History - general

The Royal Australian Naval College’s debt to Admiral Creswell

March 26, 2019

The following article is based on an address by Robert Hyslop to the Canberra and District Historical Society which appeared in that Society’s journal of September 1986, and still relevant today. It is reproduced by kind permission of the Society.

Robert Hyslop (1918-2007) started a lifelong association with the Royal Australian Navy in 1936 as an accounts clerk at Garden Island Dockyard, later transferring to Navy Office in Melbourne, before moving to senior Defence roles in Canberra in the 1950s. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Department under the formidable Sir Arthur Tange and had many more senior public service roles before ill health forced him into retirement in 1981. Robert was a prolific writer with a great insight into Australian political history.

In this paper I will examine the debt owed by the Royal Australian Naval College to Admiral William Creswell concentrating on its beginnings and early development.

William Creswell, the son of Edmund and Margaret Creswell, was born at Gibraltar on 20 July 1852. At the age of thirteen he entered the Royal Navy’s training college Britanniaas a cadet; in 1867 he was promoted midshipman and in 1873, after being wounded in a skirmish with pirates on the Malay Coast, he was promoted Lieutenant. In September 1878, disappointed at the slowness and uncertainty of promotion within the Royal Navy, he retired and migrated to Australia in the hope of becoming a pastoralist. For the next seven years he worked in the Northern Territory exploring and cattle droving; in 1885 he was invited to and took up an appointment with the South Australian naval forces with the rank of Lieutenant in HMCS Protector, the only ship in that colony’s defence force. In 1893, he was appointed Naval Commandant for the colony and, in 1895, promoted to the rank of Captain.

On 1 May 1900 Creswell accepted command of the Queensland naval forces and in February 1904 he was appointed Naval Officer Commanding the Commonwealth Naval Forces. He became Director of Naval Forces and when the Australian Naval Board was established in January 1905, he was appointed Naval Member. The other members of the Board were James W. McCay, MHR, Minister for Defence; and John A. Thompson, Chief Accountant, Department of Defence, Finance Member. The Board’s powers and functions were loosely defined as being responsible, subject to the Minister for Defence, for ‘the administration of all matters relating to the Naval Forces’.

When control of the colonial military and naval forces was transferred to the Commonwealth on 1 March 1901, the naval defence forces were small. Meeting in Melbourne in August 1899, the naval officers representing the Australian Colonies noted that ‘the total naval force consisted of 1,545 men of whom 1,000 (could) be considered bona fideseamen; and the remainder consisted of boatmen, yachtsmen, &c’. Those figures, however, do not agree with data published elsewhere – for example the Statistical Register for 1900 for each of the colonies – buttheyare consistent in that they show that neither Western Australia nor Tasmania possessed a naval force.

Captain Creswell, Director of Commonwealth Naval Forces c1904

Although in good order, much of the equipment was old-fashioned and showing signs of its age; there were no facilities for the full-time training of officers and other ranks nor was expenditure on such resources thought to be necessary. In all the circumstances, the recently established Naval Board and, in particular, Creswell as Naval Member and Director of Naval Forces, had an uphill task ahead.

Creswell was exceptional among naval officers in his understanding of the place of defence in the political system, being remarkably free of naval insularity. He could be scathing, even in his public statements, when he believed that ministers were failing to face up to issues as, for example, during the early years of Federation when successive governments allowed the naval forces to wither away. As Naval Director, his annual reports to Parliament were very critical. In 1905 he wrote:

The main weakness is the condition of the Permanent Officers List. The retirement and retrenchment of Officers without appointing successors on an already attenuated list, to which there have been no fresh appointments for many years, have reduced the list of Permanent Officers to a condition bordering on collapse.

He repeated that criticism in his 1906 Report. But, when faced with a decision which he might not like he was able to accept it and get on with the task, albeit, perhaps, with a grumble. In 1913, for example, in replying to a long minute by his colleague, Captain Hughes-Onslow, who complained about the choice of Jervis Bay as the site for the Naval College, Creswell observed:

Criticism of the site and condition is of no service at the present time. I can only say the disadvantages to be overcome exceed expectations. The main point however is that they must be overcome.

That was an attitude which he exhibited on many occasions.

The 1899 Conference of Naval Officers was satisfied that ‘The ability of the Naval Establishments in the Australian Colonies to train Naval Forces has long been proved’ and ‘the training of seamen in the colonial ships of war…might be considered an equivalent to six months continuous training in an Imperial ship of war’. They did not seem to consider the question of officer training as being a significant problem, evidently believing that this was a task best left in the hands of the Royal Navy; that was not an opinion shared in political quarters. Whereas the Agreement relating to the Naval Force on the Australian Station provided that eight naval cadetships would be available for young Australians to be trained in that force, the Defence Act 1903 (Section 29) made provision for the establishment of a Naval and Military College ‘for the purposes of imparting education to the various branches of naval and military sciences, and in the subjects connected with the naval and military professions, and for qualifying persons for the naval and military service’. Clearly, the Parliament had recognized that, at some future date, these facilities would become necessary as reflecting Australia’s independent status and its acceptance of a responsibility to establish naval defence forces.

Australian Naval Defence Force

In his 1905 Annual Report, Creswell raised the question of setting up an Australian Naval Defence Force without making any reference to the need to start a naval college. He did, however, insist:

Whenever it is decided to enter on a defined Naval Defence policy, the training question (of Seamen) will be the first to come up for consideration. It must be freed from the early Military bias, and special requirements and conditions of sea service recognised, and given effect to Special Australian conditions.

Although he did not refer specifically to Section 29 of the 1903 Defence Act, Creswell was clearly not in favour of a combined ‘Military and Naval College’.

In February 1906 Creswell went to England ‘to inquire into and gain every possible information with regard to the latest naval developments’ including ‘any information…on the matter of training Officers and Seamen’. During the course of his inquiry, Creswell visited the naval colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth for naval cadets, the college at Keyham for naval engineering students and the War Colleges at Portsmouth and Plymouth for senior officers. In his report, he outlined in some detail the training provided at each institution and, in identifying their strengths and weaknesses, related them to the Australian scene. He was particularly impressed with Osborne where:

Naval requirements (had) been carefully thought out…and the best methods adopted to meet them. The work is healthy, useful, and practical…Parallel with this the cadet’s schoolwork, comprising the natural sciences, practical mathematics, history, modern languages, and the general educational subjects.

His only criticism was that ‘Intimate daily association with the sea should be part of the cadet’s life’. At Osborne these conditions were lacking.

Creswell was impressed by the fine buildings and general standard of accommodation. At Dartmouth, where the cadet moved in his third year of training;

The English Naval Officer has been given a jumping-off place for his life’s work that he will look back on with pride. The building will serve for many a generation. Solid stone and sound oak will last, and look even better for age, when the sons and grandsons of the present Cadets are Admirals of the Fleet.

Those observations are significant in that they enabled Creswell to clarify his ideas of what he believed should be the objectives of persons planning an Australian Naval College.

During his visit to England, Creswell had gathered ‘all information to help the University of Melbourne in their scheme for establishing a School of Naval Science’ and, in a report dated 14 August 1906, he elaborated on that proposal. He identified the subjects which he would include in the curriculum but he was not sanguine that the concept would be adopted. He wrote:

The present condition of the Australian Naval Forces offers small prospect of a School for Naval Science being much used for the present. Of the ultimate need of such a school there is no question, but at present, the Naval Forces are not in a position to avail themselves of it.

