Dreadnought Lads

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 242, 26 September 1922, Page 5

Dreadnought Lads

MONOCLES, CANES, SPATS. “EDUCATED AT OXFORD.” "WE LIKE YOU. AUSTRALIA.” Sydney, September 11. “Augustus, old chappie, 1 consider that bydniiy is simplay adorable, don’t you know.” Aud the speaker, an elegantly attired youth in a hardhater and spats, rapped ins ebony walking stick on the deck, just to emphasise his opinion. There were remarkable youths in the party of 60 Dreadnought lads that came to Sydney by the liner Esperance Bay to-day. Indeed, many ot them looked quite out of place amongst the other immigrants, in appearance and manners they would have held their own in the saloon of a mail liner. “Really, but we’re not pjoverty-smit-ten, don’t you know,” said a youth, who boasted fliat he and several ot his fellows had had university and public school educations. “Oxford, Eton, Harrow, arc all represented, don’t-you-know ?” “Why, there’s one chappie, member of a leading Ixmdon sporting club, don’t-you-know? He’ll miss club life awflay, don’t-you-know?” The youth’s description of ‘ -the' other chappies” tallied with the opinions of travellers. Thev declared that “for swank” there was nobody on board that could rival several of the Dreadnought lads. One boarded the liner at London brandishing a monocle. “I’m surprised all you chappies haven’t got them,” he said. “AVe reallay must make a good impression in Austrawlia. It is essential, don’t-you-know?” And he surveyed the other 59 critically through his eyeglass. CHAPLIN MOUSTACHE. Another .youth came on board with a moustache of the Charlie Chaplin variety. Ho did not have the adornment to-dity. The “democrats”—that was what a section of the youths termed themselves—twitted him so much that he shaved the dozen hairs. There was a ball during the voyage, and passengers were not surprised when several of the Dreadnought lads strutted proudly forth in evening suits. “A ball on hoard ship is reallaj' jupt the thing, don’t-you-know?” one was heard to remark. At Melbourne, according to what the “democrats’’ said this morning, “the aristocrats” led a high life. One of them missed the ship, and was put to the “aimplay awful inconvenience of coming on by train..” The “democrats” had great fun on the vo.vage at the expense of one of the “aristocrats,” who prided himself on his boxing. One at a time the Democrats would don the gloves ,enter the ring, and quickly fall before the blows of the “champion.” “It was a huge frameup,” they said to-day. “Really we could have knocked him out at one hit, but we had immense fun at his boasting of ‘how he had smashed up the bally plebs. ’ ” BRAWNY YOUTHS. From all parts of England and Scotland the lads came. Physically they would have compared favourably with a great public schools first Rugby fifteen. In explaining their decision to tr?’ life in Australia two lads said that their attention had been attracted to the Dreadnought scheme by advertisements in weekly school papers. “We’ve no regrets as yet,” they added. “We like your Australia. But we thought Now South Wales was sunny.” Outside the rain was pouring. “Aristocrats” and “democrats” were agreed that they intended to do well in Australia. Several of the “aristocrats,” it was said, had been offered jobs not on the land —but in offices at Adelaide. An officer of the immigration Department said that he did not think pbjcction would be taken to a lad, if he showed no aptitude for the land, taking up a position in the city, provided that he subsequently refunded the money expended on him. Tho Australian taxpayer, in any case, would not have to foot the bill for a lad who on the other side declared that he would go on the land ,and then later found other emploj’inent.