THE ENCAMPMENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 8966, 17 April 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE ENCAMPMENT.

Wellington Volunteers, along with several of the Wairarapa companies, went into camp at Island Bay on Thursday evening, and,were joined next day by representatives of Blenheim and Nelson corps, who were brought over in the Hinemoa. On Friday afternoon a contingent of the Westport Naval Brigade arrived by the s.s. Kennedy, and took up their quarters at the camp. The corps represented at the camp were, there fore, as follow : —Wellington, Nelson, Pitone and Westport Naval Brigades ; D and H Battery (N elaon) Artillery ; Wellington Guards, City Rifles and Wellington Rifles, Newtown, Masterton, Papawai (Native corps), Feabherston, Greytown, Stoke, Waimea, and Blenheim Rifles, Nelson City Rifles and Blenheim City Rifles. The Wellington Garrison Band is also in camp, and the Westport Navals have brought their band, and so have the Blenheim City Rifles. Altogether, about 800 men took part in the Encampment. The camp was pitched at the southern end of the Island Bay course, so that all advantage con'd be taken of the buildings belonging to the racecourse in that vicinity. The grandstand was transformed for the time being into a canteen, and the district office was situate in the band room. The indispensable guard room was in this case a double affair, but neither “lock-up” was used—a circumstance which speaks . well for the general behaviour and discipline of the Volunteers. The camp and Volunteers were under the command of LieutenantColonel Butts, and the arrangements generally are carried out under the supervision of Major Webb, of Nelson, who is the officer appointed by the Government for that purpose. Captain Plunkett Cole acted as camp adjutant, Captain Tayton as camp, quartermaster, and Captain Porritt and Quartermaster Coleman as assistantquartermasters. The camp was divided into the following commands :—Artillery, D and H Batteries, Captain Moorhouso ; No. 1 Battalion, Wellington, Nelson, Pitone, and Westport Naval Artillery, Captain Duncan ; No. 2 Battalion, Nelson City Rifles, Blenheim, Stoke, and Waimea Rifles, and Blenheim City Rifles, Lieutenant-Colonel W, D. H, Baillie; No. 3 Battalion, Wellington City Rifles, Guards, and Rifles, Newtown, Masterton, Papawai, and Featherston Rifles, Major Loveday ; senior-major, Major Shannon ; acting-junior-major, Captain Quick. The sham fight on Monday will be held in the hills at the rear and slightly north of the grandstand and saddling paddock. No arrangement has yet been made with respect to a night alarm. The daily details of duty were as follow : I—Reveille, 1 —Reveille, 5.50 a.ra.; rations, 6 ; parade, 6.30; breakfast, 8; orderly room, 9.30; parade, 10.30 ; dinner, 1 p.m.; parade, 2.30; retreat, sunset; tea, 6; tattoo (first post), 9.30 ; tattoo (last post), 10 ; lights out, 10.30. AN ATTACK UPON WELLINGTON. The natural attractions of Island Bay as a picnicking ground, combined with the circumstance that a sham fight was to be held in connection with the Easter Encampment, drew very large numbers of people co the Bay on Monday. The low hills allround the basin that.forms the racecourse were dotted with the many lined garments of the fair sex, and the course itself was literally surrounded by parties of townspeople, while a good number found their way —at. sixpence a head—into the enclosure. The event of Monday’s programme was a sham fight, the basis of which was the defence of our beloved city from the attack of certain evilly-disposed and marauding myrmidons of an imaginary foreign nation at war with the Mother Country. The attacking party, which was supposed to land at Ohiro Bay, were represented by the Wellington, Pitone, Nelson, and Westport Naval Brigades, and The H Battery Artillery (Nelson), who were under the command of Captain