Bid for Naval History

Never one to pass up an opportunity to make a point, Creswell made a bid for Naval History as:

A subject to which I would suggest prominence should be given. There is probably no portion of the Empire whose existence as such is more closely associated with Naval History, and none where the principles it teaches demand closer attention. Naval History as a University subject and encouraged in schools would, I was advised, be of national benefit.

In September 1906 Deakin, as Prime Minister, ‘outlined a scheme for limited defence which, in many respects, was little more than an upgrading of existing harbor and coastal defences’; in the second stage, the Commonwealth would ‘pass from merely harbour defence to defence’. In Creswell’s opinion, this was ‘the most important advance yet made in Australia’s defence…(it) establishes the principle of Commonwealth responsibility in the defence of ports and of the trade on our coasts’. At the same time, he noted:

The first measure necessary after the adoption of the Government scheme of naval defence will be the entry and training of officers for the new establishments. The responsibility both for selection and training of officers is a grave one…Very much depends on the first impressions given by any service and this again will greatly depend on the officers serving as its initiation.

Twelve months later, he was critical that little progress had been made; in Creswell’s opinion:

The earnest intention of the Commonwealth to establish an efficient naval service will take first effect in the training system for the Naval Force, which should be specialized to meet the needs of a Naval service.

Imperial Defence Conference

The question of a Naval College was not seriously considered until 1909. On 23 June in a ministerial statement outlining the policy of administration proposed by his ministry, Alfred Deakin indicated that steps would be taken to increase the naval and military defence forces. Colonel Justin F. Foxton, MHR (Brisbane) had been appointed Australian representative at the forthcoming Imperial Defence Conference; Creswell was to act as ‘expert adviser’ on naval matters. Foxton was instructed ‘to consult the Admiralty upon the whole question of Imperial naval defence, and particularly as to the marine defence of the ports and coasts of Australia by the most effective vessels manned and officered, as far as possible, by Australians trained to the standards, and study the opportunities of the Royal Navy’. Deakin went on to outline briefly the facilities which would be provided for ‘the efficient training of a sufficient number of officers chosen for their natural aptitudes and capacity to command’; these would include ‘A Military College, as well as a School of Musketry, and probably a primary Naval College’.

Creswell could not have been happy about the failure of the Government to adopt his well-publicised belief in the need for a separate naval college, but the fact that the Ministry had not made a final decision was encouraging.

The question of officer training was raised in the Senate on 15 September 1909, when Senator Thomas Givens made the point that it was ‘extremely desirable that we should have a naval college at which our young people may be trained in naval matters’. He believed that such a college should be placed within the Federal territory and objected ‘to any government institution of that kind being located on other than Federal territory’. Givens insisted that:

If Inter-State jealousies are to be avoided, it is absolutely necessary that all institutions of that kind – including the small arms and ammunition factories – should be established on Federal territory, where they will be under Commonwealth control and subject to Commonwealth laws.

When he suggested that the proposed college should not be established ‘in any big commercial centre where all sorts of distractions would be placed before the boys attending the institution’, he raised a professional point not as yet publicly explored.

Givens next referred to the steps being taken in New South Wales and Victoria to raise funds to present Britain with a Dreadnought class vessel as a gift from the Australian people to assist her in ensuring that the Royal Navy was superior to that of Germany and as a mark of imperial loyalty. In New South Wales where the target had been set at £250,000, £86,020 was raised.

The Dreadnought Fund

On 29 September the Government was asked whether a proposal had been made to donate to the Commonwealth the sum of £85,000, the Dreadnought Fund, and whether, if rejected that ‘the money thus privately subscribed should be expended in the construction of a Naval College in Sydney, to be taken over eventually by the Federal Government’. In reply, Senator E. D. McMillen, Vice-President of the Executive Council, stated that the funds had not been offered to the Commonwealth while conceding that ‘According to the press, some of the subscriptions promised…are likely to be devoted to that purpose’. At the same time, he insisted that ‘Any proposal for Government expenditure must necessarily be submitted to Parliament’. As later events were to prove, that answer was quite correct.

On 15 October 1909 a report had appeared in the Melbourne Age stating that the Lord Mayor of Sydney had announced that donations totaling £11,100 had been made that day ‘for the purpose of the naval college and Dreadnought farms’. When the matter was raised in the Senate during Question Time, Senator McMillen tabled a copy of the letter recently received from the Lord Mayor of Sydney ‘conveying an extremely handsome and generous offer to the Commonwealth which…we gratefully accept’. At the same time, he indicated that a suitable site for the proposed naval college had not yet been identified.

The question of a naval college was again raised on 24 November when Joseph Cook, Minister for Defence, sought approval of Parliament ‘for a scheme of naval defences formulated at the recent Imperial conference’. He emphasized the need for:

The training of the Australian personnel to be looked to, and for this purpose we shall require a naval college for officers. If we are to have effective co-operation with the Royal Navy, our officers must be interchangeable, and subscribe to the same standard of efficiency – they must be subject to identical training, with an equal standard of qualification in corresponding ranks.

College to be at Middle Head, Sydney

The Ministry having taken that decision, the next question, which was one directly involving Creswell, was the selection of a site for the proposed college. With almost indecent haste and contrary to Creswell’s advice, on 10 March 1910 Cook announced that the college would be established at Middle Head, Sydney. Creswell’s objections seem to have been of a relatively minor nature. Writing in 1911, he expressed a continuing belief that Sydney was not a suitable site; he wrote:

When boys have to be put through strenuous work at a growing age – climate should be the first consideration in the selection of a site and New South Wales or at any rate Sydney is not the best climate for our purpose.

Creswell, however, did not offer any alternative suggestion. Later, as a member of the Naval Board, he protested against the selection of Captain’s Point, Jervis Bay. On 15 January 1912 the Board protested that its preferred sites had ‘been set aside for reasons in no way related to naval advantage or naval efficiency’.

British naval expert

Before Cook’s decision regarding Middle Head was confirmed the Ministry fell, to be replaced by the Fisher Government on 29 April 1910 with Senator Pearce now Minister for Defence. Pearce, to some extent, had already disclosed his hand. During the debate in October 1909 and the ‘Dreadnought’ offer, he had testily asked ‘if a number of citizens of other States made similar offers with similar conditions attached, i.e. that the college should be located in their State, will the Government accept them?’ The Fisher Government did not feel bound by Cook’s decision. On 24 May Cabinet gave formal approval to the principles of the 1909 Naval Agreement and agreed that the services of a British naval expert should be sought to advise, inter alia, on ‘the location and character of the training schools for preparing personnel for our Naval service, to include both officers and men, and all branches of the Service’.

The Government had first invited Admiral Sir John Fisher, recently named as First Sea Lord, to accept the task but he declined; ‘I’d go as a Dictator, he wrote, but not as Adviser’. On Fisher’s advice, Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson was invited and accepted the task. His report, dated 1 March 1911, ‘a blueprint for a comprehensive scheme of naval defence’ simply recommended that a naval college be established ‘at Sydney’. He also outlined the training which he believed personnel at each level should undertake; for future officers ‘the period and nature of training should be assimilated as far as practicable to those in force in the United Kingdom’. That was a scheme which has been shown to have been approved by Creswell.

