AUSTRALIAN CRUISERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16657, 29 September 1917, Page 7

AUSTRALIAN CRUISERS.

SERVICE IN NORTH SEA. KNOCKING AT GERMANY'S DOOR, LONDON. Sept. 16. The Australian cruisers are carrying out their share of the great silent work of the fleet. They are maintaining the highest traditions, and are keeping up tho standard of efficiency. Frequently they knock at the door of Germany and cruise in tho dangerous waters of Heligoland and the Skaggerack. They engage in day and night patrols, conscious alwaya of the dangers of submarines and mines, in the laying of which the enemy is most daring, necessitating the sweeping of harbour entrances before emerging. Sometimes they find the entrance mined during their briefest absence. One of their excitements is the shooting and exploding of mines. The personnel is generally homesick. Many of the men have not seen their people for three years. Their monotony is relieved by sports. The keenest rivalry has been displayed between the cruisers since the Emden was sunk. The coaling records are continuously attacked and reduced. Admiral Beatty visited a cruiser which enjoyed the least limelight in the past. He congratulated the crew on its discipline, and said that its record of 'crime was the lowest in the whole navy. Anxiety is expressed that continuous drafts should be sent in order to maintain the Australian personnel.