Naval Historical Society of Australia

Preserving Australia's Naval History

You are here: Home / Archives for Article topics / Naval history / Ship histories and stories

Ship histories and stories

Occasional Paper 64: HMCS Protector – 1900 to the Present

October 2019

By Kingsley Perry, Committee member, Naval Historical Society of Australia

Occasional Paper Number 62 about the navy in South Australia from colonial days included reference to the acquisition of HMCS Protector in 1884 and her service in South Australia until 1900.  She was then offered up to the imperial government as part of the expedition to China and the Boxer Rebellion.

She joined the ‘Eight Nation Alliance’ to protect their interest in China, temporarily commissioned as HMS Protector.  It was thought that her shallow draft would be useful, but that turned out not to be a particularly useful attribute, but she carried out useful work in surveying and despatching.  She returned to Australia in November 1900.  In 1901 Protector was absorbed into the Commonwealth of Australia Naval Force.

She was then used as a training ship until becoming part of the new Royal Australian Navy in 1911.  Now as HMAS Protector, she was modified as a patrol vessel and as a tender to the warship HMAS Cerberus.  At the start of World War I she became parent/tender to the submarines AE1 and AE2, and in August 1914 accompanied them to German New Guinea waters.  When the German colonies surrendered in September, Protector remained in Rabaul as a port guard ship, and then returned to Australia with HMAS Fantome in October 1914.

In October 1915 Protector sailed to the Cocos Islands for two months to investigate the salvage of SMS Emden.  She then returned to Melbourne to resume tender duties for Cerberus, and also acted as a minesweeper in Victorian waters.  In 1921 she was renamed HMAS Cerberus II and was used as a tender for the Flinders Naval Depot.

HMCS Protector 1884, RAN Image

In 1924 the old Protector finished her career as a warship.  Her armaments, turrets and engines were sold and she was converted to a lighter.  She was sold in 1931 and renamed Sidney, as a wool lighter.  Her service in war, however, was not yet over.

In 1943 she was requisitioned by the US Army and taken north.  However, on the way she was damaged during a collision with a tug and was abandoned on a beach near Gladstone, Queensland.  There she lay, her life seemingly well and truly over.  But there was still some signs of life left in the old hulk yet.

The hulk was purchased for the princely sum of ten pounds by Captain Christian Poulson who owned the Heron Island tourist resort in the Great Barrier Reef.  It was refloated and taken to Heron Island to be scuttled and used as a breakwater.  It is still there today, lying on the reef crest at the entrance to the harbour.

Poulson established a tourist hotel on Heron Island in 1932.  By 1943, at the time he acquired what remained of the old Protector, the island was declared a national park.  At that time the resort comprised a large main building, some cabins, a tennis court, and water treatment facilities.  When the war ended, Poulson opened up tours, and founded Barrier Reef Airways to provide a weekly Catalina flying boat service from Brisbane.  In 1950 a marine research station was established, and marine research and education continues as a major aspect of the island’s activities.  The resort was taken over by P&O Australian Resorts in 1980, has been renovated a number of times, and is a popular tourist destination.

The deteriorated and rusted hulk of the Protector clearly marks the entrance to the channel to the small harbour, and is one of the first sights for visitors as they arrive at the island.  The management of the resort goes to good lengths to educate visitors about the history of this remarkable ship.

Other pieces of the Protector are preserved elsewhere.  Her stern 6-inch breech-loading gun is outside TS Adelaide at the Birkenhead Naval Deport in Birkenhead, South Australia.  A 4-inch quick firing gun is on display outside the Elizabeth and Salisbury Navy Club in Elizabeth, South Australia.  The ship’s wheel is on display at the RAN Heritage Centre in Garden Island, Sydney.

Wreck of HMCS Protector, Image by Kobus & Lorraine Malan

HMAS Kiama 1944 – 1946, HMNZS Kiama 1952 – 1976

By Dr J. K. Haken

The development of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was restricted by financial constraints, exaggerated by the onset of the Great Depression and Recovery Years. The situation changed with the deterioration of European conditions, culminating in war. A massive programme of construction of small ships was undertaken. Foremost was the construction of 60 minesweepers, also called corvettes; 36 were ordered by the RAN, 20 by the British Admiralty (which became RAN ships) and four by the Royal Indian Navy.

It had been long desired to produce a general purpose vessel of about 500 tons and while the minesweepers were of greater tonnage, they showed the ability of local industry. In February 1938, as European conditions worsened, the need for a general purpose vessel was realised by the RAN with the Director of Engineering, Rear Admiral P. E. McNeil, in July 1938 given the task of planning a vessel nominally of 500 tons, a speed of 10 knots and a range of 2000 nautical miles. A similarity with the Admiralty Bangor class minesweeper has been observed.

The first minesweeper constructed was HMAS Bathurst, the keel being laid on 10 February 1940 and commissioning on 6 December 1940. This was the first of the Bathurst class vessels. HMAS Kiama was a late construction, being the 57th of the series. The vessel was built by Evans Deakin and Co. Ltd. Brisbane. A manufacturers plate is held by Blue Haven Nursing Home, Kiama1. The keel was laid on 2 November 1942 and the ship commissioned on 3 July 1943. The general characteristics of Kiama are shown in Table 1.