A bust of Vice Admiral Sir William Creswell sits in front of the honour board of Cadet Captains at the Royal Australian Naval College.

Captain B. M. Chambers, RN, second Naval Member, Navy Board was then entrusted with the task of identifying suitable sites. In a report dated 20 June 1911 he set out the conditions against which he assessed the claims of the nine sites in the vicinity of Sydney and Jervis Bay examined by him. Essential conditions included close proximity or easy access to the sea with a suitable anchorage; a minimum of fifty acres of land, if located near the city, or 1000 acres to form a reserve; the climate must be good. Among ‘desirable’ criteria Chambers included accessibility but he was emphatic that ‘a tripper element in the neighbourhood (was) most undesirable’. He believed that the site should be within easy distance of a main railway line so that the cadets might be able to visit their homes and to ensure that the staff was not ‘cut off too rigidly from civilisation’.

Preferred sites

In his report dated 20 June, Chambers listed, in order of preference, Barrenjoey, Jervis Bay and Sutherland House. His recommendation, although supported by the Naval Board, was unacceptable to the Government and his search was resumed. On 9 November 1911 he reported that Burraneer Bay in Port Hacking was ‘a site of which any nation might be proud and one not excelled by any existing naval college’, but his recommendation was ignored. On 16 November the Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher announced that Jervis Bay had been selected as the site for the proposed Naval College; a decision for which he offered no explanation.

The question of a site having been settled, arrangements to recruit cadets could now be made and their training commenced. There were no suitable buildings at Jervis Bay which might provide temporary accommodation and arrangements were made to take over Osborne House, Geelong where the Royal Australian Naval College was opened on 1 March 1913.

Creswell, as a member of the Naval Board, had been opposed to the decision regarding Jervis Bay. The Board expressed concern that Chambers’s earlier recommendation of Burraneer Bay had been rejected ‘for reasons in no way related to Naval advantage or Naval efficiency’; later, he wrote:

While prepared loyally to carry out the decision of the Government and to do our utmost to ensure the success of the Naval College, we desire to point out that we consider the site chosen is, from a naval point of view, unsuitable for the purpose of the College.

A major objection was that the site was not served by a railway although Chambers had believed that the existing line to Nowra might be extended.

Railway considered necessary

On 24 July 1911 he had reported that Jervis Bay was ‘suitable but at present very inaccessible and…should not be undertaken unless a railway is assured in the immediate future’. Nevertheless, the Government persisted in its decision and, having taken it, both Fisher and Pearce soon found that the New South Wales Government was not prepared to invest public funds in such a project. James McGowen, Premier of New South Wales, left no doubt where his Government stood; he wrote:

The construction of this line will, for a considerable number of years at all events, involve the State in a heavy annual loss, and it is therefore scarcely probable that the (Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works) will report in favour of the extension unless some proposal is put forward by your Government in the direction of compensating the State.

Senator Pearce minuted the file that a grant-in-aid should be considered but nothing further seems to have been done.

The next significant mention of a rail link recorded in the files was a minute by Creswell dated 8 March 1915; he wrote:

It was regarded as a distinct pledge that the Government of New South Wales should build this railway from Bomaderry to Jervis Bay – the College would not have been begun without that pledge. Captain Chambers…assured me that he would never have assented to Jervis Bay without the guarantee of a railway being built by New South Wales and that the College was an impossibility without it.

Pearce wondered ‘whether the New South Wales Government (would) agree to construct the railway if we guarantee such loss’. David Miller, Administrator of the Federal Capital Territory made the point that provision existed in the Seat of Government Act 1909for a rail link between the National Capital, not at that time named, and Jervis Bay and he indicated that a trial survey had been made. In such circumstances, Miller thought ‘it premature to ask the Commonwealth Government to give evidence of its intentions’.

Creswell, ever the realist, put the whole issue to rest in a minute dated 15 October 1915. He wrote:

The railway question is of historic interest only – and I do not think the question need be further pursued. It is of interest to the student of politics as showing how a direct undertaking by one side becomes first qualified and is then disavowed as if no undertaking had been given. The need for a railway has been lessened by a good road and proper motor vehicles for the College. There is no prospect of its being built within the lifetime of the longest life of the youngest cadet at the College – it was to have been completed simultaneously with the college, i.e. in six months.

On 22 October 1915 the Captain of the College was informed by the Naval Board that the Commonwealth Government was not prepared to meet any part of the expected loss on the proposed railway line and that, for this reason ‘it would appear therefore that the construction of the line is postponed indefinitely’.

In April 1916 the Naval Board again looked at the need for a rail link. While the Second and Third Naval Members favoured reopening the question, Creswell disagreed; he wrote: ‘There is no question of the superior advantages of the Railway but we are not in such a completely helpless condition as to be at the mercy of any terms the New South Wales Government may wish to impose’.

The Royal Australian Naval College at Jervis Bay has never been connected to either the New South Wales railway system or by direct route to Canberra. During negotiations leading to the acquisition of the site, neither Government had committed itself formally to constructing or paying for a rail connection. Nevertheless, it was reasonable enough for Creswell and his colleagues to believe that part of the price paid for the decision to locate the college at Jervis Bay against their advice was that a railway would be built, with concessions being made by both governments.

Transferred to retired list

Creswell’s naval career came to an end on 27 November 1919 when he was formally transferred to the retired list; in September 1922 he was promoted Vice-Admiral. By that time the Naval College had been firmly established at Jervis Bay and it seemed that its future was assured. In 1923, however, a move was made to combine the College with the Royal Military College, Duntroon; a move which Creswell would have opposed. In 1931, as an economy measure during the great depression, the College was moved to Flinders Naval Depot (HMAS Cerberus); it was re-located at Jervis Bay in 1958. Its re-opening was marked by the College being commissioned and named HMAS Creswell.

Creswell had taken a great interest in the setting up of the Naval College. As a result of his visit to England in 1906, he had been able to clarify his thinking about the kind of officer training which he thought was appropriate for Australia and, as Director and later First Naval Member he had been able to influence decisions which reflected those beliefs. At the same time, his influence, important as it was in establishing the College, extended into every phase of naval life in Australia. Writing in 1933, shortly after Creswell’s death, Captain Chambers, first Captain of the College, wrote:

Byvirtue of his long residence in Australia not less than his service in different States, he had come to know almost every man of note in the Commonwealth. He had a retentive memory and a knowledge of Australian politics and politicians as well as those of other personalities which was truly remarkable. He had rather a love of harmless intrigue and, fancying his own astuteness, would often take a pride in obtaining some desired outcome by oblique methods, demonstrating his knowledge of local conditions, which it seemed to the present writer could have been equally well arrived at by more direct means. Still, there can be no question that he was a skillful pilot amidst the metaphorical rocks and shoals which beset the passage of the Australian Navy in the days when he was at its head.

More recently, (the historian) Stephen Webster observed:

It is impossible to study the early development of Australian defence without coming to grips with Admiral Creswell. The parts he played in the gestation, birth, and early youth of the RAN were major ones.

Impact

Webster sees Creswell, with ‘characteristics of determination, tenacity and resourcefulness’ as having ‘an impact upon the Australian public, federal politicians and the Admiralty’ as well as ‘a laudable and important role in the shaping of early federal defence policy’.

In looking back over its record, the College owes much to the early guidance, encouragement and inspiration which Creswell gave it during its earliest years. He created a proper understanding of the indispensable institution of the nation for whose interests it existed; and, above all, he developed a public awareness of the never-ending demands made on every officer and cadet-midshipman serving in the Royal Australian Navy.

