THE FLYING SQUADRON.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1114, 31 December 1869, Page 3

THE FLYING SQUADRON.

i3ls?^-i^l^'of;Jife""B^yuig Squadron in Hp.bs^'sJayiWas a handsome return for -^hv -i^ljko^iiwlitie^; to the fleet which all i? : ' ; ;^j^^?^^^^m^nity ; liave appeared' : '^We have no' special Jd^s||^fe;l)idw; the^ictorian trumpet in 0. :^g?in^fc!^r, bufc are Bound to record that -■-f w)h ana j# of, our little society have >% i^^^^^come,^,Kyuig Squadron - aicwr^t&»g to their degree. The admiral , : -;«£<s hM Officers have been treated as beeaine their rank, and the* Governor, the 'c^mander-in-chief, and the mayor, have «hov^'how r : worthily they held high ipqntionaiby expressing in the way that a^-<^^ visitors werexegarHedby the people of the-me-tropolis, and private hospitality had done ibi fcisii^We' ihay, perhaps,°be permitted to say, that the real leaders of Victorian sbbiety, as distinguished from those who falsely magnify their station, have been the most prominent in this regard. On the 1 other hand, the humbler but not less respectable classes, have been equally forw*ie4£ Of this Jack ashore can speak, W^Pl'/how; ready 'axid warm waß the he experienced on : all sides. 'Tjiej-e; seemed to bY hardly any one in J H^|b^urne#hose means were too small to fllj^ift isbme, way how glad he was of the gillarit seamen. .'ln reha ! v& ! beeri : allowed to y 's'ee , " ag^eeftßle # TJadrtlie : 'v^P^^^e^i&rppi^ldusy .As it wap, an ; l ran»^tii6uß^nds^sreiii down the bay on Safeturotay'lagl; tq'Mesv; the spectacle, and '^fcf&jH.t M valripus fashion. Each of the Metii-of-war carried on board 300 or 400 'jjuesfe, who. Were feasted luxuriously, and Enabled to witness as much, as possible of that naval skill which has always been the characteristic of the British marine. Our colonial man-of-war, H.M.V.S. Nelson, also carried on board an immense number .of 1 spectators, including the members of both Houses of Parliament, for whose convenience she was originally sent to sea, and at least a dozen other steamers, of sizes varying from our larger intercolonial traders to the modest tugboat, had each their complement of people. Certainly on no previous occasion has so considerable A portion of our population been afloat for pleasurable purposes, In Melbourne the day was kept as completely a holiday. as could be consistent with the non- closing of the shops and the transaction of the necessary business ot a Saturday. As we have said, the only drawback was the weather. The morning broke dull and cloudy, and the wind from the north-west brought much drizzle and frequent showers, which onboard the men-of-war drove most of the would-be spectators to the main and lower decks, and produced great discomfort. Nevertheless, in spite of these and other interferences with full enjoyment, tne proceedings were upon the whole pleasurable, and will, doubtless, be long remembered by those who took part in them. Throughout the day the hospitalities rendered to their guests in eaoh ship by the officers of the Flying Squadron were such as will never be forgotten. We append a description of what took place during the day <from the various points of view :— ■ ' ■■.■''•;'■■ FEOM THE FLAGSHIP. ■^ ; ; The centre point of the review was of ** Tieourse" t^e frigate Liverpool, which, carrythe flajf of Admiral Hornby, took the aU; tne operations, and carried also - J||fe ;^ore distinguished guests of the ■\^|pHrori.- Like the rest of the fleet, her a^ndilion appeared to be perfectly trim, ibid Her decks were beautifully neat and cl&m. 'The work of preparation began at ail -early hour,. but those who came on b^&ard at lOt o'clock: found „ everything ;iseady, alow and aloft, for, the wind being favourable, the admiral decided that none of his vessels should get up steam, But., perform every manoeuvre under fcinvas. .The harbour presented an e xtraprdiriarily busy scene— nearly every boat belonging to the men-of-war be- £>&£ • on active service, conveying the guests from the shore. At the piers were numerous steamers getting ready to start, the surface of the bay was dotted with, pleasure-boats, and all the salient points pif the shore were occupied by groups of who, as the day advanced, thick«ned into crowds till the headlands were black with them. Most of the vessels in •' the bay were dressed with flags to da honour to the event, and' a holiday aspect was general, the only check being the dulL and threatening looks of the weather, which came thick and showery from the north-west. On board the Liverpool pains had been taken to secure the comfort of the visitors. The larger boats had 'aU been- removed, and in their place a platform was rigged up and draped with, 'flags, and nothing could exceed the eager ■" courtesies of Captain Hopkins and his officers. At nearly 11 o'clock, the guests. .began to arrive fast, and the time came to expert the more important and distinguished of them. «♦ Fall into stations," was the first order given on board, and then the business of the morning commenced. In a few seconds the men were* . all-in their places, at the foot of the ratlines^yeady to, spring up into ijhe rigging to, man.the y_ards, and in the .meantime the , ' officers hurried to their cabins to changed tbeitx . uniform, for full -dress, » /T pn theic swords and epaulettes, and - «^^fw|sej prepare ,to -give the full honours . the 'Governor, whose