Displacement 650 tons
Length 186 feet 2 inches
Beam 31 feet
Draught 8 feet 6 inches
Speed 15 Knots
Machinery 2000 HP Triple expansion 2 shafts
Armament 1 x 4 inch HA gun
Crew 65
Captain LEUT S.J. Benson RANR (S)*2

*Appointed 04 October 1943 as A/LCDR in 1944 backdated to 1943

After commissioning in Brisbane, a photograph of Kiama was sent to Kiama Council by the Minister of the Navy3. The vessel proceeded via Kiama for war service which commenced in March 1944. At Kiama the Council presented the vessel with the Kiama Coat of Arms4. A/LCDR Benson retained command until 31 October 1945 when he was succeeded by LEUT (later LCDR) H.E. Godden RANR.

Most service was in New Guinea waters; initially the vessel was based at Milne Bay.

Escorting of coastal convoys continued until June 1944 when anti-submarine duties were assigned and conducted in the Solomon Sea until September. Transporting troops from New Guinea to New Britain continued until October 1944 when convoy escort was resumed.

Escort duty continued with only a visit to Cairns. The vessel arrived in Sydney on 21 December 1944 and on Christmas Day she was required to sail at short notice to assist HMAS Quickmatch with the rescue of the crew of the torpedoed and sinking American Liberty ship SS Robert J. Walker. After returning to Sydney they were soon off to Adelaide for refit. After this she proceeded to Fremantle, arriving on 14 February 1945, for exercises with US submarines which lasted for several months.

Kiama then returned to New Guinea, arriving at Port Moresby on 7 May 1945, and during May and June 1945 undertook bombardment of eastern Buka Island and the north eastern Bougainville area. A painting by Keith Swain (who served on the ship) of Kiama conducting the Buka bombardment forms part of the Council’s art collection, and hangs in the Blue Haven Hostel Recreation Room1.

In July 1945 Kiama had the honour of conveying the Governor General, His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, from Torokina, Bougainville to Multipina Point in the Solomon Islands, where his Excellency reviewed Australian troops. The remainder of July saw the vessel carrying troops from Torokina to the Treasury Islands and then making for Brisbane, arriving on 5 August 1945. The stay in Brisbane was limited with Kiama back in New Guinea on 29 August 1945, and until January 1946 she conducted transportation and minesweeping duties. Kiama returned to Sydney on 29 January 1946, thus ending her wartime service.

Kiama’s last official duty was a final visit to her namesake town, arriving at Kiama on 8 February 1946 and departing on 13 February 19464. The Municipal Council, residents and patriotic organisations of Kiama had always supported the vessel, an early report5 requested funds for the purchase of a 16 mm projector for the entertainment of the crew and indicates other possible avenues of support. During her service, donations included a radio and books.

Two Japanese two-pounder mountain guns captured at Rabaul were presented by LCDR Godden to the Council on 6 February 19466,7 at the Civic Welcome on the wharf. One gun was mounted at the front of the Council Chambers where it remains today. In the evening, the officers and crew enjoyed a Welcome Dinner at the Drill Hall. During the visit the ship’s company were also guests of Kiama Cinema, attended a dance at the School of Arts arranged by the Jamberoo Football Club and a farewell dinner at the Oddfellows Hall, organised by the CWA Younger Set. A church service was held at Christ Church where the Captain presented a ceremonial White Ensign for safekeeping8.

Kiama is further commemorated by plaques unveiled in Hindmarsh Park, Kiama and at Birdwood Avenue, Shrine Reserve, Melbourne. The Bathurst class of vessels and their sailors have been commemorated in a number of locations. In South Australia, HMAS Whyalla is preserved on land at Whyalla as a tourist venue9 and contains a memorial. Local plaques stand at Fremantle in Memorial Hill Reserve. Corvette memorials are located at Williamstown Victoria10, New-stead in Queensland11 and Holdfast Bay, South Australia12. The RAN Corvettes Association commemorates the group of vessels with a plaque in Brisbane13. At the RAN Heritage Centre at Garden Island. Sydney. a monument commemorates the vessels, while in the Garden Island Chapel a stained glass window names the vessels.

HMNZS Kiama pays goodwill visit to Kiama NSW March 1969 – RAN

The Old Pilot’s Cottage Museum operated by the Kiama Historical Society has many records of Kiama including a crew list, and the ship’s large brass badge is on permanent display. Kiama was decommissioned on 3 April 1946 and passed into F Reserve. Any future ship named Kiama is entitled to the Battle Honour New Guinea 1942 – 1944.

After six years of reserve service Kiama and three of her sisters, ex-HMA Ships Inverell, Echuca and Stawell were transferred without refit to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) on 5 March 1952. In New Zealand, the vessel, now HMNZS Kiama, was modified to become a training vessel. The 4-inch gun and minesweeping equipment were removed and two 40 mm AA Bofor Guns and an aft deckhouse installed, as part of the conversion to a training ship. Subsequently the vessel joined the 27th Fisheries Protection Squadron and transported scientists to remote islands around the New Zealand coast.

Two goodwill visits were made to Kiama, the first on 5 November 196614 and again in March 1969. During the 1966 visit mountainous seas forced the vessel to shelter in Port Kembla Harbour. The crew had to travel by road to attend a dinner hosted by the local service clubs8. On the first occasion the battle flag of the vessel was presented to the local Sea Scouts and another ceremonial White Ensign was presented to the Anglican Church8.