Note: For reasons of space the numerous notes used in this address have been omitted. A complete copy of the original text is available on request to the Naval Historical Society.

Chinderah Bay Antiques and Museum of the Seas

March 26, 2019

The September 2018 edition of this magazine reported on the closure of the Sydney Maritime Model Museum and the disposal of its considerable content of maritime artifacts. It is therefore a pleasant surprise to report on another very different maritime museum at Chinderah Bay on the far north coast of New South Wales.

Chinderah Bay is on the banks of the Tweed River just south of Tweed Heads. In making for the Queensland border it is easy to drive past Chinderah Bay and its small museum does not have much to recommend it in street presentation. From the outside it resembles a rather rundown shed full of lengths of rusty chain and old rope, the odd anchor and other bits of flotsam and jetsam. But look further and the proud owner, Ray Evans, has put together a lifetime’s work in collecting and restoring maritime memorabilia of unusual character ranging from all types and sizes of cordage, to model ships, ships in bottles, chronometers, sextants and numerous brass and chrome ship fittings. Much of the material comes from northeast coast dive wrecks.

Some objects are partially hidden behind many years of dust and cobwebs but this does not detract from the interest of this collection, rather it adds a touch of authenticity. There are even some artefacts attributed to the great Captain Bligh when on his Pacific voyages.

While these wonders can keep the maritime enthusiast enthralled for a couple of hours, continue your journey into a back room. Here is possibly one of the most complete collections of artefacts from Papua New Guinea purchased from a collection brought back to Australia following independence in 1975. These alone are worthy of a visit.

The Chinderah Museum of the Seas is a delight in its simplicity, but to bring the collection alive, talk to Ray or his able assistant Christian, who have a wonderful array of stories on how and where the material originated and was acquired. While Ray buys and sells, his main business is the hire of material to interior designers and for television film sets. Truckloads of artefacts leave here as props used in design and various well known productions.

The Museum is to be found at the corner of Waugh Street and Chinderah Bay Drive, Chinderah, NSW 2487.

Phone 02 6674 0099 or 0429 444 616. Open daily from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm but closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Ray Evans with a selection from his museum collection

Australia Day 2019

February 6, 2019

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Scapa Flow Revisited

December 13, 2018

By Walter Burroughs

The name Scapa Flow was synonymous with naval operations in both world wars as a safe anchorage for vast fleets seeking to control access to the seaborne approaches to northern Europe. So where and what is Scapa Flow, how safe was it and, what does it have to do with Australian naval history?

The Orkney Islands lie some 10 miles (16 km) across the notorious Pentland Firth off the northeast tip of the Scottish mainland, a turbulent stretch of water where the fury of the North Atlantic meets the outpouring of the North Sea. They comprise 70 windswept but surprisingly fertile islands¹of which 20 are inhabited by 23,000 hardy folk of Norse ancestry. A further 80 km north lie the slightly larger and more remote Shetland Islands. These two island groups were but stepping stones to the Vikings who, more than a thousand years past and using their powerful longships, came from Scandinavia and created a vast empire which covered all of Scotland and Ireland and much of northern England. They then went further west to the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland and reached North America more than four centuries before Christopher Columbus.

After the Norman (French) invasion of England in 1066 the Viking influence was subdued with both England and Scotland becoming independent kingdoms. However, the Orkney and Shetland islands remained under Norse control until 1468 when they were ceded to Scotland as a dowry upon the marriage of Princess Margaret of Denmark to James III of Scotland.

The Vikings called Scapa Flow Skalpafloi and it is one of the world’s largest natural harbours of about 312square kilometres, six times larger than Sydney Harbour. In its original state there were 17 passages to the sea through the chain of surrounding islands, providing good access to open water, but these were difficult to defend. The anchorage was of firm sand at a depth of between 30 and 40 metres.

Early History of the Flow

While the existence of the Flow was known to many seafarers it perhaps first came of interest to Antipodeans following the explorations of Captain Cook, specifically Cook’s third and final voyage, in which he was killed and his second in command, Lieutenant Charles Clerke, died through illness. After four years absence from their homeland, command of the expedition passed to the remaining senior officers, Lieutenant John Gore (Resolution)and Lieutenant James King (Discovery).After so many perils what could be easier for these experienced navigators than passage over the final leg from Cape Town to London in the northern summer?

They opened the English Channel in early August 1780 but were beaten back by strong easterly gales and tried in vain to find shelter on the west coast of Ireland. Neither their long lost leader Cook, who prided himself on the exactness of his navigation, nor their Lordships of the Admiralty would have been impressed when they eventually anchored off Stromness in the Orkneys, over five hundred miles (850 km) from their intended destination.

At Stromness they took on provisions and waited a month for favourable winds. Lieutenant King was sent overland to acquaint the Admiralty with the results of the expedition. One crew member died and another found time to marry a local lass. It was not until 4 October that the ships finally made the Thames and a subdued welcome.

While a prominent fishing industry developed around these islands there was little commercial interest other than by the Hudson Bay Company who used the Orkneys as a recruiting base for ships engaged in the lucrative Canadian fur trade.

Twentieth Century Development

In the early 1900s, with growing rivalry between Britain and Germany, the need for a Royal Naval fleet base covering the approaches to the North Sea and the North Atlantic was identified. After a series of fleet exercises around the northern approaches, Admirals Fisher and Jellicoe enthusiastically pursued the need for a fleet base to be developed at Scapa Flow. Work began in 1912, firstly near the main town of Kirkwall, but in October 1914 the base was moved further south to Lyness.

The Royal Navy was also conscious of the potential threat to its bases posed by sea mines. Accordingly, in 1910 the Royal Naval Reserve Trawler Section was formed to provide a nucleus of vessels and crews for minesweeping duties. As the war progressed about 1,500 fishing trawlers and a similar number of smaller drifters were brought into naval service. Of these 250 were lost, mainly to enemy mines. The tough men who manned these ships did not wear uniform and remained under control of their skippers. A skipper’s formal dress was a bowler hat and tweed jacket, which in tribute to their new role was often adorned with Navy-issue brass buttons.

With most of the navy relying on coal, as soon as ships arrived at Scapa coaling ship was undertaken, a process that continued day and night without stop until completed many hours later. With the potential submarine threat colliers were also used to screen the capital ships making them less vulnerable to attack.

Wooden wharves and a slipway for smaller vessels were constructed at Lyness on the island of Hoy in 1916 and a naval base grew, with stocks of coal and oil, stores and administrative support. A cemetery was dedicated as a resting place for those who lost their lives in these waters, which eventually included 18 German sailors and six Australians.

Boom defence measures were put in place, manned by a number of drifters which also supported the warships when in harbour. Block ships were sunk to restrict access to the numerous channels and one of the first of these was SS Aorangi. In mid-1914 Aorangi had been chartered by the RAN from the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand as a supply vessel which accompanied the Australian fleet when capturing German New Guinea. She was then sold to the Admiralty who took her to Devonport for refit, but being found beyond economic repair she was taken to Scapa Flow and scuttled as a block ship in August 1915.

