through a determined opposition, and became law eventually, after the
violent expedient of "swamping the Upper House," which swamping,
however, had no practical or immediate effect, as the old members,
including the President, retired in a body when the new members
attempted to take their seats. By the Constitution, the first Council
was appointed for five years only, and the term was near its expiration
when this historical incident occurred. So nothing could be done with
the Bill, or anything else, until the next Council was appointed, whose
term was for life.
Sir John Robertson's Act did immense good. Its broad scope was to
enable men to select land for themselves in blocks from 40 to 320 acres,
at £1 per acre, without waiting for any surveyor or other Government
official, but subject to the conditions of a deposit of 5_s._ an acre,
actual residence and improvements to the value of £1 per acre in value.
The balance of the purchase-money was to remain for a time, not limited
by date, at 5% interest. It is no figure of speech to say that this law
unlocked the lands to the industrious settler, and notwithstanding the
abuses which too widely grew up, it was the means of bringing into
existence hundreds of comfortable homes in all parts of the colony where
the name of its author is held in grateful remembrance. It will have
been seen in a previous chapter what a network of difficulties
surrounded the man of small means who tried to obtain a rural home in
former years; and perhaps the highest tribute to the memory of Sir John
Robertson is that, after all the amendments which have been carried, the
chief principles of his Act are still imbedded in the law of the
country.
QUEENSLAND
+Source.+--Sessional Papers of the House of Lords, 1861, Vol. XI
The Moreton Bay district was first colonised from Sydney as a penal
settlement for doubly convicted criminals. But so soon as
transportation to New South Wales ceased, remarkable progress was
made in exploiting the vast natural resources of the colony of
Queensland.
COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR W. DENISON, K.C.B., TO HIS GRACE
THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE.
Government House, Sydney. _Dec. 5, 1859._ (Received _Feb. 9, 1860._)
My Lord Duke,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Grace's Despatch,
No. 11, dated 18th August last, enclosing copies of the warrant
establishing Queensland as a colony separate from New South Wales, and
appointing Sir George Ferguson Bowen, K.C.M.G., Governor of the same;
also of the instructions issued to Sir George Bowen, and of the
Order-in-Council empowering him to make laws and to provide for the
administration of justice in the said colony.
Sir George Bowen arrived here by the mail steamer on the 15th ult.; he
remained with me at Sydney, making arrangements for the establishment of
the various departments of his Government, in which I gave him every
assistance in my power, and he sailed for Moreton Bay in Her Majesty's
ship "Cordelia" on the 3rd instant.
I enclose copies of the proclamation issued by me notifying the
separation of the two colonies. The Proclamation Sir George has taken
with him to Brisbane, and by its publication there the fact of its
separation will be made known to the inhabitants of Queensland, which
will from the date of that Proclamation, that is, 1st December, be in
every respect freed from the interference of the Government or
Legislature of New South Wales....
I have, etc.,
(Signed) W. Denison.
His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, etc., etc., etc.
COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR G.F. BOWEN TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF
NEWCASTLE.
Government House, Brisbane, Queensland.
_Jan. 6th, 1860._
(Received _March 12, 1860._)
My Lord Duke,
In my Despatch, No. 3, of the 28th November ultimo, I mentioned that
extensive districts within the colony of Queensland are well adapted for
the growth of the sugar cane among a variety of other produce.
2. Since I wrote the above Despatch, I have seen three specimens of the
sugar cane, which have been grown near the town of Maryborough. These
specimens, which were finer than any that were shown me at Mauritius,
were forwarded to Sir William Macarthur, a gentleman of large property,
well-known ability, and great experience in scientific and agricultural
pursuits; and who was Commissioner for New South Wales at the Paris
Exhibition of 1855. I have received permission to transmit to your Grace
the following extract from a letter containing Sir William Macarthur's
opinion of the samples submitted to him:--"I yesterday made several
trials of the juice of the sugar cane forwarded by Mr. Aldridge, of
Maryborough.
"As I had to extract the juice by pounding the cane in a mortar, I only
experimented upon the largest and the smallest of the three forwarded.
As they appear to have excited some attention, I may mention that they
were quite ripe, of a bright, yellowish-brown colour, with the joints
from two to five inches apart, the largest being about ten feet long,
not quite eight inches in circumference, and weighing just eighteen
pounds. About three feet of the upper end, however, was too
short-jointed to yield abundantly, and hardly ripe.
"The walls of this cane were exceedingly thick, giving it great
stiffness, and solidity to resist storms of wind. It proved to be hardly
so juicy as I expected.
"I understood you to say that these canes had been produced in eight or
nine months from being planted, and without any particular care.
"Taking this for granted, there can be no question, I think, that with
sufficient capital, and under efficient management, the cultivation of
the cane for sugar ought to prove one of the most profitable
arrangements which offer themselves in Australia, I mean at Maryborough,
or other places equally well situated on the North-eastern coast. I have
for many years thought that sugar plantations to the northward of
Moreton Bay ought to be highly remunerative. The climate is favourable;
there is no lack of good land, and unlike the Mauritius, we never hear
of the ravages of hurricanes."
3. The opinion of so high an authority as Sir William Macarthur coupled
with a number of facts within my knowledge, leave no doubt in my mind
that, when Capital and Labour shall have been introduced, the
cultivation of sugar may be carried on in this colony, with at least
equal success as at Mauritius, and on a vastly more extensive scale than
in that island.
4. I beg to subjoin a short description of the district of Wide Bay, or
Maryborough (referred to above) condensed from a recent publication by a
writer of local knowledge and competent authority.
The back country is extensive, its capabilities are so well known we
need not dwell upon them. The soil on the branches of the River Mary and
its tributary creeks, and within easy approach to the same is excellent
and in large quantities. Its producing capabilities may be illustrated
by the following facts: In one piece of ground may be seen growing in
perfection the sugar cane, cotton plant, grasscloth plant, arrowroot,
tascan wheat, yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, custard apples, pine
apples, banana, guava, and many other tropical productions; alongside of
which may be seen turnips, wheat, barley, mangel-wurzel, English
potatoes, artichokes (Jerusalem), broad beans, maize, etc. At the same
place a crop of maize (which was estimated to yield from 80 to 100
bushels to the acre) is in a forward state of ripening, and from the
same piece of ground, three crops of maize have been gathered within the
twelve months. Where is there another river in Australia with
capabilities for the growth of such varied productions, each perfect of
its kind, and such facilities for shipping, by vessels of the largest
tonnage, the produce direct to any part of the world? Wheat has been
only grown in small patches--each time, however, with success. Cotton
was here produced in the same way from a few plants, and pronounced by
competent judges to be of the finest quality both in staple and texture.
Equally favourable results have been obtained with the other products
named above. The particulars of climate I give from a resident of the
township of Maryborough for a period of twelve years before the place
was surveyed, who declares his own health and the health of his wife and
children to have been excellent, and better than he or they ever had
before, that he has never experienced a hot wind in the place and that
the sudden changes of temperature as felt in Sydney are never felt in
this favoured locality: that the rain showers are regular and abundant,
more so than in any other place he has been in, in this colony; hence
the extraordinary growth of vegetables, etc. Eight months in the year,
not a finer climate can be found in the world, and the remaining four
summer months are not so oppressive in their effects as in the other
warm countries, from the temperature being more uniform, and the purity
of the atmosphere so great. The same gentleman declares that he has,
upon his occasional visits, experienced the heat in Sydney much more
oppressive. Great natural capabilities exist in the township of
Maryborough for the formation of dams at a trifling expense, which would
collect large bodies of water. Minerals consisting of gold, copper,
iron, and coal have been procured in several places in the district.
Timber exists of cedar, cowrie, and hoop pine, a white hardwood known as
fluidoza, gums, dye woods, and other most useful and valuable cabinet
woods, are to be found in great abundance. The dugong is found in large
numbers in Hervey's Bay, from which the famed oil is manufactured, also
the pearl oyster.
All these are sources from which wealth will be derived, and which will
afford employment to a large population. As to the aborigines of this
district it may be placed to their credit, that they are willing at
times to work, and even well. The steamer which trades to the place
every fortnight always takes from Frazer's Island a number of them to
discharge and load the vessel. They are also largely used in the town
for cutting wood, drawing water, bullock driving, horse riding, and
breaking up the ground in the gardens.
The population and trade of the town of Maryborough are rapidly
increasing. The source from which the business is at present entirely
derived is the pastoral or squatting interest, leaving all other
valuable and important interests to be yet developed, such as
agriculture, mining, fisheries, and the timber trade. A large
agricultural population may be expected to settle themselves down on the
river. Maryborough has been recently proclaimed as one of the great
towns wherein District Courts are to be held. The exports are wool,
tallow, etc., with great power of expansion.
6. I beg to suggest that a copy of this Despatch, together with a copy
of my Despatch of even date herewith, respecting the cultivation of
cotton in this colony, should be transmitted to the Royal Geographical
Society.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) G.F. BOWEN.
His Grace the Duke of Newcastle,
etc., etc., etc.
No. 10.
COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR G.F. BOWEN TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF
NEWCASTLE
Government House, Brisbane,
Queensland, _April 7, 1860._
(Received _June 18, 1860._) (Answered, No. 22,
_July 19, 1860_, p. 84.)
My Lord Duke,
In continuation of my former Despatches No. 5 of the 19th and No. 8 of
the 23rd Dec., 1859, and No. 18 of the 4th February, ult., I have the
honour to enclose copies of the Addresses presented to me at the three
towns of Warwick, Drayton, and Toowoomba, which I visited during an
official tour of inspection, from which I have lately returned.
2. It will be satisfactory to the Queen and to Her Majesty's Government,
to receive these further proofs of the affectionate loyalty of the
people of this colony towards Her Majesty's throne and person and (I
may, perhaps, be permitted to add) of their confidence in the
arrangement made, under Her Majesty's favour, for their Government.
3. My recent journey extended through those districts of Queensland,
which have been longest settled and are mostly thickly inhabited. I was
everywhere received with cordial hospitality by the principal settlers,
and with loyal enthusiasm by all classes of the community. The numerous
cavalcades of hundreds of well-mounted horsemen, which came forth to
meet and escort the first representative of their Sovereign, presented
spectacles such as can be exhibited in only two countries in the
world--in England and in Australia.
4. As it was during your Grace's first administration of the Colonial
Department that the wishes of the Australian Colonists were crowned by
the concession of responsible Government, I will take leave to draw your
attention to a paragraph in one of the enclosures, which explains a
sentiment generally entertained by this people.
