ATTACK OPENED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23851, 30 December 1940, Page 9

ATTACK OPENED

OIL CATCHES FIRE

FLAMES LIGHT UP SKY STUMEROUS TARGETS [rSOM OCTt OWN correspondent] By Tasman Air Mail SYDNEY, Dec. 29 The story of the attack on Nauru was told by the Minister for the Navy, Mr. Hughes, - yesterday. The raider, sailing under Japanese colours and a Japanese name, steamed undetected to the island, which is a port- of call for ma ny Japanese. ships.

When it had made sure that no warships were in .sight, the raider signalled its threat to the wireless station. It was then just greying into daylight, and at 6.40 a.m. the raider ran up the German flag and opened fire. It shelled the potash store and loading gear, the cantilever loading jetty, all oil storage tanks, and the cantilever shore storage. Flames lit up the sky as the oil caught fire. The mooring gear, store and other phosphate buildings were shelled _at close range. In destroying the mooring buoys, the raider brought its pom-poms into i>lay. No private houses were fired upon. After the shelling the raider steamed away. "The shelling of Nauru is presumably the work., of the raider which attacked a number of ships off Nauru on December 8," said Mr. Hughes in an earlier statement —on Friday night. "The presumption is that she is an armed merchantman and not a man-of-war. In a way, that is a clue of her Whereabouts.

"It is very evident that she is a great distance from her supply ship or base, which may be in any of the 10.000 islands in those seas under Japanese and British mandates. Some are mere islets and some are of a considerable size.

"But none of these islands, and certainly none of the mainland within 1000" miles, is German territory, and, therefore, it ca.a be assumed that the enemy's supply ship has refuelled in neutral territory into which, no doubt, she slips under the guise of an innocent merchantman. "The presumption is that the watchfid eye of the neutral is turned the other way." Mr. Hughes added that it was typical of the raider that she never approached British merchant shipping under her own colours, but always under the colours of some neutral or friendly Power.

NAVAL ACTIVITIES

AUSTRALIAN SHIPS FINE RECORD ESTABLISHED SYDNEY, Dec. 28 Reviewing the activities of the Australian Navy, the Minister for the Navy, Mr. Hughes, announced that 90 per cent of Australian naval ship*, were now in Australian waters. He said he was not permitted to say more than that. He claimed that Australian ships had built vip a fine record. "Apart from co-operating wixh the Royal Navy and patrolling the trade Toutes of the world," he said, ''our ships have already sunk one enemy cruiser, destroyed several enemy submarines, destroyers and torpedo boats, shot down enemy aircraft, and captured enemy merchant ships." Mr, Hughes also praised the operations of other units of the Australian Navy, namely, minesweepers, sloops and other auxiliary craft which had been constantly at 'sea patrolling the coastline ever since the war began.

EXTENT OF DAMAGE

LESS THAN FIRST FEARED (Received December :»o, j 4 j.r> a.m.) SYDNKY. Dec. 20 The Minister for the Navy. Mr. Hughes, said to-day that he did not think the damage done by the raider at Nauru was as great, as' was at first, feared. He did .not think it would amount to £1,000,000, as was estimated in one quarter.