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WARSHIPS IN AUCKLAND.

STORMING OF THE HOOD. AUCKLAND. May 12. As the result of the serious crowding by people to yiew the battleship Hood yesterday. ■ nine persons were removed to the ambulance depot. Mrs and Miss King were taken with violent hysteria, and collapsed in the crowd. The former was removed to the hospital. She recovered last night. They are said to he visitors from Taranaki. It ir# estimated that there were 35,000 people on the waterfront, there being a queue four deep. The police and harbour officials hopelessly tried to stop the heaving crowd until, the mounted police forced their way through and formed an effective guard at the wharf gates. Several thousand who were already through the gates stormed the Hood’s gangway. The ship was promptly closed to visitors. The Hood was cheerily hooted, but the incident passed off with laughter. Nobody got on board. RECEPTION TO ADMIRALS AND OFFICERS. AUCKLAND, May 12. The Admirals and officers of the Special Service Squadron were tendered a citizens’ reception at the Town Hall this evening. Lord and l ady Jellicoe were present, also Mr Massey and the Hon. U. J. Parr. The officers held a reception on the Hood this afternoon. SAILORS parade the city. AUCKLAND, May 13. Nothing has been finer, and no event in Auckland has aroused greater enthusiasm, than the march through the city this morning of 1500 men of the Special Service Squadron, headed by the bands of the Hood and Delhi. The pavements, the roofs of verandahs, and windows at every point of vantage were packed with cheering crowds. For once at least Aucklanders proved that they can display more than silent enthusiasm. The scene .nil live long in the memory of the spectators, particularly of the thousands of children, who manifested the most intense interest and admiration. THE CITY CROWDED. Tile city is crowded with visitors for Fleet Week, shakedowns being at a premium in hotels and boarding-houses. This morning the King’s Empire Veterans inspected H.M.S. Hood. This evening a boxing tournament for the men was field at tha Town Hall, and Admiral Fic-lu and officers were entertained at dinner at Government House. Thousands of cl iJd ren from city and country schools visit tthe ships each day. A DAY OF SPORT. AUCKLAND, May 14. The officers and men of the fleet took part in several sporting fixtures to-day.

An Association football match, the Hood v. the Repulse, was attended by 3000 persons. It was a clean, cleverly-contested game, both sides including skilful players. At half-time the score was one all. In the second half the Repulse had the better of the play, but fell away towards the finish. The Hood showed better condition. The final score was two all. The curtain-raiser between the fleet’s reserve team and the junior representatives also resulted in a draw, the scores being one all. An Auckland Rifle Association team of 12 met the Hood’s marksmen in a match at 200 and 300 yards, winning by ,60 points to 607. VISIT TO ROTORUA. ROTORUA, May 13. Admiral Sir Hubert Brand, 20 officers, and 300 men of the naval squadron arrived here by special train this afternoon. Addresses of welcome were given at the railwav station bv the Mayor (Mr C. H. Clinkard) and the‘Hon. C. j. Parr, to which Admiral Brand replied A large crowd greeted the visitors. The Admiral and some of . the officers are lodged at the Grand Hotel, and the other officers and all the men at the King George Hospital. A M aori welcome was given this after noon at Ohinemutu, and speeches were made by the local chiefs. Another Maori welcome will be held to-morrow morning at Whakarewarewa. BRITISH SQUADRON SAILS. AUCKLAND, May 18. The British squadron sailed just before daylight this morning. There was only a small crowd to see the warships depart. The Delhi led the way. and was followed by the Danae, the Dauntless, and the Dragon. Next came the Repulse, with the Hood last. It was a unique spectacle as the warships sped down the harbour in silence and without demonstration of any kind The departure of the six vessels took exactly half an hour. Considerable difficulty was experienced in getting men who had been stranded in the city during Friday night out to their ships on Saturday. There was a very heavy sea running, and the pinnaces towing open boats had a rough time. Altogether 1000 men had to he conveyed out to the warships in the harbour. In a farewell message to the GovernorGeneral and the Prime Minister Admiral !' teld said they left New Zealand after a visit replete with happy memories and the knowledge of having made many friends whom they looked forward one day to meeting again. In his special message to the Governor-General Admiral Field says all they had heard of the great natural beauties of New Zealand and its unrivalled facilities for sport had been more than realised, and they could never he sufficiently grateful to the Dominion

Government in providing such numerous opportunities for the officers and the men to visit the country and many of the most beautiful features of the dominion. They hoped one good effect achieved by the visit would be to make the possibilities held out to British settlers better known. ADDRESS FROM THE MAORIS. AUCKLAND, May 17. An address presented to Admiral 1 ield by representatives of the Maori tribes was couched in characteristic native phraseology. Dr Buck, speaking on behalf of his kinsmen, said that the Maoris, as descendants of the greatest of all the early races of Polynesian navigators, could not let the representative of the greatest sea power in the world depart without an expression of confidence they felt in him as a worthy upholder of the great sea traditions of the Pacific. The address opened in the following typically picturesque terms : “Sir, —“Welcome, Welcome. Welcome. Bring with you prestige and pride of race, power and authority, and fear engendered by might. Welcome, ye sentries of the mighty deep, who are forever wakeful, and bring before our gaze war canoes of the nation, the pillar of Empire and the sheltering rock of the small and great, which make it possible for us to rest in peace in this far-away and distant land.’’ Admiral Field presented the Natives with a photograph of himself, in token of appreciation of the honour paid him by the descendants of a great, seafaring race HUGE CROWD VISIT THE HOOD. AUCKLAND, May 17. With a vast multitude on board, how much deeper is the giant battleship Hood submerged This question has been asked probably by a numer of people when seeing the ship’s decks crowded with visitors. It takes 150 tons weight to reduce the ship’s freeboard by one inch. Yesterday 26.000 people visited H.M.S. Hood, n good number of whom were children. Allowing an average of 40 people to the ton, that total of visitors, pad they all been on board at one time, would have represented an additional weight upon the ship of 650 tons, and would therefore have put her down by only four and a-tbird inches.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW19240520.2.103

Bibliographic details

Otago Witness, Issue 3662, 20 May 1924, Page 28

Word Count
1,190

WARSHIPS IN AUCKLAND. Otago Witness, Issue 3662, 20 May 1924, Page 28

WARSHIPS IN AUCKLAND. Otago Witness, Issue 3662, 20 May 1924, Page 28