THIS WEEK'S GREAT DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 30, 6 February 1928, Page 6

THIS WEEK'S GREAT DAY.

FEB. 6.—THE RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR.

(By CHARLES CONWAY.)

One hundred and forty-five years ago, on February 6, 1783, the lengthy siege of Gibraltar came to an end.

The famous fortress of Gibraltar, which has been aptly called "the key to the Mediterranean."' was acquired by Great Britain in 1704, and is in some respects one of the most important of her many possessions. Gibraltar is a rocky promontory at the southern extremity of Spain, and rises to a height of nearly 1500 feet above the level of the sea. It covers an area of about two square miles and is connected with the mainland by a low-lying isthmus. The 6traits which separate Gibraltar from the northern coast of Africa arc only fourteen miles wide, and from a strategical standpoint the fortress is one of the most valuable in the British Empire, as its guns command the entrance to the Mediterranean.

The capture of Gibraltar took place during the lengthy conflict known as the War of the Spanish Succession, in which most of the Great Powers of Europe were involved, and which commenced in 1701 and lasted for thirteen years.

On July 21, 1704, a mixed fleet of British and Dutch ships under the command of Admiral Sir George Rooke anchored off Gibraltar, which at that time belonged to Spain, and landed a strong body of marines on the isthmus. Although cut off from any chance of relief from the mainland, and with no hope of holding out against the formidable fleet anchored in the bay, the Spanish commander of the fortress pluckiiy refused to surrender. • For two days Rooke subjected the fortress to a terrific cannonade, which put most of the guns of the garrison out of action, and on the morning of July 24 he gave orders for the whole of his available force to land in small boats and storm the heights. After a short but desperate spell of hand-to-hand fighting the Spaniards surrendered, and, although the war was waged in the interest of the Archduke Charles of' Austria, Rooke hoisted the British flag and took possession of the fortress, in the name of Queen Anne, an action which was subsequently approved and confirmed bv the British Government. Ever since that time the British flag has floated above the fortress, and the many valiant attempts of the Spaniards to recapture it during the next eighty years proved futile.

In 1779 the Spaniards, with the aid of the French fleet, commenced a siege which lasted for three years and seven months, and which is generally regarded as one of the most memorable sieges in the history of the world. The British garrison, which was under the command of Sir George Elliott, afterwards Lord Heathfield successfully withstood the attacks of the greatest armament ever brought against any fortress up to that time, although on several "occasions the defenders were only saved from disaster bv the daring blockade-running of British ships, which landed supplies of food and ammunition in the nick of time. The long siege came to an end on February 6, 1783 with the signing of peace between Great Britain and Spain, and since that time the history of the fortress has been uneventful.

The town of Gibraltar, which is situated at the base of the great rock, has a civilian population of about 20,000, which has no voice in the government of the place, this being entirely in the hands of the military commander of the fortress, who acts in the capacity of governor.