official first in command when. As>opn as tljis slight change thf^: marines . mustered on theiupper^^ deck in files, as a guard of itag&ttt, and, presented, arms on the arrival of ,'tbp3e pfficially entitled to the compliment., Among others, . there were on ppajcl three i'of their honours the Judges (tfee/ Chief Jtustice being the absentee), several: of the Ministers of the Crown — viz., Mr» Macpherson, Mr. M'Donnell, Mr. M'Kean, Mr. Keeves, and Mr. Longmpre—rthe Speaker of the Assembly, the mayor of Melbourne, thecolonel-command-jan^'Oi volunteers, several members of the .Executive Council, and a number of heads of departments, accompanied by large parties of "ladies. (We learn that the members of the present Ministry were anxious to obtain invitations for their predecessors in pffice >; especially those recently resigned, but the, thing was made impossible by the gentlemen concerned not having left their cards with the admiral or called upon him.) At last, the Governor was seen to leave the flhore> and at 4; signal up went the sailors to the yards, pnwhjch they lay out to the ends holdingeachother'shands. Simultaneously with this being done on the Liverpool, the SMue was done on board all the other ships in thefleet. • In a few minutes His Excel- . -lency> ,v?h.o was conveyed in the adnjaral's The side was piped for himj and as hepassed through the gangway the ship's band struck up the National ; Anthem, and the guard of honor presented iaraas* pe /wo», then received by the ad- ,.. -i^ijTajjaidd/iforthwith the rest of his party, ■■■'■;;J^dji;Miinners' $utton' and family and his >>i|Rp^^^^n/ board, and were escorted the admiral's arrangement the |p|^p^fl^phiii' flagship as 'well as the rest, i;||^ae^^ihesign

tibn, were hoisted at tho signal-halyards. The Governor's salute of 17 guns was then: fired from the main deck, and many of the visitors went down to watch the operation. TlTey found the guns alllpaded and ready, and the boys holding out the lanyards at each. As the word of command ] was given fj|p each gun to fire, the gunners' matron either, side of the vessel tQpk the lanyards from the boy in turn, and fired, and so ready was everything that the whole salute was fired with extraordinary rapidity. " "When the men came down from aloft, the preparations to fet under weigh began.'. Such of the pats as were not sent ashore with, keepers were hoisted up close to the davits, and the final haul was made by the men in line on the deck, but their rapid tramps was the only noise permitted while they did their work, Sails were then let loose. The Scylla was the first to lower topsails, and the Phoebe and Barrosa speedily followed suit. All the ships had now shortened on their anchors, and ea6h vessel waited its signal to weigh. Meanwhile the Liverpool and the Liffey- remained apparently quiescent, officers and men awaiting the word of command at their quarters. The first and second lieutenants commanded the fore part .*pjf the upper deck, the commander the main, and the third lieutenant the inizen. At last the order came* "Call the lower deck; turn $he hands up tp make sail," and -with a chorus of whistles from the petty, officers, up went the rnetf to the rigging, the men for^the topgallant yards .first, and afterwards thpsefor the lower yards. . By this weigh, her head"; sails filling so as to 'cant her head to the wind. .{The order to, "make .plain, sail," «.e.,,lower the topgallants and royals, .but nbt the studding-sails, was then given on board the Liverpool, and in a second or two the, beautifully white canvas hung gracefully from the yards. What had the appearance of a very narrow escape from collision between the Phcebe and the Barrosa occurred after the former had weighed anchor, and was waiting for the next drder. With her sails backed, she gradually drifted to within armslength of .the Barrosa ; but sp thoroughly were the iPhoibe and her appliances under control, that at the right moment-^-a second longer,' and a collision would have happened— the order was given " down anchor," and the leeward progress of the vessel was instantly arrested. The whole thing was so beautifully managed that the visitors on board the Phoebe had difficulty in resisting the belief that the little incident formed part of the day's programme. The Phoebe then got gracefully under weigh, and headed round to the wind. It was not till noon, as eight bells was struck, that the pLiverpod] got her own signal to weigh anchor, which she did, and it was a fine sight to see fully 200 sailors and marines at the capstan-bars on the main deck whirling round to the tune of "Norah Creina," played by the band. While the Liverpool, Phcebe, and Scylla were lying to| the Nelson got also under weigh, and with a jib set, steamed imposingly past. As she went across the bows of the Liverpool she saluted the flagship by dipping her colours, a compliment properly acknowledged. At length, the whole of the squadron were ready for the start, although the Liffey was long in getting into position, and the others had to shorten sail to allow her and the Endymion to take their places. When fairly in order, the fleet_formed two columns of division, the starboard being on the weather side, thus :— • • POET DIVISION. STARBOARD DIVISION Phoebe Liverpool "'■ Barrosa ' Soylla Liffey Endymion And thus they sailed majestically down the bay. It was now after