After stating that "the journey of his Excellency has been one continued
ovation from beginning to end"; that "all classes have vied in doing
honour to the representative of the Queen"; and that "all little
sectarian differences, petty jealousies, and presumed rival interests
have been merged in the laudable wish to give our first Governor a
hearty welcome"; the "Darling Downs Gazette" proceeds as follows: "Not
the least pleasing reflection that suggests itself when reviewing these
demonstrations of general joy is the confirmation of the fact, now so
long and in so many lands established, that those descended from the old
stock at home, to whom self-government has been a timely concession, not
a charter wrung from the Mother country by the force of arms, still
recognize and revere the grand old institutions, which have made England
the greatest power on earth."
14. I have described in a former Despatch, that rich pastoral District
of the tableland which is known as the "Darling Downs." The droughts
and the epidemic diseases which are frequently fatal to sheep and cattle
in other parts of Australia seem alike unknown in this favoured region.
Many large fortunes have been amassed there during the last 15 years.
15. While the impression created on my mind by the journey across the
Darling Downs was still fresh, I stated in my reply to the Drayton
address, that it had "filled me with surprise and admiration". Even
before I left England I knew by report the rich natural resources and
the picturesque beauty of this district, the scenery of which vividly
recalls to my mind the classic plains of Thessaly. But I confess that I
was not fully prepared for so wonderfully rapid an advance in all that
can promote and adorn civilization, an advance which has taken place
during the fourth part of an average lifetime. Not only have I seen vast
herds of horses and cattle, and countless flocks of sheep overspreading
the valleys and forests, which, within the memory of persons who have
yet scarcely attained to the age of manhood, were tenanted only by wild
animals, and by a few wandering tribes of savages; not only have I
travelled over roads beyond all comparison superior to the means of
communication which existed less than a century ago in many parts of the
United Kingdom; not only have I beheld flourishing towns arising in
spots where hardly 20 years back the foot of a white man had never yet
trodden the primeval wilderness; not only have I admired these and other
proofs of material progress, but I have also found in the houses of the
long chain of settlers who have entertained me with such cordial
hospitality, all the comforts, and most of the luxuries and refinements
of the houses of country gentlemen in England. The wonderful advance of
this portion of the colony during the last 10 years, is due to no sudden
and fortuitous discovery of the precious metals; it is derived wholly
from the blessing of Providence on the skill and energy of its
inhabitants, in subduing and replenishing the earth. Assuredly, I have
observed during the past week very remarkable illustrations of the
proverbial genius of the Anglo-Saxon race for the noble and truly
imperial art of colonization.
I have, etc.,
(Signed) G.F. BOWEN.
His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, etc., etc., etc.
PAYMENT OF MEMBERS CRISIS
+Source.+--Victorian Sessional Papers, 1877-8 Thirty Years of Colonial
Government (Bowen), Vol. II, pp. 80-83, 114-119
Owing to the lack of the political traditions of the English
Parliament friction was bound to rise between the Houses of the
colonial Legislatures. A bill to provide temporarily for the
payment of members had been passed several times by the Victorian
Parliament, but the Council was opposed to making a permanent
provision for the purpose. In 1877 Sir Graham Berry tacked the
measure to the annual appropriation bill, which was consequently
rejected by the Council.
Memorandum to His Excellency the Governor.
The Premier on behalf of himself and his colleagues, respectfully
advises the Governor to sign the message required by the 25th Clause of
the Constitution Act transmitting for the consideration of the
Legislative Assembly the accompanying additional estimates for the
service of the year 1877-8.
His Excellency will observe that it has been thought right by his
Responsible Advisers to include in these Additional Estimates provision
for reimbursing members of the Legislative Council and the Legislative
Assembly their expenses in relation to their attendance in Parliament at
the rate of £300 per annum each, from and after the present session of
Parliament.
(Signed) Graham Berry, Treasurer.
21st Nov. 1877.
The Governor acknowledges the receipt of the Memorandum submitted to him
by the Hon. the Premier on this day.
The Governor has in conformity with the advice of his Responsible
Ministers signed the message submitted to him by them, transmitting for
the consideration of the Legislative Assembly additional or further
estimates for the service of the year 1877-8.
(Signed) G.F. Bowen.
Government Offices, Melbourne.
_21st November 1877._
_January 12, 1878._
Address from the Legislative Council to His Excellency
the Governor.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE FERGUSON BOWEN,
KNIGHT GRAND CROSS OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED
ORDER OF ST. MICHAEL AND ST. GEORGE, and Commander-in-Chief
in and over the Colony of Victoria and its Dependencies and Vice-Admiral
of the same, etc.
May it please your Excellency,
We her Most Gracious Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the
members of the Legislative Council of Victoria, in Parliament assembled
beg leave to approach Your Excellency with renewed assurances of
unabated loyalty to Her Majesty's Throne and Person.
We desire to draw Your Excellency's attention to the answer given by the
Hon. the Post-Master General during the sitting of the Council on the
1st instant to the question put by one of our members, viz.:--Whether it
is the intention of the Ministry to afford this House the opportunity of
considering the propriety of renewing or discontinuing the payment of
members of Parliament by submitting the measure by Bill as heretofore.
The answer was as follows:--In reply to the Hon. Member the Cabinet
desire me to state that it is unusual and inexpedient to state the
intention of the Government otherwise than by the due presentation of
business to Parliament; but in this instance there is an additional
serious objection to the question of the hon. member. It deals with the
appropriation of revenue which is the exclusive privilege of the
Legislative Assembly, and it is highly undesirable that the Legislative
Council should interfere even by a question with appropriation, the
initiation of which is by message from the Crown, on the advice of the
responsible Ministers and is further controlled by the exclusive
privileges of the Assembly.
This being the opinion of Your Excellency's advisers, were we to
continue silent it might with some show of reason be inferred that we
were satisfied with the answer of the Government, and would accept their
dictum as representing the true position of the matter as between the
two Chambers.
We have thought it incumbent upon us to lay before Your Excellency the
following circumstances connected with the question of payment of
members:--In the session of 1860-1, a separate Bill for payment of
members was introduced into the Assembly, but was lost in the Council.
In the session 1861, Sir Henry Barkly, who was then Governor, was warned
by the Legislative Council of the inevitable consequences of a sum being
included in the annual Estimates of Expenditure for the compensation of
members of Parliament, and the objectionable item was not included in
the Estimates for the year when laid before the Assembly that session.
On five subsequent occasions separate Bills for the same object have
been sent up from the Legislative Assembly, three of which were
rejected, and the two last were passed by the Legislative Council, but
on both these occasions the principal supporters of the Bills distinctly
stated that their votes were given on the understanding that the
measures were to be tentative only, and limited in their duration.
The question at the present time is in exactly the same position as it
was when originated in 1861, and is still in the region of experimental
legislation. It is not a mere question of the appropriation of the
public revenue, but of public policy upon which an uniform usage has
been adopted in the colony, with the concurrence of both Houses, with
the marked co-operation of Her Majesty's Representative in 1861.
The usage, moreover, is in strict conformity with the Royal Instructions
which direct that "in the passing of all laws each different matter must
be provided for by a different law without intermixing such things as
have no proper relation to each other, and that no clause or clauses be
inserted in, or annexed to any Act which shall be foreign to what the
title of that Act imports."
We desire to inform Your Excellency that we claim the right to exercise
the same free and deliberate vote on any Bill which may be submitted to
us for providing compensation to members of Parliament as we have
exercised on all previous occasions and we submit that the inclusion of
a sum for that purpose in the Annual Appropriation Bill might make such
procedure the instrument of enabling one branch of the Legislature to
coerce the other.
GOVERNOR SIR G.F. BOWEN, G.C.M.G., TO THE EARL OF CARNARVON, RECEIVED
23RD JAN. 1878. Telegraphic.
_23rd Jan. 1878._
In consequence of the rejection of the annual Appropriation Bill by the
Legislative Council, ministers have made large temporary reductions in
the public expenditure to economise funds for Police Gaols, and
protection of life and property to the latest possible moment, and that
is about until next May. A number of civil servants and minor officers
of the judicial department have necessarily been dispensed with
temporarily, but sufficient provision has been made for the
administration of Justice and maintenance of law and order. The
Government will do nothing contrary to law or Imperial interests.
Full Reports by Mail.
TELEGRAMS FROM MELBOURNE
Melb. _14th Jan._
Appropriation Bill was rejected by Legislative Council consequent upon
clause for payment of members being inserted. Government in Council
dismissed at a moment's notice all County Court Judges, Police
Magistrates, Wardens, Coroners, many Heads of Departments. Further
sweeping changes announced. Great Alarm and Indignation. Trade
disorganised.
_25th Jan._
No political change. Many more dismissals.
_30th Jan._
Eminent Counsel declare Acts of Sir George Bowen in closing Courts
illegal. The country alarmed. Secretary of State urged to await letters
by mail and not act on exparte statements.
To the Right Hon. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Bart, M.P.
Government House, Melb. _April 12th, 1878._
Sir,
On the 29th ultimo I forwarded to you a telegram announcing the happy
termination, through a fair compromise honourable to both sides, of the
protracted crisis and "deadlock" between the two Houses of Parliament,
which had caused so much excitement and agitation, and so much
suffering and loss in this community, and which was straining the
constitution of this Colony to a degree which it could not have endured
for long.
Ever since December constant efforts have been made to induce the
conflicting Houses to agree to an honourable compromise of their
differences. Personally I omitted no proper opportunity of recommending
mutual forbearance and mutual concessions. It was proposed on behalf of
the Ministry and the Assembly that the Council should agree to pass the
separate Bill sent up to them in December, and that the assembly should
simultaneously, or as nearly so as might be, appoint a Committee to
search for the Appropriation Bill which had been "laid aside" and should
then reenact that Bill without the item objected to by the Upper House.
The Ministers, a strong minority of the Councillors, the Assembly, and
the general public--all united in pressing the Council to accept this
arrangement, but there were many disappointing delays and failures in
the negotiations.
Finally, however, all difficulties were overcome, and both the separate
Bill continuing the reimbursement of the expense of members and the
annual Appropriation Act have become law.
General satisfaction has been felt and everywhere expressed at this
termination of the late dangerous and disastrous parliamentary
"deadlock," and the political and social animosities caused by it are
already fast subsiding. The country is tranquil and generally
prosperous. Before the commencement of the political crisis there had
been a partial depression in trade and depreciation in the value of
certain kinds of property, in consequence of a long drought succeeded by
very heavy floods, and from other temporary causes. These evils had been
aggravated by the sense of uncertainty rather than of insecurity
produced by the fierce and protracted political and social agitation and
antagonism of the last four months. But a young and strong community
like that of Victoria, full of life and energy, and of that general good
humour which flows from the habitual prosperity of all classes, rapidly
recovers from depression and discontent, however caused.
It has been very satisfactory to me to receive the assurances that
throughout the late financial deadlock, no public money has been
expended except in due form of law, and in strict accordance with
parliamentary usage. Those public works which had been legally provided
for by Railway and Loan Acts, or otherwise, have been carried on
without interruption; while by dint of strict economy and of the large
retrenchments in the civil service effected by the Ministry, the
administration of justice and of the several departments of the
Government has proceeded regularly and without intermission.