After the capture of German New Guinea and the chase for von Spee across the Pacific, HMAS Australia joined the pride of the fleet, the fast and powerful battlecruiser squadron, on 17 February 1915. While they were part of the Grand Fleet which was based at Scapa Flow, the battlecruisers were held further south at Rosyth, a naval dockyard across the Forth from Edinburgh. Rear Admiral Sir David Beatty flew his flag in HMS Lion, other ships of the squadron were Australia and HM Ships Indefatigable, Indomitable, Invincible, Princess Royal, Queen Mary and New Zealand.

HMAS Australia in line ahead in reduced visibility passing under the Firth of Forth Bridge AWM

The main concerns were not German capital ships, which they were keen to engage, but the unknowns of mines and submarines and also Zeppelins, which acted as lookouts and could drop not very accurate bombs from height, beyond the range of anti-aircraft fire. As a defence against submarine attacks the squadron usually entered and left harbour after dark at high speed and with dimmed navigational lights. Patrols and exercises with the squadron and the Grand Fleet resulted in Australiamaking frequent calls to the Flow and being anchored there for days at a time. The lack of facilities at the Flow meant that this was a dreary and monotonous location when compared to Rosyth with the not far distant beckoning lights of Edinburgh.

On 22 April 1916 the Fleet was in the North Sea searching for suspected enemy ships and proceeding in thick weather on a zig-zag course at 20 knots. At about 15.45 Australiarammed New Zealand,not once but twice, suffered extensive damage to her stem and was holed on her starboard side. While New Zealandescaped with slight damage which was repaired locally, Australiamade the sad and slow journey back to Rosyth. Here it was ascertained she needed docking and was sent to Devonport for repairs. By the time she reappeared at the Flow, most of the capital ships were at Jutland. It is noteworthy that her near-sisters Indefatigable,Invincibleand Queen Maryexploded and sank at Jutland with huge losses of life².

In August 1916 the light cruisers HMA Ships Melbourneand Sydneywere transferred to the Grand Fleet and in October joined the Second Light Cruiser Squadron, also based at Rosyth but they too spent considerable time in the Flow.

Unfortunately, there is a series of naval tragedies associated with Scapa Flow. Immediately after Jutland the cruiser HMSHampshirewas sent to the Flow to embark Field Marshall Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War and his staff and take them on a secret mission to meet the Czar, with the aim of securing greater Russian support to the war effort. On 05 June 1916 Hampshire,with two escorting destroyers, sailed into strong winds and made for the western side of Orkney to provide better shelter for her escorts. As the gale increased the escorts, who could not maintain station, were dismissed, and the cruiser continued alone. That evening when about two miles off the coast she struck a mine that had been laid days earlier by U-475. She quickly sank and of her 735 crew and 14 passengers only 12 crew survived; Lord Kitchener’s body was not recovered.

Last known photograph of Field Marshall Lord Kitchener about to join HMS Hampshre

Australians were involved in the loss of the battleship HMS Vanguard which suffered a massive internal explosion on the night of 9 July 1917 caused, it is believed, by incorrectly stowing faulty cordite charges. Sydney was the nearest ship and her boats were first on the scene when they rescued the only two men to survive. Unfortunately, two of Sydney’s own crew were on board the battleship in cells and they both died. Like most of the 843 men who were lost in this disaster they have ‘no known grave but the sea’.

Owing to the lack of entertainment the Admiralty requisitioned two merchantmen, SS Gourko and SS Borodino, which were stationed at the Flow, their mission being to bring cheer to the fleet and act as floating canteens, amenities and entertainment centres. On the night of 9 July 1917 a number of Vanguard’s officers had been invited to a concert party being hosted by Gourko.Amongst those attending were the ship’s Gunnery Officer Commander Wilfred Custance and Midshipman Reginald Nichols who had recently joined Vanguard. As these officers were not aboard Vanguard at the time of the explosion they were not listed amongst the survivors, which is of later interest to the history of the RAN^3,4.

Fate of the German Fleet

One of the conditions of the Armistice included the surrender of the German Navy, requiring the fleet to disarm and proceed to Britain for internment, with steaming crews only. The melancholy surrender of the German High Seas Fleet began on 20 November 2018 when 150 submarines began arriving at Harwich. This was followed the next day by 74 surface ships of the once mighty fleet which, with an RN cruiser HMS Cardiff in the van, steamed into the Firth of Forth through the Allied Fleets arranged in two columns.

Britain was determined to put on as spectacular a display of its superiority as possible. Apart from the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet, there were detachments from other stations, an American Battle Squadron and a French Flotilla, in total comprising 240 ships. After anchoring in the Forth arrangements were made for the German ships to proceed in small flotillas to Scapa Flow. Reminiscent of the Sydney/Emden battle of 1914, and now with replacement players with similar names, in one of their final wartime acts Sydney escorted the captured German cruiser Emden into a safe anchorage in the Flow.

Fearing that his ships were to be humiliatingly divided up between the victorious Allies, their Commander-in-Chief Admiral Ludwig von Reuter devised a plan of frustration. On Sunday 21 June 1919, with good weather prevailing, the guarding ships of Vice Admiral Fremantle’s 1st Battle Squadron was taken to sea for exercises. Temporarily free of his guards, von Reuter gave a pre-arranged signal that resulted in 52 of his 74 ships being scuttled by their crews under the unsuspecting noses of their captors.

Second World War

With war clouds looming in 1937, work began on once more making the Flow available as a major fleet base. Large underground fuel storage tanks were constructed plus torpedo and ammunition depots. This was also the beginning of more sustainable personnel facilities for accommodation and recreation such as a hospital, cinema, theatre, several churches and a NAAFI⁵. By 1940 over 12,000 military and civilian personnel were stationed here and they were later joined by much needed female company with up to 1,500 WRNS arriving at the new base now known as HMS Proserpine.

Before the outbreak of war Britain negotiated with Norway for the lease of much needed merchant ships from its fleet, which included a large number of tankers. While Norway was neutral an agreement was reached. On 9 April 1940, possibly to the surprise of the Allies, Germany carried out a seaborne invasion of Norway. By the time the Home Fleet at Scapa was in a position to respond Germany had control of the Norwegian seaboard and air space. The Norwegian campaign was over within a matter of weeks.

When Russia entered the war on the Allied side in mid-1941 the most direct route for providing them with essential supplies was around the north of Norway to Murmansk and Archangel. In winter months with only a few hours of daylight, physical elements of snow and ice were the greatest danger but in the summer with almost perpetual daylight it became a suicide run. Convoys were constantly shadowed by reconnaissance planes and then attacked around the clock by enemy aircraft, submarines and surface vessels. The Home Fleet based at Scapa had the responsibility for protecting these convoys. The losses of ships, equipment and men from these convoys in 1942 was sickening, but gradually from the next year, improvements were made in the Allies favour with telling blows being made on the enemy forces.

From the outbreak of war ships of the RAN integrated with the RN in aid of the mother country. After work-up at Scapa Flow the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia patrolled with the Home Fleet in Atlantic and Arctic waters. She later sailed for north-west Africa to help neutralise the French naval base at Dakar and then refitted at Liverpool before returning home to the Pacific in 1941.

Just after a month following the declaration of war the German Navy gained a significant moral victory over the Royal Navy when one of its submarines U-47,vskilfully navigated by her captain Gunther Prien, penetrated the defences of Scapa Flow. Here she found the old dreadnought HMS Royal Oakvat anchor.

