Glorious Deeds of Australasians in the Great War

by E. C. Buley

The battle cruiser Australia of 19,200 tons displacement, in length 555 feet, with an 80 foot beam, and a draught of 26½ feet. Her armament consists of eight 12-inch guns, sixteen 4-inch guns, and two torpedo tubes. Of her ship's company of 820 more than half are Australians. She flies the flag of Rear-Admiral Sir George Patey, K.C.V.O.

Three light cruisers: the Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, all of 5,600 tons displacement, and with a speed of 26 knots. (The Sydney made 27 when steaming to her duel with the Emden.) Each has eight 6-inch guns, four 3-pounders, four machine guns and two torpedo tubes. The Sydney and Melbourne were built in Great Britain, but the Brisbane is of local construction.

Six destroyers: the Parramatta, Yarra, Torrens, Warrego, Swan, and Derwent. All are of the same type; of 700 tons displacement, 26 knots speed, and carry one 4-inch gun, three 12-pounders and three torpedo tubes.

Two submarines: the AE1 and AE2.

Thus had Australia provided for the defence of her coast, at a cost which excited strenuous criticism in the Commonwealth itself. Until war broke out—then every penny of the money was saved by the 12-inch guns of the Australia. "No," wrote an officer of the Scharnhorst, shortly before Admiral Sturdee had made an end of that armoured cruiser, "we did not raid any Australian port, nor sink any Australasian shipping. And why? Because we knew our 8·2-inch guns were no match for the armament of the Australia."

It is interesting to remember that at the launching of the Sydney Captain R. Muirhead Collins, C.M.G., the Secretary to the Commonwealth Office in London, made a speech almost prophetic in its prescience of the glory with which that vessel was to cover herself in her first ocean combat.

"From time immemorial," he said, "much significance and ceremony had been attached to the launch and christening of a ship. Apart from the mystery of the sea, and the fact that those who went down to the sea in ships saw the wonders of the deep, the act of placing a vessel in the water appeals to us all strongly, because ships are freighted, not only with human lives, but with human interests.

"How much stronger is the appeal to our emotions when ships, those great engines of war, carried with them the future of the Empire and of the English-speaking races under the flag? (Applause.) To the launch, therefore, of this cruiser, as in the case of the vessels which had preceded her, there was the added significance that they are freighted with, or carry with them, national and Imperial aspirations. National aspirations, because they represent the determination of a young, strong and vigorous community, proud of their British descent and of the glorious traditions of the sea which they share, to be no longer satisfied to dwell under the protection of the Mother's wing, but to take on the responsibilities of a self-governing community and to support the Mother Country in the great task of defence of the Empire—(applause)—and Imperial aspirations, because we see in the unity of the Empire, which depends on free communication by sea, the guarantee of freedom and security of peace to all those who dwell within its borders.

"We see in the co-ordination and consolidation of the naval resources of the Empire the chief means of its preservation, founded as it is on maritime enterprise and supremacy. Naval defence alone, however, will not suffice to save the Empire. Co-ordination in military preparations will also be required, based on the recognition of the obligation of every citizen to take his share. In this respect Australia is setting an example in its system of national training. (Applause.)

"We must go back to the days of ancient Greece for a record of maritime confederacy. It failed; and the Empire, which under other conditions it might have safeguarded, was destroyed and its peoples conquered, because, in the words of a recent writer, the Athenians neglected to make the outlying States of their Empire living and active parts instead of mere dependencies on the central government. These new vessels, which were to form the Australian unit in our naval forces, were the embodiment of a living and active partnership in the defence of the Empire. The Navy of Britain had always been justly the Briton's pride. That pride and that interest should now be extended to embrace the Navy of the Empire."