AUSTRALIAN CRUISERS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 25 July 1928, Page 9

AUSTRALIAN CRUISERS.

Njv W j0,,.0 ,-t\>N JJoAiS 1.1 rG FiA E-Y E-Ait I'lioAit AM M ... I.uAiaj.N, May i-.. Austialian naval History g.veu at iongt.l b., a spe-ia. co. r-ap u ti,.oui. me aoiiu-ua “Morning wnu vuiiiiiidits on the iiago..jj/ -m tne a..»u..uan neet, tne xVleioourne, arn.ing ~i x'ortsmoutn to ~,e put oia -oi voiuiL.saitm t»y tlie suipoi ea..ei s ..mi succteueu by tne new j.u,vKM-Lon criusej -Vv.stralni, as the nagsnip oi .no<tr--tu-...uai Tiyue, the nrst Australian admiral o t tne Australian neet. tne Australian anti ner sister snip, tne

, auijerra, are expe-ted to l>» couipleteu anti sail from .Ldymoutn some time in miy. the Australia and tne Canberra, as they sail m company, the correspondent says, will cruise via Hail ax,

-.oston, New Yolk, vdiesapeaive Day qec w asiiingto-n), Jamaica aud the unaina canal.

Rj.NEvSED UNDER NEiV TuLrCY

with the arrival of the Australia’ anu the EanueiTa. -on tneir lioine station, oil e establisinnent or tne Australian i.eet will nave been renewed under a new’ policy. for tlie passing oi the Ale.buurne represents practically the passing ox the old lleel, relic ot the old ,_eet unit.

Two “River” class destroyers and two “E” class submarines, built in Britain, arrived in Australia a tout the mKidle or 1913. The light cruiser Melbourne followed in August of that year. The battle-cruiser Australia fof the indefatigable class) and the light cruiser arrived m October, j. 913, under ivear-Adniiral >Sir George iatey, the first Admiral of the Australian fleet. Another destroyer was assembled in tlio Australian yard at Cockatoo Island from parts built in England. When war broke out, the Australian service was able to offer to the Admiralty the disposal of a battle cruiser, two light cruisers, three destroyers and two submarines, all modern ships. A third cruiser, the Brisbane, was assembled from parts at Cockatoo and commissioned in 191(3. She was in time to see the finish of the war in “the Straits” and the Black Sea.

A fourth, the Adelaide, also built locallly, did not take her place in the fleet till 1922. So the entire fleet unit, as planned, came into being, it is now of course, obsolete, and most of it has disappeared from the flag command. 1 The Brisbane and the Adelaide remain ; 1 but of these the Brisbane is sure to be scrapped within tlie next dive years, ; and the Adelaide is past her prime. By j the end of this year the Australian fleet will cojnsist of these two, the two' new 10,009-ton cruisers, the flotilla leader Anzae, and five “S’’ destroyers (these were gift ships from the Admiralty after the armistice), and two modern “O” class submarines. A seaplane carrier of about 10,000 tons is being constructed at C-ockatoo Island, and should be completed by the end of the year. j The Australian Federal Government j in 1924 decided, following Admiralty policy, that the best course in the interest of economical provision for all defence arms was the adoption of fiveyear programmes. In addition to the annual votes since then it appropriated in 1924 from surplus revenue £2,509,000—£2,000,000,000 for new naval con- '■ struction and £500,000 as a general de ence reserve. The five-year navgl programme acepted by Parliament, in the same year 'included the construction of two 10.-009-ton cruisers to replace the Melbourne and Sydney, two new submarines, an aircraft carrier and the erection of five fleet oil-storage reservoirs of 8900 tons capacity each. The period of this programme will expire j dii June 30, 1929, and will see this work completed.