In a speech delivered in last October before the actual beginning of the
recent crisis, but in anticipation of its near approach, I recommended
the members of both Houses of Parliament and of both political parties
to lay to heart the subjoined passage in one of Mr. J.S. Mill's works:
"One of the most indispensable requisites in the practical conduct of
politics, especially in the management of free institutions, is
conciliation, a readiness to compromise, a willingness to concede
something to opponents, and to shape good measures so as to be as little
offensive as possible to persons of opposite views, and of this salutary
habit the mutual 'give and take' (as it has been called) between two
Houses is a perpetual school; useful as such even now, and its utility
would probably be more felt in a more democratic constitution of the
Legislature." Nor have I ever ceased to urge the adoption of such
principles as those laid down by Mr. Merivale when he wrote "Moderation
in success, self-denial in the exercise of power, habitual consideration
for the opinions and feelings of others, readiness to compromise
differences, love of justice and fair play, reluctance to push
principles to extremes, the moral courage which will dare to stand up
against a majority, the habit of constantly, and, as it were
instinctively postponing self to the public interest, and this whether
arising from moral choice or from the constraint imposed by public
opinion; these are the balancing qualities which prevent the misuse of
political freedom."
With regard to the opinions which I have formed concerning the proper
position and mutual relations of the two Houses of the Victorian
Parliament, it will be remembered that my opinions are identical with
those placed on record on that subject by the late Lord Canterbury, my
able and experienced predecessor in my present office. It will also be
recollected that I have steadily followed, during the crisis of 1877-8,
the precedents made, and the constitutional course pursued by Lord
Canterbury during the previous crisis of 1867-8. In acknowledging Lord
Canterbury's despatch of 18th July, 1868, reporting the termination of
the crisis of 1867-8, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies (the
Duke of Buckingham) wrote as follows:
"I have to express my approval of your firm adherence to your
constitutional position through these trying discussions; and I learn
with satisfaction the cessation of a state of affairs which has been
productive of so much inconvenience in the Colony."
Having pursued exactly the same course and acted on exactly the same
principles with my predecessor, I am confident that I shall receive
similar personal support. Moreover, I submit that it is of supreme
importance, on public grounds, that the people of the Australasian
Colonies should know that the actions and conduct of successive
Governors are not prompted by the personal views or idiosyncrasies of
individuals, but that they are guided by a consistent and uniform
policy, sanctioned by the authority of the Imperial Government.
NEW GUINEA
+Source.+--New Guinea. By Charles Lyne (special representative of the
"Sydney Morning Herald"), pp. 1-28
In 1882, the Queensland Government took alarm at certain rumours of
the intention of Germany to annex New Guinea, but for a time the
British Government refused to move. When the establishment of a
protectorate was authorized, only the southeastern portion of the
island was available, Germany having, in the meantime, annexed the
northern part and the group of Islands known as New Britain.
Commodore Erskine in H.M.S. _Nelson_ arrived at Port Moresby on Sunday,
the 2nd of November, 1884, and the Union Jack now flies from the
flagstaff at the mission station, the Proclamation of a British
Protectorate having been made with much ceremony on Thursday Nov. 6.
On the Wednesday afternoon, the chiefs and a number of other natives
were brought on board the H.M.S. _Nelson_, and a grand assembly took
place, with a feast for the chiefs and an address from the Commodore, a
presentation of gifts attractive to the native eye, and the firing of
some of the ships' guns. The flags of various nations were hung over the
quarter-deck in the form of an awning, and the officers wore frock-coats
and swords. Most of the chiefs were destitute of clothing, the mop-like
hair and foreheads of some of them being bound round with bands of
small shells and the hair ornamented with tufts of feathers. Two or
three wore old shirts, and one, Boe Vagi, the chief of the Port Moresby
natives, who was appointed by the Commodore to be the head chief of the
Motu tribe, was dressed in a shirt, with a handkerchief round his loins,
a red felt hat on his head, and some green leaves through the lobe of
his left ear. Evidently he had been attired specially for the occasion,
as his usual dress is as scanty as that of his fellows. There were in
all about fifty of the chiefs, most of them being representatives of the
Motu tribe; and after having been permitted to look round the ship, they
were directed by the missionaries, Messrs. Lawes and Chalmers, to seat
themselves upon the deck. Then a great tub of boiled rice, sweetened
with brown sugar, was brought on deck, and basins of this mixture were
handed round to the chiefs who received them, and devoured the rice with
evident satisfaction. Ships' biscuits were also served out, and the
scene presented by the feasting savages, and by the grouping of the
_Nelson's_ officers and the parading of the bluejackets on the opposite
side of the deck--so that a photograph might be taken of the whole
assembly--was exceedingly interesting and picturesque.
When the feasting was over, Commodore Erskine came upon deck, and the
chief, Boe Vagi, having been invited by Mr. Lawes to come forward, the
Commodore addressed him, and his fellow chiefs, and said:
"I have asked you to come on board to-day in order that I may explain to
you about the ceremony which will take place to-morrow on shore. I have
been sent to this place to notify and proclaim that Her Majesty the
Queen has established a Protectorate over the southern shores of New
Guinea, and in token of that event I am directed to hoist the British
flag at Port Moresby, and at other places along the coast and islands.
To-morrow, then, I intend to hoist the English flag here, and to read a
Proclamation which will be duly translated to you. I desire, on behalf
of Her Majesty the Queen, to explain to you the meaning of the
ceremonial which you are about to witness. It is a proclamation that
from this time forth you are placed under the protection of Her
Majesty's Government; that evil-disposed men will not be able to occupy
your country, to seize your lands, or to take you away from your own
homes. I have been instructed to say to you that what you have seen
done here to-day on board Her Majesty's ship of war, and which will be
done again to-morrow on shore, is to give you the strongest assurance of
Her Majesty's gracious protection of you, and to warn bad and
evil-disposed men that if they attempt to do you harm, they will be
promptly punished by the officers of the Queen. Your lands will be
secured to you; your wives and children will be protected. Should any
injury be done to you, you will immediately inform Her Majesty's
officers, who will reside amongst you, and they will hear your
complaints, and do you justice. You will look upon all white persons
whom the Queen permits to reside amongst you as your friends, and Her
Majesty's subjects. The Queen will permit nobody to reside here who does
you injury. You will under no circumstances inflict punishment upon any
white person; but if such person has done you wrong you will tell Her
Majesty's officers of that wrong in order that the case may be fairly
inquired into. You must know that it is for your security, and to
prevent bloodshed, that the Queen sends me here to you, and will send
her officers to live amongst you. And now I hope that you clearly
understand that we are here amongst you as your friends. You will all
keep peace amongst yourselves, and if you have disputes with each other,
you will bring them before the Queen's officers who will settle them for
you without bloodshed. Should bad men come amongst you, bringing
firearms and gunpowder, and intoxicating liquors, you are not to buy
them, and are to give notice at once to the Queen's officers, so that
such men may be punished. Always keep in your minds that the Queen
guards and watches over you, looks upon you as her children, and will
not allow anyone to harm you, and will soon send her trusted officers to
carry out her gracious intentions in the establishment of this
Protectorate."
At the Commodore's request Mr. Lawes read a translation of this address
in the Motu language, the chiefs listening attentively: then calling the
chief, Boe Vagi, forward, Commodore Erskine shook hands with him, and
introduced him to Mr. Romilly; and the Commodore's intimation of the
appointment of a High Commissioner for New Guinea and his explanation of
Mr. Romilly's position, were interpreted to the chiefs by Mr. Lawes.
This was followed by the appointment of Boe Vagi as head chief of the
Motu tribe. To make his appointment more distinct, he was presented
with an emblem of authority in the form of an ebony stick with a florin
let in at the top, the Queen's head being uppermost, and encircled by a
band of silver. Handing to Boe Vagi this stick, the Commodore said: "I
present him with this stick, which is to be an emblem to him of his
authority; and all the tribes who are represented by the chiefs here are
to look to the holder of this stick, Boe Vagi. This stick represents the
Queen's head, the Queen of England; and if at any time any of the people
of these tribes have any grievance or anything to say, they are, through
this man, the holder of this stick, Boe Vagi, to make it known to the
Queen's officers, in order that it may be inquired into. This stick is
to be the symbol of his authority, and all the tribes are to have
communication through him with the Queen's officer."
Directed then to descend to the main deck the chiefs walked one after
another into the Commodore's cabin, where each received a present
consisting of a tomahawk, a butcher's knife, a coloured shirt, or a
piece of coloured cloth, and some figs of twist tobacco. It was a
curious sight to see these chiefs, some of them very old men, but others
young, erect and muscular, filing in at one door, and after shaking
hands with the Commodore and receiving a present, leaving by the other;
and it was very amusing to notice how startled some of them were at
suddenly discovering themselves in a large pier-glass, which they had to
pass before leaving the cabin. The Commodore did not fail to point out
through Mr. Lawes to the chief who had burnt the village of another,
that for the future he would not be allowed to commit such an act, and
must through the Queen's officers seek redress for any grievance he
might have; and the man was evidently impressed by what was said to him.
At half-past six next morning the landing of officers and men of the
squadron for the purpose of publicly proclaiming the establishment of
the Protectorate, and hoisting the British flag, commenced. The general
order issued by the Commodore directed that the dress for officers
should be cocked hat, undress coat, and epaulettes; the dress for seamen
white frocks and hats, and that for marines white tunics and helmets.
There was, consequently, a very attractive display of uniforms, and
altogether it was an exceedingly interesting spectacle. The early hour
appointed for the landing permitted of the ceremony being performed at
a time when the heat, which was intense while the _Nelson_ was on the
coast, was not likely to be very trying to the men. The water of the
harbour lay placid as a lake, with the ships of war far out from the
shore, and here and there native canoes moving slowly along or resting
idly on the surface; and the hills and valleys were green and shaded
from the sun, and wore that refreshing appearance which is notable when
the trees and the grass have been bathed in dew, and when the sun's rays
are strong enough only to make the dewdrops sparkle, and to deepen the
shadows in the recesses where the sunlight has not yet penetrated.
The boats conveying the officers and men to the shore, each flying the
white ensign, imparted life and colour to the scene upon the water, and
nothing could be more picturesque and beautiful than the view on shore,
where the houses of the native villages bordering the beach, with their
brown occupants gazing in amazement on what was taking place before
them, were shaded by a grove of cocoanut palms, the refreshing dark
green fronds being rivalled only by the lighter green of the plantations
of the banana trees on the sides of the hills, which, rising high above
the village, were, notwithstanding the evidence of cultivation by the
natives, and the existence of the little mission settlement, dressed in
almost all their native loveliness, and robed in delicately-tinted
morning mists.
