"EXIT EMDEN"

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLV, Issue XLVIII, 17 December 1914, Page 2

"EXIT EMDEN"

WIRELESS CONVERSATION. HOW THE NEWS REACHED THE TRANSPORTS. A highly interesting document relating to the "fight between the Sydney and the Emden has been sent by an officer of Transport No 10 t-6 a friend in "Wellington and published in the "Post." It is a report of the wireless messages received bv the vessels during and. after the fight. "The first message was received at 6.31 a.m. on 9th ..November, and was picked up by Private W. P. Falconer, 6th_ Wellington Infantry Regiment, on wireless duty on H.M.N.Z.T. Arawa. The message "5.0.5." and "Strange warship at entrance" came repeatedly from Cocos Island. He woke Wireless Operator Raw . In a few minutes the Emden tried to block the message by continuous interruption. The operator tuned his receiver differently and managed to keep reading the Cocos Island message through the Emden's "block"; and immediately reported to the Naval Transport Officer, and tried to get the Melbourne and the transport flagship Maunganui, but the other stations operating, blocked the message. At 6.45 a.m. the Waimana said, Signals quite good," but could not get the Maunganui. Five, minutes later a signal was successfully sent to the Maunganui by semaphore." At 7.4 a.m. the Maunganui got a message through to the Melbourne, and at 7.10 the Sydney left for Cocos Islands. At 9.30 a.m. the Sydney i was sending code messages, which the Emden tried to block by sending at the same tune. At 9.47, in order to clear the way, everybody was ordered to stop signalling. ■,»,,• • j At 11.7 a.m. the Melbourne received from the Svdney, "Enemy beached to save herself from sinking ' and 20 minutes afterwards the further message, "Pursuing merchant collier." Then the Minotaur sent her first message, asking for the movements of the enemy. . At 11.41 the Sydney' wirelessed to all stations- "Emden beached and done | for." At noon she added : "British casu- ! alties 2 killed and 13 wounded." 1 There were no further messages that day, but next morning, at 6.15, the Melbourne reported to the Ibuki, 'No further apprehension re Emden ; ashore on • North Cocos, foremast and three funnels down, and she has surrendered, while Sydney is intact and proceeding to Direction Island. Do not know when she will rejoin convoy. She is- remaining to take off all guns, and will probably land wounded prisoners on Direction Island. She is also to report on condition of Ca The report has a note that the Arawa was the only ship out of 38 transports and. four warships to pick up the message I (presumably the calls from the Cocos j Islands.)

ON THE TROOPSHIPS

WHEN THE. EMDEN WAS; CAUGHT. EXCITEMENT OF OUR MEN. \ letter received :bv a, local resident from a member of the Forcel on board one of the New Zealand transports states "You will see by the synopsis enclosed that the Emden was caught by one of our • escorts "while .we were passing Cpcos island, and von will note 1 the good work done by one of our Territorials who was usinrr one of his own receivers, a very sensitive one, he took from Wellington with him. You can easily understand the excitement of the troops on the transports when it got about what job the Sydney was on. The stoTy will np .doubt - .be old to you by the time you receive this',' but I may say this that it made , one's blood tingle to. see. the Australian cruiser dash off at' full speed to help the , unfortunate people of the Cocos. We did not have loner to wait for the result oi. | .the fight - The Sydney caught-the Em- . ;<len red-handed and without any ques- i tions went strainght at her. | "You can imagine the feelings oi our i men when.the first message came'through , —'Emden beached, and done for. lne "ip-rays' ran from deck to deck. Naturally everyone was delighted at the lucky catch of i the notorious Emden, who had been preving on merchant shipping and who would have promptly sent us all to the bottom had we been without a swong escort. The Ibuki (Jap.) was frantacalb signalling to be. allowed to go. also and haVe a go at the German cruiser, but/ the flagship would not let her leave hei station°on P the escort. It was known, of course, that the German cruiser-Jvomg?-berg was also in* the. vicinity, and she mfehthave been watching for a chance of'the escort's absence.to shp in amongst the transports and clear away before the escort returned. The Emden's .oonnnandei has been up to many questionable ruses and our people were taking no risks. We I?e Winjto hear of the capture of the that the troops were very .comfortable considering the hot climate, and were working hard dailv m snooting and drilling and attending leetures.