We have already met Reginald Nichols, the midshipman who had an extremely lucky escape attending a concert party when his ship Vanguard exploded and sank at the Flow in 1917. Now twenty-two years later Commander Nichols is Executive Officer of Royal Oak and asleep in his cabin when awoken a little after 1.00 am by an explosion near the bow of his ship. An initial investigation assumed the cause to be an explosion in the Inflammable Store near the Cable Locker, but thirteen minutes later came three more sickening thuds on the starboard side, all lights wen out and the ship took a severe list. There was now no doubt that they had been torpedoed. With no power it was impossible to lower the larger boats and because of the increasing list not many of the smaller boats could be lowered. Just eight minutes after the last torpedo struck Royal Oakcapsized and sank.

She took most of her ship’s company with her and 833 men perished, many no-more than boys straight out of training. However, over 370 were saved from the water by the drifter Daisy II and the seaplane carrier HMS Pegasus. Amongst those found clinging to a life raft was Commander Nichols. Another to be saved from the icy water was an exchange officer, LCDR Frederick Cook, RAN⁶.

Also at the Flow was another elderly battlewagon Iron Duke, which had been flagship of the Grand Fleet in WWI. Only days after the Royal Oakdisaster, on 17 October 1939, while serving as depot and harbour defence ship, Iron Duke was badly damaged by Luftwaffe Ju 88 dive bombers and run aground to avoid sinking. She was again attacked by enemy bombers and suffered further damage. As a result of these two disasters the Fleet was temporarily removed from the Flow until defences were improved.

The propaganda value was of immense value to the enemy and Prien became a national hero. These setbacks resulted in an early visit from Prime Minister Winston Churchill who demanded a number of rapid improvements to the defences known as ‘Churchill Barriers’ where causeways were constructed between islands to further restrict the number of entry points into the Flow. These ‘Barriers’ were largely built by 1,200 Italian prisoners of war. Their legacy is remembered in a wonderful chapel built from Nissen huts and scrounged bits and pieces. Improved fortifications with anti-aircraft batteries were also installed around the perimeter of the anchorage. The barriers and the chapel still stand and are important tourist destinations.

The N-class Destroyers

At the commencement of WWII the RAN was gifted five N-class destroyers which were then building in British yards. The history of these ships, HMA Ships Napier, Nepal, Nestor, Nizama nd Norman, all followed a similar pattern. After trials and workups, all proceeded to Scapa Flow where they joined the Home Fleet for duties involving escorting convoys across the North Atlantic. But within months these ships were diverted to the Mediterranean or Eastern Fleets. They all worked hard and had an eventful war but Nestorwas lost after being badly damaged by enemy aircraft near Crete in June 1942.

Napiercommissioned at Clydebank on 28 November 1940 and with barely enough time for workup, her first important task on 15 January 1941, was to transport Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Mrs Churchill from Thurso (Scrabster) to the new battleship HMS King George Vanchored at Scapa Flow. Here they farewelled Lord Halifax on his departure in that ship for the vital position of Ambassador to the still neutral United States.

Three of these ships were to spend more time in northern waters. Nestor sailed with three other destroyers to 72 degrees north to intercept a German weather ship and return with invaluable code books which went to Bletchley Park⁷.Nepal was part of a dummy convoy sent north to act as a diversion to enemy forces, drawing them away from the real convoy taking essential supplies to the Russian front. Finally, when the intended RN ship suffered engine failure the brand new and fast RAN destroyer Norman proceeded to Iceland to embark Sir Walter Citrine⁸and a Trade Union Delegation (shades of Lord Kitchener) and successfully took them to, and brought them back, from Russia.

The last RAN ship to have any involvement at Scapa Flow is thought to have been HMAS Shropshire. Following the loss of HMAS Canberra in the Battle of Savo Island the British Government approved the transfer of HMS Shropshire as a replacement. The cruiser was refitted at Chatham under the command of Commander David Harries, RAN, who supervised the refit, her change of crew and transfer to the RAN. Following his arrival Captain John Collins, CB, RAN, assumed command and commissioned her as HMAS Shropshire on 20 April 1943. The new Australian warship departed for Scapa Flow on 1 July for workup and left the Flow on 13 August, arriving at Fremantle on 24 September 1943.

By 1944 the fortunes of war were beginning to turn in favour of the Allies and as the focus of attention shifted from the North Atlantic the importance of Scapa Flow began to decline, with ships moving further south. Shortly after the war’s end the base was placed in care and maintenance and it finally closed in 1957. Afterwards the majority of the buildings were demolished or sold at auction. However, there is sufficient left behind to remind discerning visitors of important war-time operations, especially to the small but impressive Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum which is housed in one of the former oil-pumping stations of the Lyness Naval Base.

Scapa Flow was home to the Grand Fleet in the First World War and the Home Fleet in the Second. In between it became the final resting place of the German high seas Fleet. To this generation it is just a name in history. However, this bleak and mysterious place is something legends are made of and possibly records more recent naval history than any other place on our globe.

Post-War Developments

The post-war prosperity of the Orkneys was much improved with the discovery of North Sea oil, resulting in oil and gas terminals being established at Scapa Flow, and maintenance facilities for this important industry operating from these islands. Of later year’s tourism has also become important and great ships once again ply these waters as part of a growing cruise industry.

Notes:

1 Orcadians have a quaint definition of what constitutes an island. A parcel of land which is isolated by water must be large enough to grow sufficient grass to keep one sheep for one year, anything less than this is a skerry.

2 The battlecruisers Indefatigable, Invincible andQueen Mary were all casualties at the Battle of Jutland. Significant design faults were demonstrated when these ships exploded after enemy projectiles penetrated their decks and entered their magazines with disastrous losses of life and only a handful of survivors.

3 On 22 April 1938 Wilfred Custance was appointed Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Squadron. Due to ill health this popular officer was obliged to relinquish his command on the eve of the outbreak of WWII. Invalided home in the transport SS Orontes, taking Australian air crew for training in England, he died at sea and was buried off Aden.

4 Commander Reginald Nichols, RN, was lent to the RAN in 1940 as Director of Plans and later as a captain as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and finally as Commanding Officer HMAS Cerberus.His older brother Charles Godfrey Nichols, DSO, MVO, RN, was a highly regarded captain of HMAS Shropshire.

5 NAAFI – Navy, Army & Air Force Institutes providing canteen and recreational establishments for Service personnel.

6 LCDR Frederick Cook served on exchange with the RN until 1942 when he returned home to establish the commando training base at Port Stephens (HMAS Assault) and later as Captain F Cook, DSC, RAN he received several commands during an outstanding career.

The First Direct Wireless Messages from the United Kingdom to Australia

December 13, 2018

On 22 September 2018, marking the centenary of the First Wireless Message from the United Kingdom to Australia, a ceremony was held at the Sydney suburb of Wahroonga, outside the home of Ernest Fisk where the message was first received. The following article (possibly written in 1993) by the prominent radio engineer, the late Colin MacKinnon, is reproduced with the kind permission of Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Pty Limited.

On 22nd September 1918 direct wireless messages from England were received in Australia, creating considerable public interest and causing a political controversy. The messages were transmitted from the big Marconi station at Carnarvon in Wales and were received at the home of Ernest Fisk, the Managing Director of Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Limited (AWA). Two communications were sent, one from the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. W.M. ‘Billy’ Hughes, who was in England trying to raise enthusiasm for the Australian war effort in Europe because public support was waning and the disastrous English military leadership of the Australian forces was under serious question. The second message was from the Minister for the Navy, Mr. Joseph Cook, who accompanied Hughes. Australia’s efforts to sell its farm produce to England were being frustrated by the English farmers and unions, which explains the jingoistic tone of the wireless messages of Hughes and Cook. As it happened, Germany capitulated soon after this event and both men then took part in the Peace Conference and negotiations in November 1918.