Inside the enclosed ground stood the mission house, and on a spot
commanding a view of almost the entire harbour was the flagstaff which
was now to display the flag hoisted with the authority of the Queen by
Commodore Erskine; and it was around this flagstaff that the troops were
drawn up in a hollow square, the men facing inwards, with the officers
to the front, and the Commodore and his suite standing with the
missionaries and Mr. Chester on the verandah of the mission house. The
native chiefs who had been on board the _Nelson_ were seated in a
picturesque group on the ground immediately in front of the Commodore;
and other natives and a few white spectators stood in a crowd at the
rear of the blue-jackets. The only representative of English women
present was Mrs. Lawes, wife of the Rev. W.G. Lawes, who was
accommodated with a chair, and sat near the Commodore and the officers
on either side of him.
Immediately the blue-jackets had landed they were marched up the hill
to the mission compound, but the marines remained upon the beach until
the Commodore landed, when they presented arms, and afterwards, with
bayonets fixed, marched with the band to join the bluejackets in front
of the mission house.
On the Commodore appearing before the troops they presented arms, and he
then read the following proclamation:
"PROCLAMATION.
"Proclamation on behalf of her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, by
the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India,
establishing a Protectorate of Her Most Gracious Majesty over a
portion of New Guinea, and the Islands adjacent thereto.
"To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting:
"Whereas it has become essential, for the protection of the lives and
properties of the native inhabitants of New Guinea, and for the purpose
of preventing the occupation of portions of that country by persons
whose proceedings unsanctioned by any lawful authority might tend to
injustice, strife and bloodshed, and who, under the pretence of
legitimate trade and intercourse, might endanger the liberties, and
possess themselves of the lands of such native inhabitants, that a
British Protectorate should be established over a certain portion of
such country and the islands adjacent thereto.
"And whereas Her Majesty, having taken into her gracious consideration
the urgent necessity of her protection to such inhabitants has directed
me to proclaim such protection in a formal manner at this place: Now, I,
James Elphinstone Erskine, Captain in the Royal Navy, and Commodore of
the Australian Station, one of Her Majesty's naval aides-de-camp, do
hereby, in the name of Her Most Gracious Majesty, declare and proclaim
the establishment of such Protectorate over such portions of the coast
and the adjacent islands as is more particularly described in the
schedule hereunto annexed.
"And I hereby proclaim and declare that no acquisition of land
whensoever or howsoever acquired, within the limits of the Protectorate
hereby established, will be recognized by Her Majesty; And I do hereby,
on behalf of Her Majesty, command and enjoin all persons whom it may
concern to take notice of this Proclamation."
"SCHEDULE.
"All that portion of the southern shores of New Guinea commencing from
the boundary of that portion of the country claimed by the Government of
the Netherlands on the 141st meridian of east longitude to East Cape,
with all islands adjacent thereto south of East Cape to Kosman Island
inclusive, together with the islands in the Goschen Straits.
"Given on board Her Majesty's ship _Nelson_, at the harbour of Port
Moresby, on the 6th day of November 1884.
"(Signed) JAMES ELPHINSTONE ERSKINE.
"Commodore.
"God Save the Queen."
This was interpreted to the natives by the Rev. W.G. Lawes, who, at the
request of Commodore Erskine, had translated it into the Motu language,
and then, by direction of the Commodore, the Union Jack was slowly
raised to the truck of the flagstaff.
All this not a little astonished the natives, though some of those whose
homes were at Port Moresby had witnessed the firing of a _feu-de-joie_
before; but though the firing startled some of them it had, with the
general display, the effect of impressing them all with some sense of
the solemn importance of the ceremony that was being performed. The
firing party were then ordered to shoulder arms, and the Commodore,
addressing all present at the ceremony but the natives, said:
"Officers and men, Mr. Romilly and Gentlemen, This interesting and
important ceremony now formally concluded, it only remains for me, in
Her Majesty's name to express the fervent hope that under the blessing
of Almighty God the establishment of this Protectorate may conduce to
the peace, happiness and welfare of the people of this vast territory.
May the British flag which we have this day planted on these shores be
to the people of this portion of New Guinea the symbol of their freedom
and their liberty, and the Proclamation which I have just read, the
charter of their rights and privileges. May it be to them a Protectorate
in deed, as well as in name, protecting them alike from the encroachment
of foreigners and the aggressive or unlawful actions of any other
nationality; may the blessings of civilization and Christianity, the
seeds of which have been already sown by English hands in the persons of
the brave and good men present on this occasion, increase and multiply
exceedingly amongst them; and lastly, as the Union Jack which has on
several former occasions been hoisted on the shores of New Guinea and
the adjacent islands is on this day for the first time displayed and
hoisted on New Guinea under the authority and by the command of her Most
Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, I most fervently pray that the
establishment of a British Protectorate on these shores may tend to
insure the integrity and inviolability of the great Australian Colonies,
and promote the best interests of their people; and I trust that this
important step may be attended with the happiest results, and redound to
the honour of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, for whom I now invite
you to give three hearty cheers."
The call was right loyally responded to, and with Captain Bridge
leading, three British cheers rang out and echoed among the hills; and
then, with a royal salute, the troops once more presenting arms, the
ceremony was brought to a close.
THE NATIONAL AUSTRALASIAN CONVENTION 1891
+Source.+--National Australasian Convention Debates, pp. 3-5, 23-28, 322
After self-government had been granted to the Australian colonies,
the need for united action in certain matters became apparent.
Under the leadership of Sir Henry Parkes a strong movement for
federation was organized. His labour bore fruit in the meeting of
the National Australasian Convention in 1891. At this assembly were
passed the resolutions which form the foundation of the Federation
Act.
_March 3rd._ Mr. Munro rose to move:
That, the Honourable Sir Henry Parkes, G.C.M.G., Premier of New South
Wales, do take the chair as President of this National Australasian
Convention.
He said: I think this is a fitting honour to confer upon the author of
the movement on the part of these Australian colonies, which resulted in
the Conference held in Melbourne last year. The hon. gentleman has
taken a deep interest in the subject of federation for a great number of
years, and we, moreover, meet in the colony of which he has the honour
to be Premier. I have no doubt that in the position of president he will
aid us with his council and advice, and that his occupancy of the chair
will reflect credit upon our proceedings.
Mr. Dibbs: We look to Sir Henry Parkes as, to some extent, the architect
of the structure we are about to build, and we, like the other gentlemen
present, look to our Premier for advice and explanation, and hope that
he will in due time place before us such a programme as will enable us
to proceed with the great work before us; I can assure the honourable
gentleman that we appreciate the compliment paid to the Colony through
our Premier, and personally I have great pleasure in supporting the
proposition which has been made.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
The President elect, being conducted to the chair by the Hon. James
Munro, and the Hon. Sir Samuel Griffith, said:
Mr. Munro, Sir Samuel Griffith, and honourable gentlemen, I could not,
under any circumstances, do other than yield to your unanimous choice. I
am very conscious indeed of my disqualifications for the office of
President. It is hardly in my nature to observe that studied decorum
which is so shining a quality in the Chair. I have not been fitted for
that situation in life. I therefore feel how great the honour is to be
placed in that position on this great occasion and by this great body. I
shall trust to that generous unanimity which has prevailed in carrying
this motion to support me in discharging duties in the Chair, duties
which may become onerous; and I am quite sure I shall not trust in vain.
It becomes my duty to give this assurance, that so far as I know myself,
I will command myself to do the duties of this Chair so that there shall
be no cause of complaint. I will try to conduct the business as to
offend none, and, if possible, secure the good opinion which appears to
have been formed to-day. I thank the honourable gentlemen for the great
distinction you have conferred upon me, and I trust none of you will see
cause to regret the vote you have given.
_March 4th._ Sir Henry Parkes: I have the honor to move,
That in order to establish and secure an enduring foundation for the
structure of a federal government, the principles embodied in the
following resolutions be agreed to:--
1. That the powers and privileges and territorial rights of the several
existing colonies shall remain intact, except in respect to such
surrenders as may be agreed upon as necessary, and incidental to the
power and authority of the National Federal Government.
2. That the trade and intercourse between the federated colonies whether
by means of land carriage or coastal navigation shall be absolutely
free.
3. That the power and authority to impose customs duties shall be
exclusively lodged in the Federal Government and Parliament, subject to
such disposal of the revenues thence derived as shall be agreed upon.
4. That the military and naval defence of Australia shall be intrusted
to Federal forces under one command.
I submit these resolutions as a groundwork on which a debate may be
raised on the whole question with which we have to deal. They certainly
give a fair expression of the outline of the constitution which we want,
as it exists in my own mind, and to that extent I at once acknowledge
the paternity of the motion I make. I venture to appeal to every colony,
and to every delegate representing every colony, to meet the work on
which we are about to begin, in a broad federal spirit. We cannot hope
for any just conclusion--we cannot hope reasonably for any amount of
valid success--unless we lose sight to a large extent of the local
interests which we represent at the same time that we represent the
great cause.
There can be no federation if we should happen, any of us, to insist
upon conditions which stand in the way of federation; there can be no
complete union of these governments, of these communities, of these
separate colonies, unless we can so far clear the way as to approach the
great question of creating a federal power as if the boundaries now
existing had no existence whatever. I cannot too fervently impress upon
my co-representatives from all parts of Australia the necessity of
keeping in view the one object of the better government of Australia,
the whole Australian people.
By my second condition I seek to define what seems to me an absolutely
necessary condition of anything like perfect federation, that is, that
Australia, as Australia, shall be free--free on the borders, free
everywhere, in its trade and intercourse between its own people; and
that there shall be no impediment of any kind--that there shall be no
barrier of any kind between one section of the Australian people and
another; but, that the trade and general communication of these people
shall flow on from one end of the continent to the other, with no one to
stay its progress or to call it to account; in other words, if this is
carried, it must necessarily take with it the shifting of the power of
legislation on all fiscal questions from the local or provincial
parliaments, to the great National Parliament sought to be created. Now
our country is fashioned by nature in a remarkable manner--in a manner
which distinguishes it from all other countries in the world for
unification for family life--if I may use that term in a national sense.
We are separated from the rest of the world by many leagues of sea--from
all the old countries of the world and from the greatest of the new
countries; but we are separated from all countries by a wide expanse of
sea, which leaves us with an immense territory, a fruitful territory, a
territory capable of sustaining its countless millions--leaves us
compact within ourselves; so that if a perfectly free people can arise
anywhere, it surely may arise in this favoured land of Australia.
