ARRIVAL IN AUCKLAND.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 10 August 1908, Page 5

ARRIVAL IN AUCKLAND.

A MAGNIFICENT SPECTACLE.

ALL CONDITIONS FAVORABLE.

[PBRSS ASSOCTATIOM.7 AUCKLAND, August 9: The great white fleet of the United ( States arrived in Auckland Harbor at 8 o'clock this morning.. It was a red letter day, noo only in the history oi the city, but in t|e annals of New Zealand. The sight .^fas one which will long linger in the" memories of the scores of ihousands who witnessed it. f§ was the fy SIGHT OF A LIFETIME. The older generation had never witnessed such a spectacle before, and it is doubtful whether the younger will ever see the like again. Unfortunately many thousands were disappointed owing to some bungling as to the time when the fleet would actually enter the harbor. The original intention was that Admiral Sperry and his long retinue of ships would enter at 9 o'clock, but on Saturday night a wireless message was received from him by the storeship Calgoa, which preceded ' the battleships and had anchored in the harbor the previous day, stating that he expected to arrive at 8 o'clock. That ; time was -generally regarded as too ■ early, and as, it was thought that the Admiral would not mind delaying the ; actual entrance into the harbor' for a couple of hours in order that the spec- - tacle might not suffer through the ' early August fog or haze, and that ; those living at a distance might have : timato take up coigns of vantage, the Mayor yielded to a general desire that the Admiral be requested to hold the ships off till 10 o'clock. Accordingly Mr Myers despatched a special wireless ' to this effect per medium of the Culgoa. ■ A notice was posted up that the fleet • would arrive at 10 o'clock, and this ] was seen by many thousands. People home fully convinced that this would be adhered to, but they were considerably surprised when, at 7.30 ' this morning, the big signal gun was \ heard indicating that the fleet would ' enter Waitemata harbor half an hour later. The consequence was that when ( the fleet ,did enter, instead of having afceady taken up their position from which to view the ships, thousands upon thousands of people were to be seen rushidg along the routes making for the foreshore in order to catch a glimpse of tlie mighty battleships. Still, many, they were to be numbered by scores of thousands, had heen up at daylight determined to take no chances and all the principal vantage points — Campbell i Point, Takapuna, Cheltenham, etc. — were thronged at an early hour. Thou- ' sands crossed over by ferry boats to ' North Shore desiring to see the first of tb^ ships before they rounded North Head. A GLORIOUS PICTURE. A great many had gone down to the sea iiiVghrps to meet them in craft of all kinos— steamers, yaohts, and motor ' launches, and the picture the harbor presented at 8 o'clock, when Admiral Sperry' s monster flagship Connecticut ' appeared round North Head was su- ' perb. It was a glorious morning. An Auckland August day ' has rarely '' broken io beautifully as this one broke.' The rain that had" been .feared held off, a#d instead there was a sky of glorious blue and a warm sun. It was a day of days in 'every sens*e. The great' white ships, coming slowly round the head in single file - glinted and fleshed in the sunlight like things of beauty. It was a majestic spectacle, and th* firing of the salutes — the fort salute and its acknowledgment, and the exchange of salutes between the American fleet and the ships of the Australasian Squadron lying in the harbor — was stirring to a degree. The monster guns rang out on the clear, crisp air with mighty sound, and the sound echoed and reverberated in the hills.A mighty cheer broke from scores of thousands of throats, and as the bands, which had gone down '"n some steamers, struck up, the people grew wild with enthusiasm. Cheer after cheer went up. Hit was wonderful to see these ships how they marched like the soldiers of a well-trained army. Everything was done wVh clock-like precision. /-Their fame had Ispread before them in this connection^ It was known of them long befo&^that they were a great piece, of machinery, wherein everything does exactly what is required_of it, b,ut it was something to see it done. As had been stated, the battleships came in in single -file, f n a long extended line, and one behind the other. ■ The pace was dead slow. Each ship seemed to be separated from the other by exactly the same stretch of water, and as they slowly crept to their anchorage; each taking' up an allotted place in the harbor, one could not fail to be struck with, the marvellous handling "of these great : white beauties. „ , • ' The whole thing, all the manoeuvres^ fijpere carried out with mathematical accuracy. Here were the mighty, ponderous battleships of the American navy, sixteen majestic ships of war, costing twenty millions, as if the work i wer% a mere bagatelle.

The view of the .fleet off Devonport was superb, all the ships being independently visible, and fully manned.