NEW NAVAL BASE AT AUCKLAND.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 946, 13 October 1910, Page 5

NEW NAVAL BASE AT AUCKLAND.

TRANSFER FROM SYDNEY. IMPERIAL EXPENDITURE LOST TO . NEW SOUTH WALES. CHANGE COMING IN 1912. By.Telcgi-a-pli—Frees Aseociation-OopyrieM. Sydney, October 12. . The "Daily Telegraph," in a special article, states that the' base of the Imperial Navy in Australasia is to be removed from Sydney to Auckland in 1912. The paper adds: "The news will come as a surprise, to - many Sydney people. The change means.that Garden Island will practically become the* property of the Commonwealth Government. Large victualling stores will be closed, the ammunition depot cleared out, and the whole station probably' transferred- to Auckland. The Hoyal 'Navy, throughout, with the Admiralty establishment, spends more than . .£300,000 annually,; and- this expenditure will, probably be transferred to Auckland. Admiralty House will .'be closed, and the naval captain in charge will remove his quarters elsewhere.'

' "In place of/this," continues-the "Telegraph," "Sydney may be able to secure the presence of . a Corainonwealtli destroyer, and "possibly a cruiser, but' the amount .'of money spent here will ; be* insignificant', compared .with that. which would be spent by the Royal Navy." ■ A MINISTERIAL STATEMENT. NO_ BRITISH BOATS IN AUSTRALIA. *..■■■■' (Rec. October 12, 12 p.m.) . .' ' Melbourne, October 12. ..Referring to the removal of the Imperial Australasian Naval base, the Minister for Defence. (Senator Pearce) stated that the announcement' that the present squadron would cease to Temain. in , Sydney after the , Australian unit had beon created was .at .the Imperial Conference in London. ; v ~ ..;.-. .So far as. he remembered, "it. was, decided that British boats would not remain in Australian waters, but provision was' to be made' for docking them; for .Hie-carrying out of other, work when they; visited .Australia.- :'., ... : '-' : .

New position was different, from Australia's.: New; Zealand was contributing a'cruiser to the. China division, and some destroyers would be maintained I,bit;.the .'New Zealand coast. These would be', under Imperial control. ■■■■ -{■;■■■■'. : '. NEWS TQ^MR. , ■ Sydney, October 12.' ;.Mr.;'C. G. , Wade, State Pren/ier, 'in-' terviewed in regard to'.the reported intention to remove.. the ; naval base to Auckland, declaimed that, the whole matter was news to. hini, He Knew nothing of it. AUCKLAWd NOTHING BIGGER THAN BATTLE- ■'■..■- . ■ SHIPS EXPECTED. , . BUT READY FOR EMERGENCIES. tSy. Telegraph.—Special .Correspondent!. ■ Auckland, October 12.. ..Interviewed on: the, of the Sydney .cablegram concerning tho. Admiralty base, the chairman of the, Auckland Harbour Board, Mr. A. J. Entrican, did not express any surprise. ■Hβ referred to Sir Joseph Ward's statement some time ago, and went on'. to say: "In the meantime the Auckland Harbour B.oard has authorised certain important work whioh ' will probably run into 410,000, such as'the [locking of. the caisson and'.the. installation of new pumps. ■Wβ aro now awaiting tho engineer's plans to submit to ,, tho Admiralty, and the .-work will then be gone on with, With , regard to the pumps, it lias been provided that they shall be ennal to dealing, with ' the , -in-, creased volume of water should: we in the. future, decide-on the enlargement of the. dock. Of,course, as the'., public'■ is aware, tho Admiralty is, now paying to tho board.the full.subsidy of ,£SOOO a year." .'.The"work of equipping the dock yards to their requirements being completed, with the exception; of one or two very minor:.details,■;which do not -affect tho scheme,-the last thing, we did was the deepening of the .berth at the shear-legs..' ,; If Really, Big Vessels-Came. Speaking with regard to the class of ships we might expect here, the chairman said: "The -impression , seems to be that we ehall not have anything -larger than battleships, but even if we are called upon to accommodate , anything bigger, the Calliope Dock could be lengthened' from 150 to 200 feet without .much:difficulty. The question of widening .'it is more difficult, and. it is a point whether, if - widening were necessary, it would,hot be as cheap to build a new.one. ■ There would.be no difficulty in this, because in the new':harbour; scheme there-is provision 'for a dock in; Mechanics' Bay, where there will be plenty, of water;;and the most exacting requirements of ;the Admiralty could bo met..-- ... . : . . : ;.■■.: "Auckland liae many points,in its favour in addition to the one that she has suoh a complete equipment for refitting ehips, One, for instance, is tho large supplies of coal she could draw on, a most important point in war time. I think I am right in saying that we would be prepared to -.; do anything the : ■ Admiralty might.require to make the port quite suitable for the purposes of a base,, on" tho same terms ns we equipped the Calliope Dock, namely, that,. the Admiralty, pay the board a subsidy spread over a. number of years, to recoup the cost of outlay. With regard to' Calliope.Dock, 'it.may.be mentioned that the equipment is at ■ the first call of the warships, but when not required-by them , the board has the full use of it." . ..; '.':

Prime Minister's "Splendid Services'." The "Star," editorially, observes: "By virtue of >its # position and its natural and artificial advantages, Auotland is eo manifestly superior to any other New.Zealand port that, could be, named as' a naval base, that its claims are hardly likely to be contested within two or three years', ■time.' Therefore we may look forward to seeing this great change accomplished, and when its are fully realisedwe believe that even Sir J , . : Ward's keenest critics will feel constrained to admit that this country has so far failed to appreciate the splendid services rendered to it by the Premier at-the. Naval Conference last year.' 1 :•■■■-'. ■'

Mr. Entrican's reference to the impression that accommodation will not be required for "anything Jai'gei than battleships" seems to require explanation. Under the new naval defence scheme nothing larger than two second-class cruisers of the Bristol, type (about 5000 tons) will be. stationed in New Zealand. A QUESTION IN PARLIAMENT. PEEMffiR HAS.NO INFORMATION. In the House of' Representatives last night Mr. C. H. Poole, member for Auckland West, asked the Prime Minister if he had any information bearing out or amplifying 'the statements in the cablegram from Sydney. ■ Sir -Joseph Ward said he had no information on the subject, except what he had already made public. When at Home attending the Defence Conference he had urged that Auckland should, be made the base for the ships that were coming out to New Zealand, and that was agreed to. Changes that might take place .when British ships ceased to.be in Australia was a . matter between the Commonwealth and British Governments. He could .only-say that so tar as New Zealand was concerned 1 .tho position was tliat Auckland was to J)e the base for the ships that were coining to New Zealand.