Whatever our views may be on other points, I think we shall all be
agreed upon this; that for the defence of Australia to be economical, to
be efficient, to be equal to any emergency that may arise at any time,
it must be of a federal character, and must be under one command. I do
not mean that the naval and land forces shall be under one
commander-in-chief, but that they should be under one kindred
command--that the naval officer in command equally with the military
officer shall be a federal officer, and amenable to the national
government of Australia.
As to the wisdom of the great step we have now taken, for so many
eminent men from different parts of Australia meeting in this Chamber as
delegates from their colonies is in itself a great step--as to the
wisdom of that step we have the warning of every country in the world
which has used government by a confederation.
Here we find a people I suppose about 4,000,000 strong. They have
afforded in the great cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane
and Hobart abundant proof of their power of founding an empire. Go
beyond the cities; they have accomplished under responsible government
what appear to me, and what must appear to any stranger who knew the
country thirty-five years ago, marvels in the way of internal
improvements. Not only the railways, but the telegraphs, and everything
that conduces to the best ends of a civilized community, has been
achieved by this scattered people in a marvellous manner. But all
through this great, this noble, this successful effort, we have had
different sources of irritation, of bad neighbourhood, of turmoil, of
aggression, which, if they were to go on, must make these co-terminous
communities instead of being one people of one blood, one faith, one
jurisprudence, one in the very principles of civilization
themselves--instead of that must make us cavilling, disputatious,
foreign countries. The only way to stop that is for the whole
people--and remember that the whole people in the final result must be
the arbiters--to join in creating one great union government which shall
act for the whole. That government must, of course, be sufficiently
strong to act with effect, to act successfully, and it must be
sufficiently strong to carry the name and the fame of Australia with
unspotted beauty, and with uncrippled power throughout the world. One
great end, to my mind, of a federated Australia is, that it must of
necessity secure for Australia a place in the family of nations, which
it never can attain while it is split up into separate colonies with
antagonistic laws and with hardly anything in common.
I regret to say, Mr. President, that my strength is not such as will
enable me to keep on my feet many minutes longer. I have submitted these
resolutions--perhaps it is all the better--without any great effort in
their support. I trust I have indicated with a clearness sufficient what
the great object we aim at must be, and the means by which alone we can
hope to accomplish it. I do not doubt that the gentlemen present will
each of them address themselves to the subject, which, I think, the
resolutions have the merit of fairly launching, in a spirit of
patriotism, always keeping in view the welfare, the prosperity, the
united strength, and the ultimate glory of our common country.
_March 13th._ I am aware that outside these walls, at any rate, there is
a feeling that we ought to wait; that the time has not yet come. I can
only repeat what I have said in other places. If we miss this particular
opportunity, every year that rolls over us will make the difficulties
greater; these difficulties which our separate existence have imposed
will go on increasing. They can only have one crop of fruit; they can
only produce antipathy, disunion, aggression, reprisal, wide-spread
discontent, and, if they are suffered to go on, civil war. That is a
prospect which no man of just mind can contemplate--that these colonies,
sprung from the same stock, possessing the same great inheritance of
equal laws and all the riches of science which have been achieved and
stored up for us in the mother country--that we, side by side, instead
of living in brotherhood and amity, should live in constant irritation
and hostility. Either we must join hands, or we must hold out our hands
in defiance of each other. In the very nature of things we cannot be
divided and be one. In the very nature of things we cannot submit to
causes of irritation, causes of infliction, causes of dissatisfaction,
causes of exasperation, and still live in brotherhood. It is only by
joining hands in good faith as the people of one kindred; it is only by
giving and taking--by entertaining compromise as far as compromise can
be entertained without deadly injury to principle--it is only by doing
that, we can hope to found this union. If we unfortunately miss this
great occasion, and leave the work undone, it will be done in a few
years hence, and it will be done by younger hands, who will gain the
credit of having effected this bond of union, which will be in itself,
if rightly effected, of more value than any other achievement in the
history of this continent.
This is no time for glowing periods; it is no time for rhetorical
flights; but it is a time for hard and steady work in trying to do what
we are called here to do, and I would ask the honourable members to do
their utmost by a calm self-suppression, by a close attention to the
object which has brought us here, by mutual respect, mutual forbearance,
and disposition to compromise where compromise is possible, to assist
each other in bringing about this great work; and I would say that if we
do seize the occasion and succeed in doing the work, we shall have, not
now so vividly as hereafter, the blessing of this and succeeding
generations in what we have accomplished.
THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
+Source.+--The Melbourne Argus, 10 May 1901
OPENING OF THE FIRST PARLIAMENT
Ten years after the great conference of 1891, the work of Sir Henry
Parkes and his fellow federationists reached its culmination. The
first truly Australian Parliament was opened by the Duke of
Cornwall and York (King George V).
By the hand of royalty, in the presence of the greatest concourse of
people that Australia has seen in one building, and with splendid pomp
and ceremonial, the legislative machinery of the Commonwealth was
yesterday set in motion. The day was full of smiles and tears, the
smiles predominating. Rising gloomily, the dispersing clouds allowed the
bright sun to peep through, and when the great ceremony was in progress
in the Exhibition-building, the atmosphere was radiant, and illuminated
the vast spaces of the building and the great sea of faces with a bright
Australian glow.
A sight never to be forgotten was the assemblage which, in perfect
order, but with exalted feeling, awaited the arrival of the Duke and
Duchess in the great avenues which branch out from beneath the vast Dome
of the Exhibition-building. We have not in Australia any sense of the
historical prestige which attaches itself to a royal opening of the
British Parliament. There the stately function is magnificent in its
setting and pregnant in its associations, but it is in scarcely any
sense of the word a people's function.
Here, by a happy inspiration, the function was made, to the fullest
extent, a popular one. Twelve thousand seated in a vast
amphitheatre--free people, hopeful people, courageous people--entrusted
with the working out of their own destiny, and rejoicing in their
liberty, must be impressive by reason of their numbers alone.
But there was not wanting splendour of accessories. The mighty arches of
the dome, the spread of the great transepts, the grace of the
decorations, were in themselves inspiring; nor was even the sombre shade
of the mourning dressing, softened by splashes of purple here and there,
out of keeping with the event, typifying, as it did, our reverential
regard for the memory of a great Constitutional Ruler, the mightiest
Sovereign of the people the world has known.
Broadly speaking, what was represented in the noble assemblage was
worth. The worthiest of Australia were there--the men who hold their
distinguished positions because they have won them, and because they
deserve them. All that is best in politics, in commerce, in industry, in
the arts, in the Church, in the school, in the public service of
Australia was represented there, and every heart beat high with pride
and with hope.
Faint and far off, just about noon there came the sound of the National
Anthem, and there was a multitudinous murmur and stir, for here was the
actual event coming at last. Then near at hand came the blare of a
trumpet heralding the approach of the Imperial envoys, and a moment or
two after, with royal punctuality, the Duke and Duchess were on the
dais, and the strains of the National Anthem came pealing through the
building.
The religious feelings of the occasion were stirred by the singing of
the grand "Old Hundredth" to the words of the metrical psalm, commencing
"All people that on earth do dwell." This was taken up by thousands of
the audience, and its swelling harmonies rose grandly to the dome. Lord
Hopetoun, setting aside all complicated questions of religious
precedence, himself read several prayers, in his clear, penetrating
voice, so pleasantly familiar in Victoria.
When the Duke stepped forward to deliver his speech to the two Houses, a
"Hush" ran round the assembly, and everyone listened intently, but the
sound of the ever-moving feet on the boarded floors went on. His Royal
Highness spoke deliberately, in a clear, strong voice, and the speech he
read was distinctly heard by thousands of those present. It was a
dignified, a graceful, a kindly, and a congratulatory speech, and it
expressed a confident belief that the new powers granted to Australia
will only strengthen the affection of the people for the throne and
empire.
At the final words, "I now declare the Parliament of the Commonwealth of
Australia open," the Duchess touched an electric button which gave the
signal outside for the hoisting of the Union Jack on all the State
schools of the Colony, and for the sending of a message to England
declaring the object of the journey of the Royal envoys accomplished.
Trumpets rang out the signal, and outside was heard the booming of
cannon in royal salute.
After a brief pause the Duke of Cornwall and York stepped forward once
more and read a special cable message of congratulation from His Majesty
the King. And now Australia asserted herself. She had been suppressing
her feelings to show that she knew how to behave with old-world decorum
in the presence of Royalty, but this message, direct from the King
himself, was too much--they simply had to cheer. And cheer they did. It
was done without order or without concert. It was taken up time after
time by sections of the audience; it ran round the aisles, and surged
through the galleries; a hearty, spontaneous, irrepressible Australian
cheer. It was not down in the programme, but it formed a most effective
part of it.
The final part of the ceremony, which altogether occupied about
three-quarters of an hour, was the swearing-in of members by the
Governor-General. He stood on the dais and read out the oath, whilst the
members, Bible in hand, followed him in sections. Then Lord Hopetoun
stepped to the front of the dais, and directing the audience by the
waving of his hat, called for three cheers for His Royal Highness the
Duke, which were given with splendid heartiness, and followed by another
round for the Duchess, after which the Duke and Duchess retired and the
great ceremony was over.
TELEGRAM FROM THE KING
His Royal Highness read the following telegram from His Majesty the
King:
"My thoughts are with you on the day of the important ceremony. Most
fervently do I wish Australia prosperity and great happiness."
REPLY TO THE KING
The following telegram was despatched by His Royal Highness the Duke of
Cornwall and York to His Majesty the King immediately after the opening
ceremony:
"I have just delivered your message, and, in your name, declared open
the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. I also read your
kind telegram of good wishes, which is deeply appreciated by your loving
Australian subjects, and was received with great enthusiasm. Splendid
and impressive ceremony, over 12,000 people in Exhibition-building."
MESSAGE FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
When the newly-elected President of the Federal Senate and Speaker of
the House of Representatives were presented to His Excellency the
Governor-General at the Old Treasury buildings yesterday afternoon, Lord
Hopetoun intimated to them and to the members of the Commonwealth
Legislature who were present that he had received the subjoined message
from the Secretary of State for the Colonies:
"His Majesty's Government welcomes the new Parliament that to-day takes
its place among the great legislative bodies of the British Empire and
they feel confident that it will be a faithful interpreter of the
aspirations of a free and loyal people, and they trust that its
deliberations will promote the happiness, prosperity, and unity of the
whole continent of Australia."
The message was subsequently read in both Houses of the Federal
Parliament, and received with cheers.
THE BOER WAR
+Source.+--The Times History of the War in South Africa, 1899-1902, Vol.
III, pp. 30-31, 34-35; Vol. IV, p. 428
The clash of interests in South Africa between settlers of Dutch
and of British origin gave rise to much ill-feeling, and in 1899
Great Britain decided to annex the South African Colonies in order
to protect the interests of her subjects. In the ensuing struggle
the Colonies freely offered support, both moral and physical.