The two messages were as follows:

1.15 pm Sydney time

‘I have just returned from a visit to the battlefields where the glorious valour and dash of the Australian troops saved Amiens and forced back the legions of the enemy, filled with greater admiration than ever for these glorious men and more convinced than ever that it is the duty of their fellow-citizens to keep these magnificent battalions up to their full strength. W.M. Hughes, Prime Minister.’

1.25 pm Sydney time

‘Royal Australian Navy is magnificently bearing its part in the great struggle. Spirit of sailors and soldiers alike is beyond praise. Recent hard fighting brilliantly successful but makes reinforcements imperative. Australia hardly realises the wonderful reputation which our men have won. Every effort being constantly made here to dispose of Australia’s surplus products. Joseph Cook, Minister for Navy.’

AWA published a souvenir document of the event with the heading ‘The First Direct Wireless Messages from England to Australia.’ with a reproduction of the actual message forms as supposedly written down in Sydney and the following additional information:

‘These messages were transmitted by arrangement with Senatore G. Marconi, GCVO, DSc and Godfrey C. Isaacs Esq. Managing Director, Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company, Limited, from the Marconi Transatlantic Station at Carnarvon, Wales, at 3.15 am & 3.25 am (Greenwich mean time), September 22nd, 1918.

Received instantaneously at 1.15 pm & 1.25 pm (Sydney time) by Mr. E.T. Fisk, Member Institute of Radio Engineers & Managing Director, Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Limited, at his Experimental Wireless Station, Wahroonga, New South Wales, with apparatus designed and manufactured in Sydney by Mr. Fisk and the Staff of Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Limited.’

Original Fisk Radio Mast at Wahroonga. State Library NSW

Spectacular as the event was, these were certainly not the first wireless signals received in Australia direct from England. During WWI signals from the big transmitting station at Nauen in Germany had been heard regularly in Australia so there was every chance signals could be received from England, and in fact AWA had been carrying out experimental work for more than a year prior to the official messages. At the AWA general shareholders meeting in August 1918 Ernest Fisk explained that ‘…. we are able to read messages direct from Berlin. These messages can be heard practically all day.’

In late 1916 Fisk had travelled to England where he discussed the German wireless intercepts with Marconi and the possibility of reception of wireless signals direct from England. It was agreed that AWA should set up a suitable receiver to listen for the Wales/Canada traffic from the Marconi Wireless Transmitting Station at Carnarvon in Wales. The UK Admiralty (which controlled the station during the war) later agreed to operate at other times, sending test messages for AWA.

On 26 February 1917 Fisk sought Australian Navy permission to erect an aerial at ‘Logan Brae’, Station Street, Pymble in Sydney, in one of the houses that AWA maintained for its staff, in order to listen for signals from the UK. (Fisk and his staff also carried out secret transmitting tests with the Pennant Hills wireless station from this time, using the call sign AWY.) The reception equipment set up at Pymble was improved during the year and by December 1917 it was clear that signals from England could be received on a regular basis so the installation was moved to Fisk’s residence at ‘Lucania’ on the corner of Stuart and Cleveland Streets, Wahroonga. There Fisk erected a large square wooden tower about 25 metres high, with two antenna wires spaced about 3 metres apart and about 30 metres long, running from south east to north west across to a mast on the western side of the property. Even though signals were being received, results were very variable and it took till September of 1918 before any real results could be achieved and publicised.

The new valve technology that became available during WWI was crucial to successful reception. The receiver was the first that AWA manufactured, although it closely followed typical Marconi design and appearance. It included an Aerial Tuning Unit which consisted of a large vertical aerial tuning coil about 500 mm high by 150 mm diameter with a sliding contact running down the side to select the number of turns of the coil, along with a variable capacitor mounted on a wooden base plate. This same unit was used with the Marconi long wave crystal set and the tuning range was 10,000 – 30,000 metres (30Khz – 10Khz). The valve and secondary tuning unit, called a Magnifying Valve Receiver, Type 103, was similar in appearance to the Marconi crystal receivers but was fitted with three Marconi type ‘Q’ valves. AWA engineers used up to three of these receivers as amplifiers. Note that the AWA Type 103 receiver is nothing like the Marconi Type 103. They raised the high tension voltage to around 300 volts (normal HT was about 160 volts) and were able to minimise unwanted feedback by individually adjusting the filament voltage to each valve. This setup ran from a high tension battery supply and a number of filament batteries which were charged from a wall mounted charging board.

The Carnarvon 200 KW transmitting station, call sign MUU, was actually located near the village of Waenfawr, 10 km south east of Caernarfon (the Welsh spelling). It had been built to communicate with Montreal in Canada and consequently the aerials were not aimed in the best direction for reception in Australia. The frequency of Carnarvon was 14,300 metres (21 Khz) and it was classed as only a low power station because the great circle distance between Carnarvon and Montreal is only 4,800 km and high power was not necessary. Despite this, there was enough signal to spread round the world and once it was shown that signals meant for Canada could be received in Australia, special tests were arranged at times thought to suit communications to Australia.

Thermionic valve bank at Marconi Transmitting Station North Wales

At this time the science of propagation was unknown and it was believed that the best conditions were during full daylight, using very low frequencies and lots of power. Now that more is known about propagation effects, we know that this is not the most propitious time for reception. It was not appreciated till 1922 that signals tend to follow the great circle route of maximum darkness between stations. There are two such paths that wireless signals can take; the short path, i.e. the shortest distance between the two points, or the long path, the reciprocal distance between them. Signals are strongest over the short path between England and Australia (15,200 km across Asia) when both cities are in darkness. During September that is at 7.30 pm (1930 GMT) in Carnarvon and 5.30 am in Sydney. A second lower peak occurs around 6.00 am (0600 GMT) at Carnarvon and 4.00 pm in Sydney when the signals travel the long path (20,800 km) across South America and towards Antarctica, although during September there is no long path overlap of darkness at the two cities so signals would not be particularly strong. Luckily the sunspot cycle was at a peak in 1918 because the time chosen to send the messages was in between the optimum times for strongest signals. The messages were actually sent at 3.15 am Carnarvon time (at sunrise) and received in Sydney in the middle of the day at 1.15 pm local time. However, strong long path VLF signals do start to become audible from about 12 noon Sydney time so it appears the Fisk team achieved success early in the period of opportunity and copied the full text well before the signal peaked. It is probable that Fisk invited the press and dignitaries to arrive around noon and, after suitable introductions and perhaps refreshments, planned for a listening period of a couple of hours during which he would be sure the signals could be copied.

Because there was no two-way communication between Sydney and Wales, the messages were sent several times, commencing 15 minutes after each hour. The log book shows that the messages were taken down again at least twice more that afternoon but then atmospherics became very bad.