, Duncan. The defending party, who were supposed to come from .headquarters at Newtown on hearing that an enemy had landed at Ohiro Bay, was under Major Loveday (with Major Shannon as £.,.iior Major and On-.tain Quick as Junior Major), and consisted or the D Battery' of Artillery, the Waiuiea, Stoke, Mastertou, Greytown, Featherston, Papawai, Newtown, Wellington, and Blenheim Bides, Wellington G uards and City Bides, and Nelson and Blenheim City Rides. The attacking party, numbering about 200 men, with two guns, were counted one man as three to make up for their numerical deficiency; and the defenders numbered about 450, with three guns Lieutenant-Colonel Bailli-i and Captain Cole were umpires for the attacking party, and Lieutenant-Colonel Butts and Lieutenant Hobday acted in the same capacity for the defenders. Captain Duncan, being given an allowance of ten minutes, began Ids attack at Ohiro Bay at about 11 o’clock. He sent on ahead a party of 30 (who would count as 90), under Lieutenant Campbell, and these made such excellent progress up the Happy Valley 7 road that they gob up and over the hills just above Berhampore before the defending party could reach the heights to intercept them. A detachment of the D Battery did sight diem, and opened fire on them, but the lieutenant kept on, and eventually got. into Newtown unharmed. At noon he captured Lieutenant-Colonel Butts’ house at Newtown, and, having left a polite message there, he returned to Berhampore to take the enemy in the rear. Meanwhile Captain Duncan having given the Westport Navals (who were under Captain Haselden) orders to con.e up slowly' on the left hand side cf the gorge, and to keep under cover, came up the road and skirted the' bills with his main body. The Nelson Navals, under Captain Simpson, came around by the camp and took up a position where the road joins the course, with orders to remain there until they were signalled by their commanding officer to come to his assistance in Berhampore hills. Meanwhile the defending party had proceeded to the Berhampore hills, being joined at the junction by the Heretaunga Light Horse, under Lieutenant Pringle, and the Wellington College cadets, under Captain J. IT. Collins. Very soon they took up a position in the hills, their extreme , right being at the Vogeltown school under Major Shannon, where the D Battery-, under Captain Moorhouse, was stationed with a nine-pounder. There was also a ( gun about 3000 yards in the rear, and the third was left on the main road to block it up. The main body' under Major Loveday occupied the heights, while the left or rear wing (the Stoke and Nelson City Rifles and College cadets) took up a posi ion in a valley on this side of the hills. The main body bad reached the , bills at half-past eleven, and were then informed that the detachment already ; stationed there with a gun had fired on - L : eutenant Campbells party. At a quarter 1 o 12 a party of Navals, coining along the foot of the ridge with one of their six-pounders, were fired on, and re turned the compliment (the range being about 1000 yards), and eventually, as the , other party thought, retired. At halfpast 12, the defenders’ scouts, who were stationed along the ridge, signalled that the enemy’s main body were assembled in force about 800yds in front of the defending left wing under Captain Rogers. The Navals’ gun in the far valley had by this time begun firing again, and some very hot cannonading was going on. The Navals had previously been seen stringing down the hills toward the Ohiro road, and were repulsed by the Wellington City Rifles under Captain By 7 the time they were signalled as being in the vicinity- of Major Loveday’s rear, however, "the main body of the attacking , party had really cai-ried the war into Africa with a vengeance. The main body were in the position described, ( Lieutenant Campbell had come back from i Newtown, captured a gun, and got into position to attack Captain Rogers, and ; the Ne’son Navals had come up from the ( road, and also had him in range. Thus Captain Rogers was between three fires, , surrounded by what was nominally called 400 men, and he had, accordingly, to \ accept the inevitable, and go out of action. ; Captain Duncan had manoeuvred so \ cleverly that he was virtually between the ( town and its defenders ! A general , engagement now took place, Major Love- j day sending do*n reinforcements from the heights, and a good deal of skirmish- ; ing work was done, which ended the ; fight. At about 2 o’clock Captain Duncan and his merry men marched into camp with (metaphorically) flying colours. The Westport Navals were not with them. Being unacquainted with the lay of the land, these gallant tars went away to the , left, and could not get up for the engagement. When they found their way back : at half-past 2, however, they had made 10 of the Heretaunga Light Horse captives. Captain Duncan, briefly addressing his men, expressed an opinion that they had succeeded, and declared the city , and its banks at their mercy. The de- ■ fending force came in later on. , There was a good deal of discussion as ( to who had won the day. Captain; Dun- , can, with apparent justification, claimed i a victory, but the other side disputed it, asserting that Lieutenant Campbell, having te,n minutes’ start, made it simply a matter of heels, but that as a matter of fact he was taken by the gun which fired on him ; and that Captain Duncan only took one wing, and was at the mercy of the remainder of the defending force. However that may be, the verdict of the umnires is practically that the battle was drawn—that a very good attack was made by Captain Duncan on the left flank, but that the position was recovered by reinforcements from the main body of the defending force. The encounter was not without its incidents, of course, one being the capture by the Navals of several cavalry and Captain Moorhouse’s orderly, while they were chasing a blue-jacket along the Happy Valley road. A cavalry scout on the main road was also the subject of a good deal of attention at the hands of the Nelson Navals, who assuredly killed him several times. At four o’clock the men broke camp and were paraded in front of the grand stand. A review was out of the question on such broken ground, but the men were marched past in quarter column twice. The reviewing officer was very much pleased with the steady marching of the whole force, and awarded honours for best marching in each battalion as follows : In the Naval battalion, to the Westport Navals; in No. 2 battalion, the Stoke Rifles were awarded first place ; whilst in No. 3, or Wellington battalion, the palm was awarded-, to the . Wellington City Rifles, who,marched exceedingly steadily, and looked very well in their blue uniform with grea'i coats neatly folded and strapped. Major Loveday has issued battalion orders thanking the officers men for their discipline and attention to j their duties whilst under his command. I The following brigade order was read before the men left camp: “At the close of the Easter Encampment the

Officer Commanding desires to express I the satisfaction with the general good and cheerful obedience to 'orders which has been observed during the camp. There has been a total absence of crime, good work has been done, and considering the large proportion of recruits and young Volunteers present, duties have been carried out in a satisfactory manner.— W. id. Webb, Brigade Major. 1 ’

The men were then marched into Wellington to return to their various homes.

Major Webb, who was appointed by the Government to organise and superintend the camp, has been confined to his quarters by a badly-sprained ankle. Everyone at the camp regretted the accident which disabled so able and gentlemanly an officer, aad we hope he will soon be about again. .