While on a training cruise off Fiji, HMNZS Kiama assisted and carried the crew and passengers of MV Willisien to Suva, Willisien being declared a total loss on 8 May 196715. HMNZS Kiama was decommissioned on 19 August 1976, and broken up for scrap in Auckland in 1979. The mast was retained and installed at the Paeroa Historic Maritime Park located on the North Island. Following the final decommissioning the Royal New Zealand Navy presented Kiama Council with a ship’s plaque and an informative panel. These relics are now at the Blue Haven Nursing Home1. The Royal New Zealand Navy Museum at Devonport retained the ship’s brass bell which is of great sentimental value, the inner rim inscribed with the names of children who were christened on board.

His Excellency the Governor General the Duke of Gloucester leaving HMAS Kiama to inspect Australian troops at Bougainville July 1945  AWM

 

References

  1. Blue Haven operations are initiatives of Kiama Municipal Council
  2. Navy List October 1944
  3. Anon, Kiama Reporter and Illawarra Journal 21 June 1944 (Published 1899-1947)
  4. William A. Bayley, Blue Haven History of Kiama Municipality NSW
  5. Anon, Kiama Independent and Shoalhaven Advertiser 16 February 1946 (1863-1947) renamed Kiama Independent 1947
  6. Anon, Kiama Independent 18 October 2018.
  7. Anon, Illawarra Mercury 8 February 1946 p 7, Publication 1856-1950.
  8. pdf, Kiama Historical Society
  9. HMAS Whyalla Maritime Museum, Lincoln Highway, Whyalla 5600
  10. Nelson Place, near Gern Pier, Williamstown 3016
  11. Newstead Avenue, Newstead Park Newstead 4006
  12. Adelphi Terrace, Glenelg Holdfast Bay, South Australia 5045
  13. Ann Street, ANZAC Square, Shrine of Remembrance Crypt, Brisbane 4000
  14. Anon, Canberra Times Saturday 5 November 1966, p 30
  15. Anon, Pacific Islands Monthly 38 No. 6 p 105, 1 June 1967

 

 

Escape from Singapore – the Last Boat Leaves

The June 2019 edition of this magazine contained an article The Naval Evacuation of Singapore – February 1942 which lists MV Kembong amongst forty-five vessels that escaped. Her captain is unknown and she sailed with 4 crew and 25 passengers. Since then further interesting information has come to light.

MV Kembong1 was a 1936 vintage Straits Settlements Government Fisheries Research vessel anchored off Singapore in February 1942, out of commission, with her crew dispersed. The lower deck was taken up with refrigeration equipment and brine tanks. She was known locally as ‘The Ice-Box’, therefore in taking passengers she was of limited value, only able to use the upper deck. This reduced the number she could carry to about 25 plus five crew. The ship was powered by temperamental German diesel engines, their operation needing specialist engineering knowledge.

At noon on Sunday 15 February 1942 Lieutenant Colonel Patrick McKerron met with his sister and brother-in-law, Charles Vlieland, who was Secretary for Defence, Malaya, regarding the imminent surrender of the garrison. This was intended to take place at 4 pm but delayed until just after 5 pm when the General Officer Commanding Malaya, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, made the largest surrender in British military history, consigning the forces under his command to cease hostilities in an unconditional surrender to Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashitu, commanding the Japanese 25th Army. Taking effect from 8.30 pm, control of this mighty fortress and its garrison was handed over to the Imperial Japanese Army.

In the early afternoon McKerron and the Vlielands were joined by an old friend, Commander C. P. Robinson, the Deputy Master Attendant (Deputy Harbour Master). Having decided to face the inevitable with a last bottle of bubbly, they were interrupted by some Dalforce officers2. The Dalforce irregulars, also known as Dalley’s Desperadoes, were mainly local businessmen with some limited military service. As of 13 February they had been told to disband and form an underground guerilla force to escape Japanese reprisals. These Dalforce officers were keen to attempt an escape to Sumatra where they might reform.

While the harbor was alive with troops trying to find anything that would float in which to make their escape all seaworthy craft had long gone. However, Robinson was aware of the derelict Kembong. This gave rise to great excitement with the Army men sensing salvation just over the horizon. Assisted by Dalforce volunteers, McKerron went to find a retired Royal Naval officer, Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Whitaker3, who was persuaded to take command; that Whitaker was not a navigator but an electrical engineer seemed of little consequence. Two municipal engineers (James Reid, plus another, name unknown), who had some knowledge of diesel engines, were also found. The rest of the crew, with little seafaring experience, were from Dalforce.

Only known photograph of MV Kembong – Straits Times 28 July 1937

By 5 pm a scratch crew and passengers, which now included LTCOL McKerron, had been assembled, totaling about 30 men. Because of the dangers no women were to be taken onboard. A younger and energetic Dalforce officer, Wyatt Smith, commandeered a small motor boat to ferry them to Kembong. This boat was badly holed and with constant bailing could only accommodate four passengers at a time. It therefore took some while to get everyone onboard and after the final trip the motor boat sank. A little after 7.30 pm Kembong’s engines were coaxed into life and at 8 pm the anchor was raised. Against all odds, and crammed like sardines, they were underway. They were witnessing the beginning of the end of the British Empire with the whole city lying under a pall of smoke, lit up by the glow of fires, as the once rich and powerful garrison surrendered to the Japanese. Singapore was no more, it would now be renamed Syonan-To or Light of the South.