Of all the colonies the Australian ones were the most directly
interested in the South African controversy. In view of the vast and
increasing trade between Australia and the mother-country, the safety of
the Cape route must always be a question of the very highest importance
in the eyes of Australian statesmen. And apart from such considerations
of contingent self-interest, Australians had strong personal feelings
over the issue between Kruger and the Uitlanders. Australian miners
formed no small section of the population of the Rand. Australians were
under no illusions as to the idyllic character of the peasant-owners of
the Transvaal. As soon as the crisis became acute, public meetings were
held all over the Australian colonies to express sympathy with the
Uitlanders and to support the attitude of the Imperial Government. The
question of sending Australian contingents to join the Imperial forces
in the event of a war was discussed at an early stage. The idea of
active participation in the wars of the Empire was not altogether a new
one. As far back as 1867 Tasmania had sent a contingent to assist the
Imperial forces in the Maori war. More recently a body of New South
Wales troops took part in the Sudan campaign of 1885. A little active
service and much tedious waiting at Suakim was all they saw, and one
might have imagined that in Australia the result had been to damp any
inclination to repeat the performance. But the partial disappointment of
1885 made the Australians all the more eager to try again.
Between October 28 and November 5 the first Australian contingents
sailed amidst the most enthusiastic popular demonstrations. They were
officered and manned almost entirely by members of the various colonial
volunteer forces, and thus possessed the advantage of a certain amount
of initial training which was destined to stand them in good stead in
the field. It should never be forgotten that their success was mainly
due to the persistent effort of those officers, whether Imperial or
colonial, who during the past twenty years had given their services to
the development and organization of the colonial forces. It was the
existence of these forces that kept up the military spirit in the
colonies.
Small as was the force contributed by the Empire (nearly 80,000 men) it
was none the less a material assistance, whose value can hardly be
overrated. It practically doubled the mounted force, and thus made
possible those sweeping movements by which Lord Roberts reached
Pretoria. Above all, it gave the Imperial Government a moral support
which enabled it to face with equanimity the almost universal hostility
of the European powers or the fanatical outcries of a few
anti-Imperialist partisans at home. Never, probably, in modern times has
there been a greater consensus of honest opinion in support of a great
national movement than that which backed up Britain's effort to maintain
her position in South Africa. It was simply that the free citizens of
free countries asked to be allowed to venture their lives for the sake
of a political ideal which was personally and intimately dear to each
one of them, and that, in spite of the paralysing absence of either
precedent or preparation, many thousands actually achieved their desire.
The war has not shown what the Empire can do, but it has revealed to
those who perhaps doubted before, what an Empire we can make if we but
choose.
ELANDS RIVER
Amongst varying fortunes and many indecisive actions, the defence of the
position at Elands River stands out as an achievement only made possible
by courage and grim determination.
For several weeks Colonel Hore, with a small garrison at Brakfontein on
the Elands River, had been keeping up the connection between Mafeking
and Zeerust, policing the district and forwarding on convoys to
Rustenburg. At the beginning of August the force which he had for this
purpose, as well as to guard a large store of supplies, consisted of 500
men, nearly all Imperial bushmen or Rhodesians, an old muzzle-loading
seven-pounder, and two maxims. By this time Lord Roberts had determined
that several isolated posts in the Western Transvaal, such as this one,
which were in constant danger of attack, must be evacuated, and on
August 1 ordered General Carrington to march to Elands River to cover
Hore's retirement. But De la Rey, with three detachments of his troops
under himself, Lemmer, and Steenekemp, each numbering about 300 men, and
each with a gun and a pom-pom, and a maxim, had arrived there before
him, and on the morning of August 4 had aroused Hore's camp by shell and
rifle fire from the north-west, east, and south-east. The camp was on a
small boulder-strewn kopje, in the centre of an amphitheatre about five
acres in extent, and half a mile east of the river. Most of the men were
on this central kopje, but two small hills on the bank of the river were
held by detachments under Captain Butters and Lieutenant Zouch. Luckily,
an attack had been expected, and stone sangars and shelters of ox-wagons
had been made and further protected by biscuit boxes and bags of flour
and sugar from the stores the men were guarding. Nevertheless the Boer
attack seemed to have every chance in its favour; their guns were in
safe positions 2,400 yards from the camp, and along the river banks they
could creep close up to the defenders. Hore's old seven-pounder, though
it succeeded in silencing a Boer gun, and killed a German gunner, was
very capricious in its working, and was obviously no match for the Boer
guns. The thousands of horses and oxen which were in the camp under no
sort of cover were nearly all killed on the first day by the Boer
shells; and the stench arising from these dead animals in the narrow
camp makes it almost marvellous that the men who escaped the Boer shells
were not killed by pestilence. Moreover, the only chance of getting
water was to take the water carts down to the river at night, and then
the drivers and escort were not always safe. To make matters worse, on
the second day of the siege Carrington's advance scouts, after appearing
on the rise to the west, were soon seen retiring again, so that rescue
from this side seemed now out of the question. When starting, Carrington
did not know that Hore was invested, so he carried very few rations. He
no doubt had a small force with him and was badly off for supplies; but
he had gained a ridge from which he commanded the way to Elands River,
and under the circumstances of Hore's pressing danger he was too quickly
discouraged from a more determined effort to bring out the garrison.
From the east another attempt was made to relieve Hore which proved
equally abortive.
On August 5 firing had been heard in the direction of Elands River, so
next day Baden-Powell marched with his own and Mahon's mounted troops
about half-way to Brakfontein. Here he heard guns firing in a westerly
direction, but as the sound seemed to grow fainter and fainter, he
assumed, without, however, waiting for the reports of his scouts, that
Carrington had succeeded in withdrawing Hore towards Mafeking.
After Carrington's retreat to Zeerust on August 5 and Baden-Powell's to
Rustenburg on the 6th, Lord Roberts had given up all hope of saving this
garrison. But on the 13th a runner from Colonel Hore had arrived at
Crocodile Pools, announcing that he had not surrendered. On hearing this
the Field Marshal ordered Kitchener to take part of his force to relieve
him. Kitchener started on the 16th. from Quaggafontein with Little's,
Broadwood's, and Smith-Dorrien's brigades. After Carrington had come up
and gone away again on August 5, the garrison, though apparently left to
their fate, would hear nothing of surrender, but made up their minds to
fight as long as they had ammunition and strength to use it. Luckily
they were well provided with food, and the Boers, as usual in their
sieges, were content to sit round and fire at them without seriously
attempting to rush the place as they should have done. The garrison also
kept up their spirits by sudden raids at night on adventurous Boers or
guns that came too near. Thus, as at Wepener, it became a game of
patience for the garrison, dissimilar only in this, that at Elands River
there was no promise of support to buoy up the garrison with hope.
However, on August 16, after eleven days' siege, De la Rey moved away on
the news of the approaching relief columns, and Lord Kitchener rode in
to set free the garrison.
This siege, like that of Wepener, was especially a Colonial triumph;
there the garrison had been chiefly Cape Colonials, here the majority
were Australians of Carrington's first Brigade, the rest being
Rhodesians, and it would be difficult to praise overmuch the
determination and fine spirit shown by these Colonials in their first
opportunity of distinguishing themselves as a corps. Every soldier who
saw the place afterwards expressed surprise that they could have held
out so long, and it is therefore the more creditable to them to have
done so when every hope of relief seemed entirely cut off; while, at a
time when surrenders and retreats were not sufficiently rare, the
example shown by these splendid men was even more important than the
position they held.
THE GREAT WAR
+Source.+--The Times History of the War and Encyclopaedia, Vol. I, p.
161; Vol. II, p. 31; Vol. III, p. 126
The aggressive policy of Germany led to the outbreak in 1914 of the
greatest war in history; for nearly every country in the world
ultimately became involved in the struggle.
Germany advised Austria to demand most humiliating concessions from
Servia, and the resistance of Servia supported by Russia resulted
in war between Germany and Austria on one side, and Servia, Russia,
and her ally France on the other.
For strategical reasons Germany determined to attack France through
Belgium, declaring that the international treaty which bound her to
respect Belgian neutrality was but a "Scrap of Paper." Great
Britain, as one of the signatories to the treaty, protested
against such a violation of good faith, but finding protestation
vain declared war upon Germany on 4 August 1914.
The whole Empire solidly supported the Mother Country and shared
valiantly in all her achievements.
THE RALLY OF THE EMPIRE
Important as were the offers of help, both of men and provisions, which
the self-governing Dominions and the Indian Empire made to the Mother
Country almost immediately after the outbreak of the war, the knowledge
that these great daughter-nations were morally convinced of the justice
of the British cause, was a factor of even more far-reaching importance.
Great as was the necessity of organizing and expanding the Imperial
forces, and thus creating an extra army or armies to reinforce the
British Expeditionary Force in France, urgent as was the need of taking
advantage of the prompt offers of help which came from all parts of the
Empire, the necessity of convincing the self-governing Dominions and the
Empire at large of the righteousness of the cause for which Great
Britain was fighting was more imperative still. For in the long run the
consciousness of the justice of the principles for which a people is
fighting, alone can ensure the massing of material force sufficient to
secure material victory.
Evidence that the case for Great Britain was fully understood and
thoroughly approved, not only by our own peoples, but by the bulk of the
neutral States of the world, was not long in presenting itself. The
Dominions as a whole had satisfied themselves that the British cause was
just, before Sir Edward Grey had made it plain by his speech of August
3rd that the British Government had done everything short of sacrificing
the honour of the country to avoid war. In the words of Sir Richard
McBride, the Premier of British Columbia, "Should it unfortunately
develop that Great Britain is compelled to engage in hostilities, Canada
will automatically be at war also"; while in Australia, Mr. Fisher, the
ex-Prime Minister, declared, "Should honour demand the Mother Country to
take part in hostilities, Australians will stand beside her to the last
man and the last shilling." These sentiments found expression in the
offers of help of men and material, which have been described in the
preceding chapter. To those offers the King replied by a message to the
Overseas Dominions:
"I desire to express to my people of the Overseas Dominions with what
appreciation and pride I have received the messages from their
respective Governments during the last few days.
"These spontaneous assurances of their fullest support recall to me the
generous, self-sacrificing help given by them in the past to the Mother
Country.
"I shall be strengthened in the discharge of the great responsibility
which rests upon me by the confident belief that in this time of trial
my Empire will stand united, calm, resolute, trusting in God.
"GEORGE R.I."
THE SINKING OF THE _EMDEN_ (German cruiser)
Against us there were known to be some eight or nine German cruisers
abroad, all efficient for commerce-destroying purposes, and several with
very high speed, which it was recognized would require a great deal of
catching....