Although Fisk received the kudos (and throughout his life he was very committed to extracting maximum personal publicity), in fact it was AWA technicians who built and operated the equipment and carried out the extended trials before the public success was orchestrated. As the trials extended over 12 months it is hard to determine all who were involved but they probably included Harry Wiles, Alton F. Vipan, T.W. Bearup, Harry M. Lamb, George Apperley, Raymond E. McIntosh and Eric Burbury. McIntosh was the one who actually took down the messages even though Fisk is the name on the message forms. McIntosh transcribed the Morse Code into a log book that had been in use for the experiments and the ‘official’ message form was written out later and signed by Fisk. The log book is now in the Mitchell Library.

Obviously Prime Minister Hughes and Navy Minister Cook were not standing by at Carnarvon at 3 o’clock in the morning. Their messages had been sent previously by wireless, or perhaps cable, from London to Wales. (Some cynics might even suggest that the entire text was known to Fisk and his staff before the event.) Sydney had no facilities for replying by wireless so AWA sent a cable to England to proclaim the success.

In 1934 the Wahroongah Community Service Association, Ku-ring-gai Municipal Council, the Royal Australian Historical Society and AWA subscribed to the cost of a commemorative monument which was erected on a corner of the property ‘Lucania’, on land donated by the then property owner, Mr. Marc J. Rutty. The monument comprises a marble plinth with four horizontal arms, each surmounted by a ‘British’ lion. In the centre is a column with a globe of the world on top and a figure of the winged god Mercury, with one foot on the globe. Engraved plaques on the plinth describe the event. Ernest Fisk unveiled the monument on 14/12/1935 following speeches from Prime Minister Hughes and other dignitaries. AWA produced 1000 numbered commemorative booklets of the occasion titled An Epoch of Radio Communicationand they are now collectors’ items. Over the years Mercury was stolen several times, (once he was found in the local tip) so, as a Bicentennial project in 1988, the monument was raised up onto a tall marble cylinder and a smaller version of Mercury was securely fixed on a very tall spike rising from the globe, out of harm’s way. Patterns exist for a backup Mercury if needed! The original Mercury is in council safekeeping. A small plaque was affixed to the steps stating the monument is now the ‘Fisk Memorial’.

On September 22, 1993 the Wahroonga Amateur Historical Radio Society, call sign VK2WAH, the Ku-ring-gai Municipal Council and dignitaries from AWA and the Fisk family, along with children from local schools, commemorated the 75th Anniversary at the site, ‘Lucania’. Later, wireless contact was made from the Wahroonga home of Mrs. Jo Harris, call sign VK2KAA, with the Dragon Amateur Radio Club in Wales, operating from the Welsh site of the Marconi transmitter and using the amateur call sign GB2VK.

‘Lucania’ still exists much as it was in 1918, but all evidence of wireless activity, apart from the monument on the street corner, is long gone. The land was subdivided many years ago so the area is smaller than in Fisk’s time when Wahroonga was a rural area with large land parcels and dirt roads. The concrete foundation for the tower remains and is located on the north east corner, just inside the boundary of the property next door. ‘Lucania’ has an attic, but despite the vision conjured up of an avid experimenter hidden away in his upstairs shack, Fisk and his engineers operated from a spacious ground level back room. Even so, that room was not suitable for a group photo so the equipment and assorted dignitaries were assembled out in the yard for a publicity photo of the equipment. It should also be noted that illustrations of the house showing the tower are artistic licence – it was not there when photos were taken and has been drawn in.

Epilogue

The fact that messages could now be sent direct between England and Australia caused a political controversy and added to the animosity felt between governments and the Marconi Co. Prior to WWI, Germany had set up an extensive wireless chain in its colonies around the world as well as in other friendly countries. This gave it economic, political and military advantages that were envied by the British Imperialists, but attempts to build a similar British colonial system had been frustrated by the commercial demands of the Marconi company and political intrigue in England, up to WWI. Following the war there were renewed moves to establish a wireless network between the British colonies. The English Marconi offer to build and rent a private network was rebuffed and the Post Office pushed ahead with plans for relay stations using Poulsen (USA) wireless equipment. At the end of 1918, following the successful tests, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company submitted a proposal to establish a direct wireless service between England and Australia, but Australia would not agree to a private foreign company controlling Australia’s wireless lifeline.

In 1920 AWA (even though it was 50% owned by the Marconi Co.) submitted a similar proposal to a sympathetic Prime Minister Hughes but any action was delayed pending a 1919-1920 study by an English committee which came up with the Norman Report, named after its chairman, Sir Henry Norman. This report confirmed the Post Office thinking and recommended a chain of very high powered, very costly VLF wireless stations no more than 2000 miles (3,300 km) apart, with relay stations in Egypt, India, Singapore and then to Darwin or Perth, Australia, with a branch from Egypt to South Africa. Prime Minister Hughes, having seen that direct communications with the UK was possible, did not fancy Australia being at the end of a very vulnerable chain of stations, so he rejected any co-operation with the UK recommendations. Instead, he signed an agreement with AWA for a direct service to the Marconi stations in England and soon after (1922) arranged for the Federal Government to take up a 50% plus one share controlling interest in AWA by paying £500,001 for newly issued shares. That put the cat amongst the pigeons because the English government, which had had enough of the activities of the Marconi company, refused to grant it a licence to transmit to Australia, and did not appreciate a colonial Prime Minister using his new government controlled wireless company to muscle in on Mother England’s rights to communicate with its colonies! Much diplomatic wheeling and dealing ensued to get the governments and protagonists to talk again.

The UK Government determined to proceed with the Imperial Wireless Chain with the English Post Office to build and run the relay stations, cutting Marconi out of the action. The first two stations were finally opened at Leafield, England and Abu Zabal, Egypt. While this was going on the Marconi organisation was rapidly advancing the state of the art, with valve receivers, high power valve transmitters and research into propagation and short waves. Then in February 1924, in great secrecy, Marconi cabled AWA, asking them to build a receiver for 90 metres (3.3 Mhz) and listen for 2YT at Poldhu in the south of England. The two receivers that AWA built, literally overnight, had two RF stages with tuned plate and tuned grid circuits (called a TPTG circuit) followed by a detector, whilst outboard audio amplifiers could be added to boost the signal, as required. It was installed at the Willoughby transmitting location of public radio station 2FC which had a long, tall dipole antenna and was managed by AWA. The first signals were heard at good strength (up to S8) at 5.30 am Sydney time on 6 March 1924 (1930 GMT), i.e. with both cities in darkness. Later tests showed that 25 metres (12 Mhz) gave the best all round results, including good daytime reception. Marconi was now able to demonstrate reliable direct communication to any of the British colonies, using short waves with low power and far less costly aerials and stations. He probably took fiendish delight in making his revelations in a speech to the Royal Society of Arts in July 1924. That news put the UK Government in a very difficult situation and changed all the plans for the VLF chain wireless scheme which was then abandoned in favour of what became the Beam Wireless Scheme, operating at high frequencies. With its newfound bargaining ace Marconi was able to negotiate very profitable deals to build the stations and provide staff to run them and train local personnel. In Australia the Beam Wireless station was built by AWA, using Marconi equipment and designs, with the transmitter at Ballan near Shepparton, Victoria, where the small settlement that grew to house the staff was named Fiskville. The receiving station was at Rockbank also in Victoria. After several technical and political delays, it opened in April 1927.

References

AWA Archives, courtesy of Mrs Margaret White, AWA Librarian – many of these items are now in the Mitchell Library, Sydney.

The collection of Colin MacKinnon, VK2DYM.

History - general

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