With copies of charts supplied by CMDR Robinson they picked their course past minefields but suddenly, late at night when navigating reefs, they went aground. No amount of toing and froing with the engines would shake her free and with a falling tide they were stuck fast. At dawn an island could be seen with Malay fishermen who came to help, and with a rising tide they were once again afloat and, seemingly with little damage, again underway.

While they were overflown by enemy aircraft, who possibly had other things on their minds celebrating their great victory, the small craft was unmolested. Later that day as they were passing close to and masked by the Karim Islands a Japanese destroyer was sighted. Kembong stopped and luckily remained undiscovered.

The Captain anchored near the mouth of the Siak River, a large estuary on the east coast of Sumatra, where she was sheltered from prying eyes. Here there was a small Dutch Customs Station who advised them to proceed about 12 hours up river to Pekanbaru where there was an RAF Base. Meanwhile two small naval launches arrived full of miscellaneous Army and Navy personnel. With the aid of a Dutch pilot they then followed Kembong in convoy. Arrival at the RAF Base was timely as with enemy advances it was due to be evacuated with personnel and aircraft transferred to Java. The RAF provided meals and then loaded their guests onto three buses which took them to the nearest railhead. From here they were taken to Padang on the west coast of Sumatra. The faithful old Kembong and her attendant naval launches were left to the Dutch authorities.

On reaching Padang on Wednesday 18 February they joined similar parties that had been arriving over the past few days. The next day the cruiser HMS Danae arrived from Batavia and took onboard about 80 officers and 500 men. Danae offloaded them at Tjilatjap, a small port now crowded with ships, on the south coast of Java. Arrival was on Sunday 22 February; while this was only a week after leaving Singapore, it felt like a lifetime.

Here another bit of luck came the way of the Dalforce party as they heard of another abandoned ship in need of their newfound recovery skills. SS Perak, a 1,200-ton passenger/cargo steamer of the Straits Steamship Company, had sailed from Singapore a few days before the surrender with personnel from No 36 Squadron RAF embarked. This old steamer, built in 1906, was now lying abandoned in Tandjong Priok, her native crew having deserted. Now with a critical shortage of vessels volunteers were called for to see if Perak could be readied to make another voyage.

Having demonstrated their abilities as matelots many of the ex-Kembong crew were offered berths and were part of about 50 men and a dozen women and children taken aboard. The men were detailed to help the undermanned crew and the women assisted in the galley and saloon. Within hours, with a small naval escort Perak was amongst the last Allied ships to sail from Batavia. Their greatest challenge was transiting the Sunda Strait, now controlled by the Japanese, but somehow hugging the coast they remained undetected. At last the small convoy was in the open sea and made for the west coast of Australia, but Perak stoically continued alone for Colombo, reaching this destination safely on 4 March 1942. While we do not have a crew and passenger list, LTCOL McKerron and LCDR Whitaker were both serving in Colombo in 1942 and it is assumed they arrived in Perak.

Dalforce – Dalley’s desperadoes

No more is known of the fate of Kembong but with a new lease of life the venerable Perak sailed for the Mediterranean. In Haifa she was converted to a hospital ship and later served in the Burma campaign before being returned to her owners in 1945. She was later sold to Chinese shipping interests.

References:

Blackburn, Kevin & Chew Ju Eru, Daniel, Dalforce at the Fall of Singapore in 1942: An Overseas Chinese Heroic Legend, Journal of Chinese Overseas 1, 2 (Nov 2005), NUS Press, Singapore.

Burroughs, Walter, The Naval Evacuation of Singapore – February 1942, Naval Historical Review Vol 40 No 2, June 2019, Naval Historical Society of Australia, Sydney.

McKerron, P.A.B., Escape from Singapore – Dalforce, Journals 65-67 of the Overseas Services Pensioners’ Association (OSPA) April 1993 – April 1994, London.

Malaya Tribune: Colombo Man as Deputy Master Attendant, 24 November 1936.

Straits Times: Malaya’s Fishery Ice-Box, 28 July 1937.

Navy List – December 1941, Admiralty, London.

Singapore in World War II, National Heritage Board, Singapore, 2011.

Notes:

  1. MV Kembong: little is known about this vessel other than an article appearing in the Straits Times dated 28 July 1937. She appears to be a new acquisition costing £36,000, about £2.5 m in 2019 prices, with a crew of 14 (assumed to be mostly scientific staff).
  2. Dalforce, formally the Singapore Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, was formed in Singapore in early 1942 by Colonel John Dalley. It comprised about 2,000 Chinese under (mainly retired) British reserve officers, and was only in existence for a matter of weeks. A company from Dalforce fought alongside the 22nd Australian Brigade.
  3. In February 1942 Geoffrey Charles Whitaker was a retired RN officer on the Emergency List living in Singapore. Revitalising his naval career, from MV Kembong he most likely joined SS Perak, as he is shown serving in Colombo from mid-1942. Post war he was lent to the RAN as Director of the Naval Electrical Branch and later served in the Admiralty at Bath where he retired as a Captain in 1959.