one o'clock ; appetites grew strong, and on board .the Liverpool, afc all events, the demand for refreshment, whether in the form of dinner for the men or lunch for the guests, became imperious. At rthe same time an ugly drizzling rain set in, and drove the visitors from the upper deck. Tho men were piped to dinner, and the spectacle of Jack at table with his messmates, drew many to the lower deck. What his fare at sea may be we do not know, but in harbour he "can have little to complain of if Saturday's experience was that of every day. The opportunity of inspecting other parts of the ships was also availed of, and the curiosity of some led them to the carpenters' and boatswains', and even so low as the gunners' storerooms far below the water line, and in the neighbourhood of the magazine, a region indicated by the precautions taken in respect to it. Before these explorations were over, luncheon in the admiral's stateroom for his visitors, and jn the wardroom for those of the officers, had begun, and the ship's band- was playing for the delectation both of those at the table and those who waited their turn, for dining-room accommodation on board ship is not extensive, aMplace aux danies an inexorable rule. We need not linger on this theme. Suffice it that the officers spared neither pains, expense, nor personal. labour in entertaining their friends, and those who were free from other duties hovered round the tables, anxious that the paucity of mess-servants should not be felt. It was impossible for any one of the luncheon party not to feel that the part of host was admirably played. About this time the rain set in, and really des troyed very much of the pleasure of the trip, for the upper deck was wet and slippery, and the weather so thick that at times the other vessels of the squadron could scarcely be seen. All this^-and the fact that, however much ifchosejn the, pas-; senger steamers would have likedj,|p see! firing and a few ,of :the 'manieuvrti of a mimic action at sea, the several thousands of guests onboard the men-of-war would have been /much discomposed by the noise and concussion of firmg — compelled the admiral tp reduce his.. squadron exercise to tolerably simple conditions. In the first place, the fleet was formed into double column as already described, three cables' lengths between each of the vessels, and also the' columns. Point Cook was abreast, and the squadron had gone about 15 miles down the bay. . The Nelson was about three miles away on our port bow. Courses having been set, the vessels continued a while in that form under plain sails. Then came the turning point. First the .Nelson rounded to on her horns tack, and as the flagship passed her, her boys manned the fore and main truck in com;pliment. About the same time, the City of Adelaide, one of the accompanying fleet of trading steamers, (the name of the sailing boats and yachts was legion) went past on the weather side, a volunteer band playing on her upper deok, and her numerous passengers cheering heartily. Then began the manoeuvring of the squadron. The first order was, that the ships should wear in succession on the port tack, and it was well responded to, the only difficulty being to keep the Scylla back, her speed in sailing proving an inconveniencefrom the squadron point of view. She got her topsails to the caps, and still she forged ahead. About half an hour after the ships had turned, the order was given to form line three abreast immediately, and it;was done with a surprising celerity, and t]|at sort of mechanical accuratey that is; the product of extreme - ski 1 1 . Another signal was made, and the Liffey 'Stood across the stems of the Phcebe and Bar-

rosa, to rake them as it were, and the same manoeuvre was practised by the Endymion across the sterns of the Liverpool and the Scylla.. This was the most effective of all the performances of the fleet, ?and it was a thousand pities the rain v prevented'people from seeing. The fleet next formed m line of battle. At this stage it was almost impossible to remain on deok without being drenched, so in their hospitable way the officers of the Liverpool had part of the main deck cleared of the guns, and. dancing to the inspiring strains^pf the ship's band cpmmen.ced, and was kept up for some time with great spirit. Meanwhile the squadron was signalled to break into line, which they did splendidly, and formed again into double line, the lee column going up to the windward, which last was heartily admired by the few who could see it. The fleet next formed into line of battle again, . and then putting on all the sail they could conveniently carry, the ships kept on their cpurse, and dropped anchor at. their . moorings off the Breakwater, at 20 minutes to 5 o'clock. , About half an hour after, the Governor went ashore, and the visitors also, as fastas.the boats could carry them. The story of getting home on a wet evening by crowded trains need not be told here, but may be safely left to the reader's imagination or memory to depict. It is certain that, so far at least as the Liverpool is concerned, the unanimous feeling of the guests was one enthusiastically in ifavor of the ship, her officers, and her seamen and marines, thanjW.hpn^iji^ to fipd. a 4nerib4dyiOj^ii^ fe iW^raauthprita|;ively; infprmed' t^^^j^^^^Erlin'g , the guests B^j^Be.;^^or Vessels pf the j squadrpn. ; ; * "-'"-•.'' ;