the Admiralty instructed

Rear Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood commanding the East Indies Station to maintain a man-

of-war permanently at Port Jackson. In 1836 with deteriorating conditions in New Zealand

between settlers and Maori this was increased to two ships from the East Indies Station. In

1848 a new Australian division of the East Indies Station was created extending from 10

degrees South latitude to the Antarctic Circle at 66.5 degrees South latitude and from 75

degrees East longitude to 170 degrees West longitude. This covered a large portion of the

Indian Ocean, all Australia and New Zealand waters and most of the Melanesian and

Polynesian Islands. In 1838 the Royal Navy assisted by Royal Marines established an ill fated

settlement at Port Essington in Northern Australia, following disease and lack of trade this

was abandoned in 1849. The 1850s gold rush stimulated development with a rapid rise in

population leading to further demands to strengthen naval forces. The Admiralty finally

agreed to a separate Australian Naval Station and in March 1859 Commodore William Loring

hoisted his blue pennant in HMS Iris as senior officer of HM Ships on the Australian Station

independent of the Commander- in-Chief India. For the first two decades the new squadron

was considered a backwater, and it was not until 1885 when the position was upgraded,

with Rear Admiral Lord George Tyron in command flying his flag in the modern and well

armed cruiser HMS Nelson that the squadron became an effective fighting force. The

strength of the squadron was gradually increased and by the turn of the century it

comprised the 1 st class cruiser HMS Orlando, supported by four 3 rd class cruisers and three

gunboats. The status of the Australian Station was again reviewed in 1902 when it was

upgraded to a Vice Admiral’s command. In 1903 when the subsidy supporting the RN

Squadron was increased it grew to one 1 st class cruiser HMS Powerful, three 2 nd class

cruisers, five 3 rd class cruisers and three survey vessels which remained until the formation

of the RAN in 1911.

 

The Russian Navy had shown an interest in what was then known as New Holland with

numerous ship visits during the earlier part of the 19 th century and Captain Bellingshausen

used Port Jackson as a base before conducting his Antarctic circumnavigation. The Crimean

War 1854-1856 spilled over into the Pacific when a combined British and French squadron

besieged a smaller Russian force on the Kamchatka Peninsula where the allies landed but

suffered heavy casualties and were obliged to withdraw. This led to a scare that the

Russians might seek territorial gains in the South Pacific and launch an expedition upon the

Australian Colonies. The Russian fear was not finally allayed until May 1905 when the

Japanese Fleet destroyed the Russian China Fleet in the Straits of Tsushima. These events

supported by the British Government allowed the Admiralty to reduce capital ships from its

China Fleet. More perceptive minds could sense a shift in eastern naval supremacy with

Germany, Japan and the United States all rebuilding their naval forces.

 

The Colonies responded to the Russian threat through increased harbour fortifications and

by commissioning their own warships. While New South Wales and Tasmania had operated

a number of wooden sailing vessels for colonial service starting with the 44 ton schooner

Francis entering service in September 1793, these were not officially classified as a warships.

The Tasmanian Government did however acquire the small British built 12 ton torpedo boat

TB 191, shipped as deck cargo, arriving at Hobart in May 1884 and could claim to be the first

warship commissioned by the colonies. South Australia had a small 920 ton but heavily

armed cruiser Protector built in England boasting 1 x 8 inch gun and 5 x 6 inch guns, she

arrived in Port Adelaide in September 1884. The first warship built by an Australian Colonial

Government was a small 65 ton wooden ketch Spitfire armed with a 32 pounder swivel gun,

built for New South Wales was launched at Darling Harbour in April 1855. Victoria had a 580

ton sloop HMVS Victoria built in England armed with one 32 pounder and six smaller guns,

she arrived at Hobson’s Bay in May 1856. Queensland had the steel twin screw 360 ton

gunboat Gayundah again built in England, armed with 1 x 8 inch gun and 1 x 6 inch gun, she

arrived at Moreton Bay in March 1885. These were the origins of Australian State navies

which remained in place until Federation in 1901 when the naval assets of the individual

states came under the command of the Australian Commonwealth Government. Under the

terms of a 1902 Imperial Defence Conference further subsidies were intended to again

improve the strength of the Royal Naval Squadron, this however did not receive widespread

support especially from those seeking greater levels of independence. A further Imperial

Conference held in 1909 provided for three fleet units to be maintained in the Pacific – with

two units maintained by Britain, replacing the old East Indies and China Squadrons and one

by Australia replacing the Royal Naval Squadron in Australia. New Zealand continued to

provide a subsidy to the Royal Navy. Federation of the colonies in 1901 gave rise to

independent Australian armed forces and the creation of the Commonwealth Naval Force.

Following a period of consolidation the RAN was established in 1911 with RN forces

departing finally in 1913.

We cannot look into the mirror of our naval history without glimpsing the remarkable

William Rooke Creswell who first came to prominence as the commanding officer of firstly

South Australian and secondly Queensland naval forces. Creswell was an inconspicuous

Royal Naval lieutenant who being wounded in action had accepted early retirement to help

recuperate and take up farming in Australia. As this was not the anticipated success he took

the position as First Lieutenant on South Australia’s only naval vessel the formidable pocket

cruiser HMCS Protector. He was in command of this vessel when she saw action in the Boxer

Rebellion. Creswell visioned combined Australian naval forces working with but

independent of the Royal Navy and spoke against subsidising RN ships with resources better

deployed locally. His views were opposed by the Admiralty but found support with

politicians of nationalistic sentiment. Ultimately most of Creswell’s proposals came to

fruition and he can be said to be the ‘Father of the RAN’. His testimonial was seen in August

1914 when at the outbreak of world war Australian possessed a modern fleet well trained

and ready for active service. After the war a grateful nation was proud to acknowledge the

promotion of Vice Admiral Sir William Creswell, RAN.