 

 

 

HMS Australia and the William Droudge Mystery

We know much about the WWI vintage battlecruiser HMAS Australia (I) and the WWII vintage heavy cruiser HMAS Australia (II) but very little about the first warship to carry our nation’s proud name HMS Australia (1886–1905). This story seeks to redress that imbalance.

In February 2019 an email was received from one of our readers, Mr. Lawrence Sellstrom. The origins of his name are Swedish but for many centuries his family has resided in England. Lawrence, who has a keen interest in naval history, recently acquired an old and intriguing sailor’s box of treasures or ‘Ditty Box’. Contained therein was memorabilia from HMS Australia which included original manuscripts of notebooks and diaries, some early photographs, a snuff box, a clay pipe and a knuckleduster.

The box appears to have belonged to Able Seaman Frederick C. Allen, Service No 132076, who was born in Willesborough, Kent on 19 April 1869. He is the assumed author of these works, which are in a good hand and compiled by someone with a reasonable education. In particular, there is a diary entry concerning a fatal accident to a young Able Seaman, William Droudge, and a poem lamenting the death of Lieutenant James St Clair Bower of HMS Sandfly while serving in the Australian Squadron. Lieutenant Bower and three of his crew were killed by natives in the Solomon Islands in 1880; his remains were later recovered and are buried at North Sydney.

During his research Mr. Sellstrom came across an article in an old copy of the Naval Historical Review dated December 1972, The Cruise of HMS Australia 1889 to 1893, which includes reference to the accidental death of AB Droudge. However, the above mentioned diaries provide a different version of events. This then is the mystery we seek to unfold, with some background to this period.

Royal Naval late 19th century cruisers

In the latter part of the 19th century, when the Royal Navy was approaching its zenith, a series of cruisers was built as naval architects strove to find an ideal patrol vessel which could be employed throughout a worldwide empire. Numerous classes of so-called ‘Protected’ and ‘Armoured’ cruisers were developed which the First Sea Lord, Sir John Fisher, famously termed an intolerable drain on the service’s resources as ‘they could neither fight nor run away’. His solution was the much larger and more costly battlecruiser.

The relatively small Mersey class cruisers were the first to completely discard their sailing rig and were solely steam-powered warships. From these origins the seven-ship Orlando class cruisers were built between 1886 and 1889. Of this new class, the second ship to be delivered was HMS Australia.

The names used in most classes of ship follow themes. In the Orlando class this is hard to fathom, as is where Australia fits into the lexicon of: Orlando, Australia, Galetea, Immortalite, Narcissus, Undaunted and Aurora.

The Orlando class, officially known as First Class Protected Cruisers, were 327 feet long, 56 feet beam, and protected by a 10-inch belt of armour. The armament comprised 2 x 9.2-inch guns, 10 x 6-inch guns, 10 x 3 pounder guns and 6 x 18-inch torpedo tubes. They were powered by 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines, fed by four coal fired double-ended boilers, developing 8,500 ihp. With two shafts they had a maximum speed of 18 knots, with a range of 10,000 nautical miles at an economical speed of 10 knots. They had a complement of 484 officers and men, rising to 500 when operating as flagships. These ships displaced about 5,600 tons and were said to be overweight.

HMS Orlando on the Australia Station

The only ship from this class to serve in our waters was HMS Orlando, the first of her type, which arrived in Port Jackson on 01 September 1888, taking over from HMS Nelson as flagship of the Australian Squadron. She served in this role for nine years until she too was relieved by HMS Royal Arthur on 4 November 1897. Initially Orlando was too large to dock locally and was obliged to use Auckland’s Calliope Dock. It was not until the Sutherland Dock was completed at Cockatoo Island in 1890 that she could dock in Australia.

In 1889 Orlando was temporarily assigned to the China Station, joining a multi-national force to suppress the Boxer Rebellion. Sailors and Royal Marines from the ship formed part of a force to relieve the British Legation at Peking. During this engagement there were a number of casualties and one Royal Marine died. On return to Sydney she was docked at Cockatoo Island where her funnels were extended to improve the updraft of her exhaust gases.

Treasure trove from HMS Australia

The Cruise of HMS Australia

Australia was built in a separate yard but in the same timeframe as her sister Orlando. Therefore, they should have been identical. Australia was commissioned at Chatham on 19 November 1889 by Captain Martin Dunlop and left Spithead on 26 December under sealed orders. Her destination turned out to be the Cape Verde Islands which were reached on 7 January 1890. Influenza broke out on this passage with 84 men on the sick list (17% of the ship’s company) when she arrived for coal as an unhealthy and unwelcome guest at this small Portuguese colony.

From Cape Verde she went to Gibraltar and met up with another sister, Undaunted, and it seems both ships needed some dockyard work before joining the Mediterranean Fleet – was this the funnel extensions mentioned above? At this time the Mediterranean Fleet was the most powerful force in the Royal Navy.

Most of 1890 was spent cruising the Levant and off the Greek and Turkish coasts. Constant coaling was provided by colliers coming alongside at anchorages where Australia’s crew could load 500 tons in a little over nine hours. On 25 August the Empress Frederick of Germany visited the ship and inspected her company.