The _Emden_ was a small vessel of some 3,500 tons, with a speed of about
25 knots--quite fast enough to overhaul any British steamer she was
likely to encounter, and fast enough also to run away, if necessary. The
_Emden_ was generally heard of where she was least expected, and after
reaping her harvest of merchantmen, as unaccountably disappeared. In
something under six weeks she had captured nearly twenty steamers,
always contriving to pick up a collier among them, so that she was able
to keep her bunkers replenished....
As a variety of adventure, the _Emden_ steamed one evening into Madras
Roads, and threw shell into the outskirts of the town for the space of
half an hour or so--some oil tanks were set ablaze, and two or three
natives killed; Fort George returned the fire--probably without
effect--and the _Emden_ retired.
It may be assumed that the German captain received information by
wireless of the probable approach of colliers or other vessels, as he
was so very much on the spot; in any case, he was a courageous and
enterprising man, and a good sportsman; but we wanted very badly to
catch him. There are so many holes and corners in that part of the
world, where a vessel may lie for a time with little chance of
detection, and the _Emden's_ speed would have enabled her to reach some
such refuge very quickly.
The last act in the drama of the _Emden_ took place off the
Cocos-Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean....
It was to this desolate spot in the Indian Ocean that Captain Von Muller
brought his ship, in the early days of November; with him was one of his
captures, the _Buresk_, which was full of coal. The object of this visit
of the _Emden_ was the destruction of the important wireless station
that is established on the islands, and on the morning of November 9th,
the officials were unpleasantly surprised by the landing of an armed
boat's crew from a cruiser, which had come to an anchor, and which they
first imagined to be H.M.S. _Minotaur_. They were quickly undeceived by
the German officer in charge of the party, who informed them that their
operations from the wireless station had greatly hampered the movements
of the cruiser. One detachment of the Germans then rounded up all the
officials and their servants, placing them under a strict guard, while a
second party prepared to blow up the wireless installation and to smash
the instrument rooms of the cable office. This they did most thoroughly,
but the officials seem to have kept their heads in the most praiseworthy
manner, as, just as soon as they discovered that the enemy was upon
them, they sent out distress signals by wireless, and warned adjacent
stations by cable that they were about to be smashed up.
The landing party now blew up the wireless mast and the store in which
spare cable and cable gear was kept; a third explosion wrecked the
wireless hut, and completed the destruction of the installation. The
dynamo rooms and workshops were destroyed with flogging hammers and
axes, everything breakable, including clocks, being smashed to atoms.
Their next proceeding was to cut the shore ends of the submarine cables,
and this was done in full view of the prisoners. There are three cables
from the Cocos--to Perth, to Batavia, and to Rodriguez--and the pleasure
of the prisoners can be imagined when they saw the Germans spend much
hard labour in destroying a dummy cable. Eventually the Perth cable and
the dummy were cut, the others being left, presumably because the
Germans did not know that they existed.
The party from the _Emden_ had landed at 7.30 a.m., and by 9.20 their
mission of destruction was accomplished. At this time a signal was blown
on the siren from the ship; the officer in command collected his men,
marched them down to the beach, and re-embarked. The telegraphists
report that they were fairly and courteously treated. On arrival the
_Emden_ was still using her now famous fourth funnel, a dummy, and this
it was that caused the telegraphists to mistake her in the first
instance for the _Minotaur_, which is a four-funnelled armoured cruiser.
As she steamed away in the bright light of the tropic morning for what
was so shortly to prove her last cruise, the _Emden_ hauled down, and
stowed away, her dummy.
The action that ensued between the _Sydney_ and the _Emden_ is here
given in the official despatch of Captain Glossop, dated from Colombo on
November 15th:
I have the honour to report that whilst on escort duty with the convoy
under the charge of Captain Silver, H.M.A.S. _Melbourne_, at 6.30 a.m.
on Monday, Nov. 9th, a wireless message from Cocos was heard reporting
that a foreign warship was off the entrance. I was ordered to raise
steam for full speed at 7.0 a.m. and proceeded thither. I worked up to
twenty knots, and at 9.15 a.m. sighted land ahead and almost immediately
the smoke of a ship, which proved to be the H.I.G.M.S. _Emden_ coming
out towards me at a great rate. At 9.40 a.m. fire was opened, she firing
the first shot. I kept my distance as much as possible to obtain the
advantage of my guns. Her fire was very accurate and rapid to begin
with, but seemed to slacken very quickly, all casualties occurring in
this ship almost immediately. First, the foremost funnel of her went,
secondly the foremast, and she was badly on fire aft, then the second
funnel went, and lastly the third funnel, and I saw she was making for
the beach on North Keeling Island, where she grounded at 11.20 a.m. I
gave her two more broadsides and left her, to pursue a merchant ship
which had come up during the action.
2. Although I had guns on this merchant ship at odd times during the
action, I had not fired, and as she was making off fast, I pursued and
overtook her at 12.10, firing a gun across her bows and hoisting
International Code Signal to stop, which she did. I sent an armed boat,
and found her to be the ss. _Buresk_, a captured British collier, with
18 Chinese crew, 1 English steward, 1 Norwegian cook, and a German prize
crew of 3 officers, 1 warrant officer, and 12 men. The ship
unfortunately was sinking, so I took all on board, fired four shells
into her, and returned to _Emden_, passing men swimming in the water,
for whom I left two boats I was towing from _Buresk_.
3. On arriving again off _Emden_, she still had her colours up at
mainmast head. I inquired by signal, International Code, "Will you
surrender?" and received a reply in Morse, "What signal? No signal
books." I then made in Morse, "Do you surrender?" and subsequently,
"Have you received my signal?" to neither of which did I get an answer.
The German officers on board gave me to understand that the captain
would never surrender, and therefore, though very reluctantly, I again
fired at her at 4.30 p.m., ceasing at 4.35, as she showed white flags
and hauled down her ensign by sending a man aloft.
4. I then left Emden and returned and picked up the _Buresk's_ two
boats, rescuing two sailors (5.0 p.m.) who had been in the water all
day. I returned and sent in one boat to _Emden_, manned by her own prize
crew from _Buresk_ and one officer, and stating I would return to their
assistance next morning.
5. I lay on and off all night, and communicated with Direction Island at
8.0 a.m., November 10th, to find that the _Emden's_ party, consisting of
three officers and forty men, one launch and two cutters, had seized and
provisioned a 70-ton schooner (the _Ayesha_), having four Maxims with
two belts to each. They left the previous night at six o'clock. The
wireless station was entirely destroyed, one cable cut, one damaged, and
one intact. I borrowed a doctor and two assistants, and proceeded as
fast as possible to _Emden's_ assistance.
6. I sent an officer on board to see the captain, and in view of the
large number of prisoners and wounded, and lack of accommodation, etc.,
in this ship, and the absolute impossibility of leaving them there, he
agreed that if I received his officers and men and all wounded, "then as
for such time as they remained in _Sydney_ they would cause no
interference with ship or fittings, and would be amenable to the ship's
discipline." I therefore set to work at once to tranship them--a most
difficult operation, the ship being on weather side of island, and the
send alongside very heavy. The conditions in the _Emden_ were
indescribable. I received the last from her at 5.0 p.m., then had to go
round to the lee side to pick up 20 more men who had managed to get
ashore from the ship.
7. Darkness came on before this could be accomplished, and the ship
again stood off and on all night, resuming operations at 5.0 a.m., on
November 11th, a cutter's crew having to land with stretchers to bring
wounded round to embarking point. A German officer, a doctor, died
ashore the previous day. The ship in the meantime ran over to Direction
Island to return their doctor and assistants, send cables, and was back
again at 10 a.m., embarked the remainder of wounded, and proceeded for
Colombo by 10.35 a.m., Wednesday, November 11th.
8. Total casualties in _Sydney_: killed, 3; severely wounded (since
dead), 1; severely wounded, 4; wounded, 4; slightly wounded, 4. In the
_Emden_ I can only approximately state the killed at 7 officers and 108
men from captain's statement. I had on board 11 officers, 9 warrant
officers and 191 men, of whom 3 officers and 53 men were wounded, and of
this number 1 officer and 3 men have since died of wounds.
9. The damage to Sydney's hull and fittings was surprisingly small; in
all about ten hits seem to have been made. The engine and boiler rooms
and funnels escaped entirely.
10. I have great pleasure in stating that the behaviour of the ship's
company was excellent in every way, and with such a large number of
young hands and people under training it is all the more gratifying.
It will be seen from Captain Glossop's despatch that he was on escort
duty with the convoy under the charge of Captain Silver of H.M.A.S.
_Melbourne_. This convoy was carrying Australian and New Zealand troops
to the scene of the great conflict in Europe. The act of self-denial on
the part of Captain Silver in sending the _Sydney_ to engage the
_Emden_, instead of taking that duty upon himself, certainly deserves to
be noted. This officer denied to himself and to the officers and men
under his command, the privilege of dealing with the notorious raider,
and in so doing he was actuated solely by his high sense of duty and the
responsibility that he owed to his country. In his judgment the _Sydney_
was the more suitable ship, so she was sent, and the _Melbourne_
remained with her convoy until the affair was concluded.
LANDING ON GALLIPOLI
+Source.+---Dispatch from a special Correspondent at the Dardanelles
printed in The Times, 7 May 1915
Soon after the commencement of the war Turkey joined the Central
Powers, and consequently the Australian Imperial Forces, having
experienced a rigorous training in Egypt, were used to assist the
Navy and other Allied troops in an attempt to force the Dardanelles.
VIEWED FROM A BATTLESHIP
Slowly through the night of April 24th our squadron, which was to land
the covering forces of the Australian contingent just north of Gaba
Tepe, steamed towards its destination....
At 1 a.m. the ships arrived off their appointed rendezvous, five miles
from the landing-place, and stopped. The soldiers were aroused from
their slumbers, and were served with a last hot meal. A visit to the
mess decks showed these Australians, the majority of whom were about to
go into action for the first time under the most trying circumstances,
possessed at 1 o'clock in the morning courage to be cheerful, quiet, and
confident....
At 1.20 a.m. the signal was given from the flagship to lower the boats,
which had been left swinging from the davits throughout the night. Our
steam pinnaces were also lowered to take them in tow....
On the quarter-deck, backed by the great 12 in. guns, this splendid body
of colonial troops were drawn up in serried ranks, fully equipped, and
receiving their last instructions from their officers, who, six months
ago, like their men, were leading a peaceful civilian life in Australia
and New Zealand, 5,000 miles away....
At 2.5 a.m. the signal was given for the troops to embark in the boats
which were lying alongside, and this was carried out with great
rapidity, in absolute silence, and without a hitch or an accident of any
kind....
The whole operation had been timed to allow the pinnaces and boats to
reach the beach just before daylight, so that the Turks, if they had
been forewarned, would not be able to see to fire before the Australians
had obtained a firm footing and, it was hoped, good cover on the
foreshore....
