H.M.S. RNCODSTER.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12498, 8 May 1906, Page 9

H.M.S. RNCODSTER.

ej ' DUE AT LYTTELTON TO-DAY. H.M.S. Encounter, one of the latest „ additions to the Australian Squadron, ~ i will pay hex fimt vi*it to Lytteiton to- !_ <lay. Captain. Clark, harbourmii&ter at j T ! Lyttclton, has be*>nt advised that the. j_ warship will arrive in port from Akaroa duraig the forenoon, and he has al- ,. loUed her a benli on the east side of j ! >io. 3 wharf. >_ It is understood that the Encounter . will remain in part at. Lyttelton for c four or live d«iyN during which time I she will be coaled by the steamer o ilaweu, which is duo from Westport rr to-morrow. The vo.*el afterwards gote i_ to Pieton, Neison and Nurth lelaoid t ports. o Our Akaroa correspondent writes:— . : Visitors to H.M.S. Encounter have 0 t*vn numerous each day, but an Sun- •- day a laj-ge crowd oi' residents from the rr town and the. district round the hari- hour took advantage of the fine day to f vi.-it the worship, one of the leading a attractions being the installation ot 1 wireless telegraphy, which its tlie mcKt ■- up-to-date in the equ.idroni. A s number of officerb and nicji were ashore n during tho d»iy, and attcmU-d sei-vico i' in iho various ohurcho-, aaid the ser- - vico at St. Peter's in the? evening was 1 conducted by the R«v. V,. Foster-Jo nee, - chaplain of the Encounter. On- Sat-ur-y day the ship's divers were engaged in -.removing the stumps of pi its of the old Akaroa wharf, whicjli had been broken off when the outer portion was removed. The operations were entirely successful, all tlie stumps being cut off below the surface except tlh.roo, which . will be completed on Monday. Tho i work excited a good deal of iirterest-, a : crowd watching the proceed irpis . throughout the rtiiy. During her stay i in tho harbour tlie time on board has i ! been spent in repainting the ship, j . which now looks spick and span i . throughout. r I Tho second-e'a.'is cruiser Encounter, . ' which was announced as long ago as . November. 1903, as having selectrd - for duty on the A-ustnaHan sttition, did i not reach Sydney from England 'bill . March 7th la*t. " Slio is the third of ] i tlie cruisers stipulated for in j i *he N*«val the others l>einp; r the Challenger end the Cambrian. The | Etvoo-unber, which i*> a sister ship of the ' Challenger, is a vessel of 5880 tons di*plaoement, her principal ! r beinff: —Length 355 ft, breadth 56ft, ; . ' ond draupht 21Jft. Her ke<'l wias laid: > down at Devcnport on January 28th, ' 1901, and Ivor engines and boilens weiv i ' constructed at Keyham. Tho launch- • mi; ceremony took place in 1903, but ; she was only recently completed, the ; tot.nl oret of construction having been i £429.577. i j Tho armament of the Encounter con- : ei?ts of 11 6i.n. guns, nine 12-poundftrs, • six 3-pounders, and two machine guns, i Tho indicated horse-power of her engines i is 12,500, and her speed is approxil maiery 21 knots. H.M.S. Encounter, which has relieved i H.M.S. Wa-lfcaroo and H.M.S. Katoomi ba, ordered home som-o time ago, was ■ at Chatham on December | 19th. Captain Henry V. W. Elliott | ■ has associated with him the following ; ' officoTß:—Commander Frank E. Graver, ' lieutenants Charles M. Foot, Edward ' L. Fre-wen, Austin C. Ackkrnd, Herbert G. Briggs, and George M. Skinner, ' Engineer-cornmandor Alfred HiJLs, En- ' gineer-lieutenant Thomas A. Yenning, ' Lieutenant (Royal Marines) Rol>ert C. : Soafe, Chaplain Rev. William FosterJon«e, 8.A., Fleet Surgeon Herbert ' i Holyoake. Paymaarter Arthur J. Dyer, i : Surgeon Robert H. M'Giffin, M.8., En-gineer--sub-i.ient. Lawrence P. Fowler, 1 Assistant Payma-tfer James H. Batchelor, Gunners John T. Weaving, Henry 1 J. Martin, and William R. Heilbroun, ' Carp<-nter William G. and ArI titicor-engineer Frauk W. Feaver.