Early 1891 was spent refitting at Malta. On 3 February they were reviewed by the Duke of Cambridge before undertaking an Italian cruise. We might gain the impression that this was a succession of pleasure cruises but the RN worked its ships well with constant weapons training, drills, inter-ship competitions and regattas, and concert parties went from ship to ship. Sailing regattas were well attended with crews training for months for prizes with the ships’ companies unofficially placing side bets on the winners. There were the inevitable inspections by squadron commanders and their specialist officers.

The William Droudge Mystery

The ship then joined the Second Cruiser Division and made for Salonica. On 22 May 1891 at Phalerum Bay (an ancient name for the Port of Athens) a sad accident happened when William Droudge, a young Able Seaman, fell over a cliff and was killed. These few words about the death of William Droudge are the only mention to be found on this incident in the earlier 1972 Naval Historical Review report on the cruise of Australia.

On 1 June when still at Phalerum Bay the captain and officers gave a ball, which was honoured by the presence of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Greece and Princess Margaret and Prince Nicholas of Greece.

HMS Orlando at Sutherland Dock, Cockatoo Island

Here the accidental death of young able seaman some 130 years ago might be left to rest. However, our correspondent Lawrence Sellstrom informs us about a handwritten diary from a member of the ship’s company about this incident which (with minor grammatical changes) reads as follows:

22 May – …had news to say there was a man from our ship lying on the beach, sent a boat for him and a doctor brought him back to the ship. I saw him in the boat and it was William Droudge who inconceivably fell over, or very likely was thrown, over a cliff. He died at half past twelve without returning to consciousness. The Captain is trying to find out all about the cause of his death. The doctor thinks he has met foul play, he died half an hour ago, I have just been to see him. A post mortem will be held.

We feel his loss; he was my best chum in this ship. He was seen by some last night at 9 pm, he told them he would catch them up when he had explained something to a Russian sailor and a Greek. The boat left inshore at 10.15 pm. Droudge remained on shore, and not seen afterwards till about 6 am this morning. He was without any money and his silk and knife gone, lying insensible under a cliff 60 feet high. His forehead was cut, eye bleeding and other unknown injuries.

There were two other men breaking leave on shore, Knight and Gilbert. They came on board at 5 am saying Droudge left them at a public house before 11 pm. He went out by himself to get back, it was then around 10 minutes to 11. That is all that is known. Bill’s footmarks have been found on top of the cliff, they are the only marks.

23 May – I went to the funeral. He had a nice coffin and was placed alongside a shipmate who died in (unable to decipher ship’s name) who was a stoker belonging to Chatham. We came on board soon after and shifted our clothing. It was about 5 pm we then hoisted our boats. The fleet then hove into sight, came in and anchored. They then followed us in half-masting their colours for our shipmate.

They are having a Board of Inquiry and the Captain of Collingwood (flag) has put a detective on the job with two others that can speak the lingo. We can’t find one of his (Droudge) photos yet, we want one to have same copied.

24 May – Sunday, Queens Birthday, decorated ship and fired 21 guns. Church on poop the Chaplain ‘spun a cuff’ about Droudge being on shore in bad company, not leaving until after his leave had expired, and told us to shun drink and such company. He gets drunk himself twice a day, knocks off Saturday, ready for Sunday.

The above concludes all we know of the William Droudge mystery. Proving that tragedy strikes in threes, on 13 June 1891 when at Thaso Island, AB William Collins fell overboard from a fishing party returning to the ship and was drowned. A month later in another boating accident an ERA and a blacksmith were drowned when their boat capsized. It is of note that many sailors could swim as ‘Hands to Bathe’ was regularly piped at 6 pm when at anchor in sheltered temperate waters.

The cruise continues

In August the Second Division was ordered to Alexandria as the Sultan of Turkey, backed by the French, was agitating for the removal of British from Egypt.

In September there was change of command with Captain Dunlop relieved by Captain Holland. On 22 October the whole of the Mediterranean Fleet assembled at Milo (Greek island of Milos) under the new admiral, Sir George Tryon1. On 15 November Australia was back at Malta for her annual refit and remained there until 12 March 1892.

From 15 March to 16 April 1892 Australia, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Markham, was at Alexandria for ceremonies concerned with the installation of the new Khedive of Egypt.

During May the ship was unexpectedly involved in the salvage of the collier Henry Anning which had been in collision with HMS Edinburgh.

From 30 July to 5 August they were at Cadiz in company with two other cruisers and two torpedo boats representing Great Britain at the celebration of the Fourth Centenary of Columbus starting out on his voyage of discovery of America.

On 19 October the ship returned to Malta for refit and it was not expected that she would go to sea again with her present crew. While refitting the crew were hulked in Orion and Hibernia. The crew returned to the ship on 28 January 1893 and on 1 March orders were received to proceed to America as one of the ships representing Britain at the International Naval Review being held in connection with the opening of the Chicago Exhibition2.

America Bound

The C-in-C, Admiral Sir George Tryon, came onboard to say goodbye and the next day they left Malta, waiting three days at Gibraltar for some officers coming from England. It being too rough to anchor, Maderia was bypassed and they continued to Bermuda, arriving on 28 March.

