CHILEAN NAVAL SHIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20950, 13 August 1931, Page 12

CHILEAN NAVAL SHIP.

INSPECTION BY PUBLIC. LARGE NUMBER OF VISITORS. ENTERTAINMENT OF THE CREW. The Chilean naval training ship General Baqucclano was open for public inspection yesterday afternoon, and the constant stream of visitors showed once again the lively interest taken by fho people of Auckland in the warships of other nations. To prevent undue crushing by the crowd at the gangway the gates which railed off the approach to the ship were alternately opened and closed, so that only a few people at a time were allowed access. As the last member of each batch stepped aboard, the gates were opened and another batch of visitors allowed through. The only part of the ship not open to the public was the quarterdeck and officers' quarters, but free access was obtained to all other parts of the vessel. Guns, searchlights and other equipment inseparable from a vessel of the naval type were inspected with interest. A feature freely commented upon was the English lettering of familiar names that showed the origin of the guns. Scene Between Decks. Between decks was a scene of activity as great. as that above. Those members of the crew who wero off duty entertained visitors on the mess deck, where, in spite of the fact that hammocks and most of the tables were stowed out of the way, the space was limited in view of the throng. At one table a number of civilians who spoke Spanish were entertained at afternoon tea by members of the crew. At another table a number of sailors played dominoes, undeterred by the noiso and crush of the civilian invasion. In the centre of the mess deck stood the tailor's "shop," only recognisable for what it was by the sewing machine that stood there. The shop itself was a wooden bench, above which hung various articles of sailor clothing. Many of the visitors found entertainment in trying to read the inscriptions on the metal plates fixed above the doorways, but with varying degrees of success. Some had the task made easier by the aid of willing interpreters, but a largo number of the conversations between hosts and visitors wero affairs purely of hand w T aving and pointing, varied with smiles and nods. The Wireless Installation.

The small wireless room was not open to the public It contains a half-kilowatt telefunken transmitting set, with a range of about 800 miles, and an up-to-date valve receiving set of long range. No wireless telephone is installed. The entertainment of the officers and crew has been actively taken in hand by friends and organisations ashore. Four officers, accompanied by Mr. E. A. Craig, CJonsul for Chile, were guests of the Northern Club at luncheon yesterday, and Mr. 0. J. Thedens was host at another luocheon for officers. In the evening Mr. Craig entertained another party of officers at dinner, while others were the guests of Dr. E. Vivian. Further dinner and danco parties and motor drives have been arranged. For the first time since the ship's arrival members of tho crew were allowed ashore yesterday. Tho Navy Leaguo rooms in Customs Street were open for their use and will remain available while the vessel is in port. This evening a concert will be given in the rooms for tho entertainment of the men, and to-morrow evening the Navy League, in conjunction with the City Council, will entertain about 100 of the men at a dance in the concert chamber of the Town Hall. A dance for about 40 of the men will be held in the Navy League rooms on Saturday evening. Yesterday afternoon a team of Association football players from the training ship played a team from the Philomel, at Devonport. The Philomel team won by 5 goals to 4. GENERAL BAQUEDANO. SOLDIER AND PATRIOT. General Baqucdano, after whom the Chilean training ship is named, is a patriot who distinguished himself in the Chile-Peruvian War of 1879 82- After two previous campaigns tho Chilean Army was reorganised under tho command of General Baquedano and set out to attack the defences of Lima. The first line of defence was attacked on January 13, 1881. Tho defenders had 22,000 men in the lines and the Chileans had about 24,000. The battle of Chorrillos, which was the first operation, ended in tho complete defeat of tho Peruvians. Two days later tho battle of Miraflores took place. This also resulted in the complete dissolution of tiie defending forces and Lima, incapable of further defence, was occupied by the Chilean forces on January 17. On January 18 Callao surrendered. Tho resistance of (lie Peruvians was so drastically broken down by the success of General Baquedano's campaign that Chile left only a small army of occupation to deal with the remnants of the Peruvian Army. Tho last engagement of tho war took placo at Caxacamara in September, 1882.