At 4.53 a.m. there suddenly came a very sharp burst of rifle fire from
the beach, and we knew our men were at last at grips with the enemy.
This fire lasted only for a few minutes, and then was drowned by a faint
British cheer wafted to us over the waters....
The first authentic news we received came with the return of our boats.
A steam pinnace came alongside with two recumbent forms on her deck and
a small figure, pale, but cheerful, and waving his hand astern. They
were one of our midshipmen, just sixteen years of age, shot through the
stomach, but regarding his injury more as a fitting consummation to a
glorious holiday ashore than a wound; and a chief stoker, and petty
officer, all three wounded by that first burst of musketry, which caused
many casualties in the boats just as they reached the beach.
From them we learned what had happened in those first wild moments. All
the tows had almost reached the beach, when a party of Turks, entrenched
almost on the shore, opened up a terrible fusillade from rifles and also
from a Maxim. Fortunately most of the bullets went high, but,
nevertheless, many men were hit as they sat huddled together forty or
fifty in a boat.
It was a trying moment, but the Australian volunteers rose as a man to
the occasion. They waited neither for orders, nor for the boats to reach
the beach, but, springing out into the sea, they waded ashore, and,
forming some sort of a rough line, rushed straight on the flashes of the
enemy's rifles. Their magazines were not charged, so they just went in
with cold steel, and I believe I am right in saying that the first
Ottoman Turk since the last Crusade received an Anglo-Saxon bayonet in
him at 5 minutes after 5 a.m. on April 25th. It was over in a minute.
The Turks in this first trench were bayoneted or ran away, and a Maxim
gun was captured.
Then the Australians found themselves facing an almost perpendicular
cliff of loose sandstone, covered with thick shrubbery, and somewhere
half-way up the enemy had a second trench strongly held, from which they
poured a terrible fire on the troops below, and the boats pulling back
to the destroyers for the second landing party.
Here was a tough proposition to tackle in the darkness, but these
Colonials are practical above all else, and they went about it in a
practical way. They stopped a few moments to pull themselves together,
and to get rid of their packs which no troops could carry in an attack,
and then charged their magazines. Then this race of athletes proceeded
to scale the cliffs without responding to the enemy's fire. They lost
some men but did not worry, and in less than a quarter of an hour the
Turks were out of their second position, either bayoneted or in full
flight.
This ridge under which the landing was made, stretches due north from
Gaba Tepe, and culminates in the height of Coja Chemen, which rises 950
feet above the sea level. The whole forms part of a confused triangle of
hills, valleys, ridges, and bluffs which stretches right across the
Gallipoli Peninsula to the Bay of Bassi Liman, above the Narrows. The
triangle is cut in two by the valley through which flows the stream
known as Bokali Deresi....
In the early part of the day very heavy casualties were suffered in the
boats which conveyed the troops from the destroyers, tugs, and
transports to the beach. As soon as it became light, the enemy's
sharpshooters, hidden everywhere, simply concentrated their fire on the
boats....
Throughout the whole of April 25th the landing of troops, stores, and
munitions had to be carried out under these conditions, but the gallant
sailors never failed their equally gallant comrades ashore. Every one,
from the youngest midshipman straight from Dartmouth and under fire for
the first time, to the senior officers in charge, did their duty
nobly....
When the sun was fully risen and the haze had disappeared, we could see
that the Australians had actually established themselves on the top of
the ridge, and were evidently trying to work their way northwards along
it....
The fighting was so confused, and took place amongst such broken ground
that it is extremely difficult to follow exactly what did happen
throughout the morning and afternoon of April the 25th. The role
assigned to the covering force was splendidly carried out up to a
certain point, and a firm footing was obtained on the crest of the ridge
which allowed the disembarkation of the remainder of the force to go on
uninterruptedly except for the never-ceasing sniping.
But then the Australians, whose blood was up, instead of entrenching
themselves and waiting developments, pushed northward and eastward
inland, in search of fresh enemies to tackle with the bayonet. The
ground is so broken and ill-defined that it was very difficult to select
a position to entrench, especially as after the troops imagined they had
cleared a section, they were continually being sniped from all sides.
Therefore they preferred to continue the advance.... The Turks only had
a comparatively weak force actually holding the beach, and they seemed
to have relied on the difficult nature of the ground, and their
scattered snipers, to delay the advance until they could bring up
reinforcements from the interior.
Some of the Australians who had pushed inland were counter-attacked and
almost outflanked by these oncoming reserves, and had to fall back after
suffering very heavy casualties.
It was then the turn of the Turks to counter-attack, and this they
continued to do throughout the afternoon, but the Australians never
yielded a foot of ground on the main ridge, and reinforcements were
continually poured up from the beach as fresh troops were disembarked
from the transports. The enemy's artillery fire, however, presented a
very difficult problem. As soon as the light became good, the Turks
enfiladed the beach with two field guns from Gaba Tepe, and with two
others from the north.... In vain did the warships endeavour to put them
out of action with their secondary armament. For some hours they could
not be accurately located, or else were so well protected that our
shells failed to do them any harm....
Later in the day the two guns to the north were silenced ... and a
cruiser moving in close to the shore, so plastered Gaba Tepe with a hail
of shell that the guns there were also silenced and have not attempted
to reply since.
As the enemy brought up reinforcements, towards dusk his attacks became
more and more vigorous, and he was supported by a powerful artillery
inland, which the ships' guns were powerless to deal with. The pressure
on the Australians and New Zealanders became heavier, and the line they
were occupying had to be contracted for the night. General Birdwood and
his staff went ashore in the afternoon, and devoted all their energies
to securing the position, so as to hold firmly to it until the following
morning, when it was hoped to get some field guns in position to deal
with the enemy's artillery.
Some idea of the difficulty to be faced may be gathered when it is
remembered that every round of ammunition, all water, and all supplies
had to be landed on a narrow beach and then carried up pathless hills,
valleys, and bluffs, several hundred feet high, to the firing line. The
whole of this mass of troops, concentrated on a very small area, and
unable to reply, were exposed to a relentless and incessant shrapnel
fire, which swept every yard of the ground, although, fortunately, a
great deal of it was badly aimed or burst too high. The reserves were
engaged in road-making and carrying supplies to the crest, and in
answering the calls for more ammunition.
A serious problem was getting away the wounded from the shore, where it
was impossible to keep them. All those who were unable to hobble to the
beach had to be carried down to the hills on stretchers, then hastily
dressed and carried to the boats. The boat and beach parties never
stopped working throughout the entire day and night.
The courage displayed by these wounded Australians will never be
forgotten. Hastily dressed and placed in trawlers, lighters, and ships'
boats they were towed to the ships.... I have, in fact, never seen the
like of those wounded Australians in war before, for as they were towed
amongst the ships, whilst accommodation was being found for them,
although many were shot to bits, and without hope of recovery, their
cheers resounded through the night, and you could just see, amidst a
mass of suffering humanity, arms being waved in greeting to the crews of
the warships. They were happy because they had been tried for the first
time in the war and had not been found wanting. They had been told to
occupy the heights and hold on, and this they had done for fifteen
mortal hours, under an incessant shell fire, without the moral and
material support of a single gun ashore, and subjected the whole time to
the violent counter-attacks of a brave enemy, led by skilled leaders,
whilst his snipers, hidden in caves and thickets and amongst the dense
scrub, made a deliberate practice of picking off every officer who
endeavoured to give a word of command or lead his men forward.
No finer feat of arms has been performed during the war than this sudden
landing in the dark, the storming of the heights, and above all, the
holding on to the position thus won whilst reinforcements were being
poured from the transports. These raw Colonial troops in those desperate
hours proved themselves worthy to fight side by side with the heroes of
Mons and the Aisne, Ypres, and Neuve Chapelle.
WHAT ANZAC MEANS
By Senator Pearce (Minister of State for Defence)
+Source.+--The Melbourne Argus, 25 April 1916
In an army a knowledge of its past achievements is a mighty factor in
its future success. Before this war Australia had practically no army
traditions, and it is to the meaning of the Gallipoli campaign in this
connection that I would direct attention to-day, twelve months after the
historic landing.
To the peoples of Europe the thought of war was ever present in the
popular mind; but to the Australian, born and bred in an atmosphere
untainted by war, living amid peaceful surroundings and desirous of
remaining on terms of friendship with the rest of mankind the word
itself has a jarring sound. Yet the German challenge to the Mother
Country finds 233,720 of her Australian sons who have voluntarily
wrenched themselves from their parents, wives, and friends, and from
comfortable and cheerful homes, to answer the call of their country to
fight the Empire's battles on distant shores.
Nor has the thunder of the cannon been necessary to inspire Australians
with a conception of their duty; and the explanation of it all is that
we have inherited to the full that spirit of our forebears which enabled
them, not so long ago, to tear themselves from homeland firesides to
shape careers in this great island continent, and to overcome with
indomitable pluck the awful hardships of a pioneering life.
For generations to come the story of the entry of the Australian troops
to the European battlefield will ring in the ears of English-speaking
nations. The chronicler of the future will provide many thrilling pages
of history, magnificent material for the moulding of the youthful
Australian character.
A distinguished military officer told us before the war that Australians
would require to be in the majority of two to one in meeting a foreign
foe on our own shores; but the furious onslaught that accompanied the
landing at Gallipoli, the bitter fighting and terrible trials of the
occupation, and the wonderful skill that made possible the bloodless
evacuation have shown us that the Australians carried out a feat of arms
not excelled by the most highly-trained regulars of any nation of the
world. The following messages are eloquent in their tribute to
Australian bravery:
"I heartily congratulate you upon the splendid conduct and bravery
displayed by the Australian troops in the operations at the Dardanelles,
who have indeed proved themselves worthy sons of the Empire."--His
Majesty the King, _April 1915_.
"The capture of the positions we hold will go down to history as a
magnificent feat of the Australians and New Zealanders."--General Sir
William Birdwood, _November 1915_.
"Happen what may, the Australians who have fought at Gallipoli will
bequeath a heritage of honour to their children's children."--General
Sir Ian Hamilton, _November 1915_.
These are examples of the praise which that feat of arms has won, and
such is the standing of military bearing which the improvised army of
Australian citizens has set up for the citizen army of Australia--a
standard which, we may rest assured, has not failed to impress our
enemies in computing the military value of our forces.
Every unit of the citizen army will now have its tradition. Every
soldier of the Australian army will have that inspiring example of the
Anzac heroes to live up to in his military work, and we can regard the
future with a calm confidence in the military prowess of our soldiers.
The Allied troops evacuated the Gallipoli Peninsula in December
1915, and the majority of the Australian Imperial Force was then
transferred to the Western Front in France, where on fiercely
fought fields such as Pozières, Messines, Cambrai, Amiens, and
others too numerous to detail here, they won imperishable fame.
THE END
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