On 13 April they left Bermuda in company with HM Ships Blake, Magicienne, Tartar and Partridge, and four days later anchored in Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Bay. Already assembled here were 14 American and six foreign men-of-war. By 24 April the International Fleet swelled to 30 ships when they left Hampton Roads and the following day anchored in New York Lower Bay, where another four warships joined.

The ships, dressed overall with stars and stripes at their mastheads, presented a fine spectacle assembling in two lines each of 17 foreign men-of-war, Blake leading the first and Australia the second line. A great number of people crammed into various ships as they steamed past the Statue of Liberty and the river banks were lined with people in their millions. Spirits were dampened when the rain came in with heavy downpours. This resulted in a signal being received postponing the review until 2 pm.

At last the rain held off and the President of the United States, Stephen (Grover) Cleveland, then reviewed the fleet. As he steamed between the two lines of warships the ships were manned, fired 21 gun salutes and gave three hearty cheers. The President in USS Philadelphia later received the admirals and captains from the assembled ships. In the evening the ships were illuminated and there was a fireworks display.

The next day companies of sailors and marines were landed by steamers and marched through Broadway – the first time British troops under arms had landed in America since the War of Independence.

The visit was a great success in cementing Anglo/American relationships. After four days the Royal Navy ships left New York, with bands playing traditional songs and being cheered down the Hudson. They were so well received that eighty-four men deserted from the RN squadron, including nine from Australia.

They arrived back in Bermuda on 13 May and after coaling arrived at Plymouth on 31 May, an absence of three years and five months from England. They then proceeded to Portsmouth to pay off on 17 June 1893. During the commission the ships had been at sea 352 days, mostly in the Mediterranean, and steamed about 41,370 nautical miles.

Summary

The first ship to bear our nation’s proud name, HMS Australia, did not venture into the Southern Ocean and discover our shores, but her twin sister Orlando was flagship of the Australia Station for nine years. By studying the history of both ships we gain a composite picture of life aboard these vessels in the Victorian era.

Australia’s cruise started out sailing from the British Isles in the midst of winter, when coughs and colds were commonplace; it was not long before 17% of the ship’s company were laid low with influenza. We know that one member of the ship’s company died in hospital, another in suspicious circumstances, and three drowned. Also nine deserters were left behind savouring the bright lights of New York.

To the present generation it is inconceivable that in peacetime a ship would sail under sealed orders, with her destination only known to a select few, and for an unknown duration. While some well-connected senior officers might be able to bring wives, at their own expense, for holidays to places such as Malta, the majority of her complement had no idea when they would next see family and friends. During this particular cruise it looks that some attempt had been made to exchange at least part of the crew after three years. However, the logistics of such commissions are to be admired, with annual overseas dockings, multiple supplies of coal and all types of provisions, and if required, an exchange of crew.

Notes:

  1. Rear Admiral George Tryon commanded the Australia Station from 1885 to 1887. In 1891 as Vice Admiral Sir George Tryon he was given command of the Mediterranean Fleet. He is infamously known for ordering two columns of warships to turn inwards, resulting in his flagship HMS Victoria colliding with HMS Camperdown in which the Admiral and 357 others died.
  2. The World’s Columbian Exposition was a world fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World. In scale and grandeur, it exceeded anything previously attempted with more than 27 million visitors attending the exposition during its six-month run.

 

 

Battleship Mikasa – Restoration

By Colin Randall

After many years of visiting Japan for coal business I took my family on a holiday to this interesting country. One of the sites visited was the battleship Mikasa, just outside the US Navy Base at Yokosuka on Tokyo Bay. My reason for visiting was that Mikasa was the only pre-Dreadnought battleship still left in the world and that my grandfather, in the Royal Navy from 1906 until 1946, had in his early days served on a pre-Dreadnought. I wanted to experience what it was like for my grandfather to be on such a ship with such a large crew, required to keep her coal fired boilers operating.

Mikasa was built in Great Britain and commissioned into the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in 1902. She was the Japanese flagship at the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905 when the Japanese navy overwhelmed a Russian fleet in the first victory of an Asian navy over a Western force. After destroying two-thirds of the enemy ships, Admiral Togo accepted the surrender of the Russian fleet.

Mikasa had been hit many times but survived with relatively light casualties. However, a few days after the battle, she sank as a result of a fire and explosion that killed some 250 of her crew. She was raised the following year and went on to fight in WWI and afterwards in operations against Soviet Russia.

Mikasa was decommissioned on 23 September 1923 following the Washington Naval Treaty and was scheduled for destruction. However, at the request of the Japanese government, each of the signatory countries to the treaty agreed that Mikasa could be preserved as a memorial ship with her hull encased in concrete. The engines were removed and the guns made unserviceable. On 12 November 1926, Mikasa was opened for display in Yokosuka in the presence of the then Crown Prince, Prince Hirohito, and retired Admiral Togo. Mikasa became a place of pilgrimage and national homage to the memory of Admiral Togo and the victory over Russia.

Japanese battleship Mikasa when commissioned in 1902, from a model

During WWII Mikasa was bombed during air raids. After the surrender of the Japanese in Tokyo Bay in September 1945 the US Navy took over the Yokosuka Navy Base. During my visit to Mikasa I heard from a Japanese colleague the story of the ship’s restoration, which went like this:

When the Americans came in 1945 they ordered Mikasa’ssuperstructure to be cut up and for a Quonset hut to be put on the deck to provide a recreation hall for US Navy men. The steel superstructure was to be sold as scrap and melted down. Some 20 years later the then US Commander of the Yokosuka Naval Base spoke to the Mayor of Yokosuka about re-creating the superstructure of Mikasa and once again turning it into a museum. This gesture was one of reconciliation.

