AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE

Northern Advocate, 31 December 1934, Page 8

AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE

; - DANGEROUSLY WEAK. A REAR-ADMIRAL FORD’S VIEWS. SYDNEY, December 22. Rear-Admiral W. T. Randle Ford, commander of the Royal Australian Vf '' Navy, in an address to members of the Legacy Club, emphasised the great 'T.,. danger of Australia owing to the lack of. adequate means of defence for all the outposts of the Empire. He said it was the proud boast of the navy that there was not a single soldier lost' in a convoy between Eng- *'■ land and France during the war years. He was present at the landing at Gal- (, lipoli, and referred to that as “the ac- * complishment of the apparently impossible.” To those in Australia, he said, who , did not or would not understand the •; reasons for - adequate defence, and *- who cavilled at the price of defence, he emphasised that adequate defence was a necessity to nationhood. He in- -. eluded in “adequate defence” land and *3-: harbour defences. It was essential for 7N fleets to- have a defended base to which to return for refitting after _ ~ action, ... for refuelling, fresh ammunition, rest, and other things. It was undeniable that the powerful and eft' 4 ’ fective-British Grand Fleet, during the ... war, was rendered more or less helpless owing to the lack of adequate defences. ■ Rear-Admiral Ford said that Australia, depended for her defence on the J.l help she could get from the mother country in ; aiding her to get to the rA markets of the world her exports and in bringing in necessary imports. The Australian lines of communication ex- ■ ceeded 80,000 miles. Only a small per- • centage of that could be defended from the air; It needed ships to pro"tect the; high seas. They knew the material damage that was done by A-- German raiders during the war. The • *'* damage was small compared with the .‘.--i ' moral damage done to the prestige of ' 3: the British Navy in Eastern ports during the exploits of these raiders. To- " ‘... day they had not a quarter of the .A number of cruisers of 20 years ago. yet 20 years ago they had not sufficient 3’ to afford protection against the German. raiders. T*.. Rear-Admiral Ford said he felt most - strongly that it was not correct, and *** • jhfct' it - was most unwise, - to imperil the security of the greatest Empire j ever seen by false economy and false peaceable put latches on their windows and bolts on their 'h doors to keep but the evil-doer. That £ was all that was meant by adequate t; defence. . The future of the Empire a* hung' -precariously in the balance. It A wasrho longer supreme on the sea, on . A the land,- or in. the air. Security de- £ pended on whether the peoples of the £ Empire were prepared and determined % to maintain power at sea. The sea $ could 'be a danger as well as a £ strength. If the Empire was strong in $ -sea' defence, the sea was a joint bet twefen the different parts. If they were £ wedk, the sea formed a gap through which their opponents could pass and A deal with them in detail, separating AA them from the rest of the Empire and from the rest of the world. All the Z Empire; needed was.a- common will ■, rv. and a Common purpose to uphold their % strength and conserve their unity. On tr- these two depended not only the seciirity of the British Empire but the peace of the world. *>T *- V. % FLOATING DOCK. A ; FREMANTLE PROJECT, £ ' PERTH, December 22, Referring to the State’s proposal that 7* a> floating dock should be built at Fre'■s mantle as an unemployment relief ;; work, the Acting Premier (Mr A. McCallum) said the dock should be financed by the Imperial, Federal and A State' Governments. If the British Navy was engaged in the Far East and cut off from Singapore, the fleet would ... probably have to, make for Fre- - mantle, where there were no faciliT.. ties for crippled boats. The Australian ... Navy was without adequate facilities on this side of the Commonwealth.