The Commander had obtained from Great Britain the original drawings of the ship and they would manufacture superstructure similar to the original.

The Mayor said ‘There is no need!’

The Commander said again they wanted to do it as a symbol of reconciliation.

The Mayor said again ‘There is no need!’

The Commander finally asked ‘Why do you say that?’

The answer: ‘We have all the original superstructure that was removed. We have held it secretly in storage. It was not melted down. We can have it simply put back in place’!

So that was the simple explanation for the remarkable restoration of Mikasa. However, in preparing to write this short article I decided to research as much as I could this remarkable story of restoration. However, as with all research start with the ABC of:

  • Assume nothing.
  • Believe no one.
  • Check everything.
Mikasa as Café Togo

 

Postcard commemorating the opening of Mikasa as a museum ship in 1926

 Post-war fate of Mikasa

The land-locked Mikasa had been a favourite target during air raids and was repeatedly bombed. Upon the US Navy taking over Yokosuka base, US Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz personally inspected Mikasa and ordered a guard on her to stop souveniring. The Russians however demanded the complete destruction of Mikasa. But upon the Russian Ambassador visiting the ship he saw that it was already destroyed by the air raids. However, the guns were dismantled and removed as was the superstructure. The US took delivery and stored parts of the superstructure. Weeds grew around Mikasa over the next five years when most Japanese were more concerned about food than preserving heritage.

In 1950, war in Korea made Yokosuka come alive in a way it had not been since the surrender. The American Fleet was back in a big way, and the port was the logical support base for operations; there was a crush of sailors enjoying the pleasures of the harbour.

Mikasa was only a brisk walk or a short rickshaw ride from the base for those flush with cash, hauled along by wiry ex-Imperial soldiers down on their luck. To capitalise on the situation, the enterprising Japanese business community came up with a use for the gutted hull.

A large barn-like structure was built on the main deck, and the pride of the Tsushima Strait became the Club Mikasa, a dance hall and nightclub for American sailors.It was remembered by some as ‘Café Togo’, a cheap boozer/dive providing female entertainment to US servicemen. Club Mikasa failed and the operation of an aquarium failed too. The ship was abandoned yet again. However, in 1955 a Briton (now residing in the USA) named John S. Rubin visited the ship and later wrote a letter to the Japan Times expressing his shock at its state of disrepair which by then had been used for a time as a dance hall.

Rubin’s letter appeared in the Japan Times on 24 September 1955: ‘I saw the Mikasa launched and completed at Vickers Sons and Maxim’s Shipbuilding Works at Barrow-in-Furness, England,’ he wrote, explaining that the ship was built there between 1900 and 1902. Rubin goes on to note that during his visit to Japan he saw the old ship: The outer surface is fairly presentable, but the interior is a shambles and ghostlike in its decrepitude. This letter garnered wide public response and reaction around Japan and helped gather momentum to restore the ship.

In 1958 some thought had been given to the complete scrapping of the remains of Mikasa and this appeared to be the spur for some Japanese ex-military and persons interested in history to start a preservation movement. Also in 1958 American Admiral Chester Nimitz was contacted by the preservation committee to help with finances and to use his name to help the movement. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz had admired Togo since his days as a midshipman and had never forgotten his brief, cordial meeting with the admiral at a Tokyo garden party in the summer of 1905. In 1934 Nimitz represented the US Navy at the admirals’ funeral.

Admiral Togo stands proudly next to his fully restored flagship Mikasa outside the Yokosuka Naval Base

Consequently, soon after arriving in Yokosuka in 1945, Nimitz paid a visit to Mikasa and ordered a guard on board to prevent looting.

Nimitz saw the importance of the project and, with United States participation (including financial help) along with the Japan Times, collected money for the restoration of Mikasa. Admiral Nimitz had contributed to a collection of essays on restoring the battleship. He contributed his fee for the articles as the first donation to the restoration fund.

In 1958 the English-built Chilean Navy Super-Dreadnought Battleship Almirante Latorre was being scrapped in Japan. This ship provided a majority of the parts for the restoration of Mikasa’s superstructure. Earlier in 1957 the Argentinian battleship Moreno had been towed to Japan for scrapping and there were reports that parts of that ship could also have been used.

Meanwhile the US returned the parts of the ship that it had held in storage since 1945. With the potential three sources of materiel the superstructure of Mikasa was reconstructed. The question of the guns seems to have been answered by a volunteer at the Mikasa Museum who said they were replicas. The restoration of Mikasa cost 180 million yen. Ironically Misaka’s 12-inch forward gun turret now points directly at the US Navy Base.

The Cold War started and Mikasa, which could have been seen as a very potent symbol of Japanese militarism, was seen now as a potent symbol of national unity against the old enemy Russia which had now become the new enemy. Mikasawas opened to the public again on 27 May 1961, the 56th anniversary of the Battle of Tsushima Straits following a ceremony attended by all involved parties including His Imperial Highness Prince Masahito Yoshi, representing the Emperor.

 

Facebook