THE FLEET AT MELBOURNE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4098, 9 June 1881, Page 3

THE FLEET AT MELBOURNE.

♦ HobsonVßay (says th* Argus} was moro like Portsmouth,. Plymouth, or -heerness yesterday than on any former Queen's Birthday. Its novel and striking appoarance waa of icourse mainly due to the presence of, Her Majesty's shipß Inconstant, Caiysfort, and. Tourmaline.;, the, Frenoh warshiy Finisterethe Italian man-of-war Europa, ue Victorian turret-ship Cerberus, and the f rig ite Nelsoa also added to the general effect. At eight a'clook in the morning all these vessels wero dressed out in hunting, and the merchantmen at the Williamstown and Sandridge piers und in the bay followed their oxample. Consequently the Bay presen tel a verygay appearance and many thousands of sightseers were attracted' to the, pier» and the beach. Unfortunately, however, what is understood when ne*cribed . as Queen's weather was not enjoyed.- The day was equally and occasionulJy wet, , and only a few of tho sight-neers , cared to venture upon the troubled waters. , Thoso who rose to the occasion and det-pi- c the dirty weather, chartered boats and paid .Visits to tho squadron, returned as a rule well drenched with salt water. They numbered at the outside only 200 or 300. They vere-court-eously received on board flfcr Majesty's ships, and were also in many cases hospitably entertained by the officers. Th ■ Inconstant being the largest and finest vessel in the squadron, was, as a consequence, the object of greatest interoot. Her two launches ; and steam pinnace having been lowered, the upper deck from which they were removed was seen for the first time to the best advantage, and appeared as spacious as a city th-roughfare. Here, however, the visitors found themselves walled in by bulwarks 10 or 12 feet high, and unless they mounted the forecastle they could only obtain an Occasional glimpße of the outside ' world through the portholes or gangways. There being no poop, the bulwarks run right aft and round the Btern, so that the whole upper deck is completely enclosed. The view here is therefore circumscribed. The visitors, however, saw muoh within these oonfin«B to engage their attention. The shipshape order in which cvei->thin,* was kept, and the scrupulous cleanliness wh-eii was observed on every Jiuud excited mucn comment. The large 12$ ton gung, fore and aft, were examined with interest. A couple of pieces of jSeld artillery, for the use of landing parties, and a set of 20-pounder guns speciallyprovided for saluting purposes woro also noted amongst the armament on th<? upper decks. Descending the gangways to tlie main deck the visitors obtained some little idea of life between decks. The admiral's quarters, the. wardroom where the senior officers mess (a commodious and comfortable apartment), and tlie officers' cabins, are situated in the after part of this deck. Tho midshipmen sleep in hammocks slung from the uoper deck, and the gunroom, in which thoy mess and receive their education, is located on the port side of the vessel. Opposite to this room, on tho starboard side, are the cabins of Mr Love, tho admiral's secretary, and «;f the chaplain, the R.*v George L. Blake. The only clear portion of the main deck lies between thoso apartments, and as it is only in this place that t! .-• officers aro allowed to smoke, it is here they oongregato when off duty, to whiff the " weed," and to whilo away an hour in social intercourse. Proceeding aft along the main deck the visitors passed the torpedoes and heavy guns, went through the quarters of tho bluo jackets and marines, and thuß formed so no idea of ii;* surroundings of the British tar in his floating home. The Carysfort and Tourmaline were aho open for the inspection of the public, and though both are smaller specimens of the British warships, they had each Bpecial points of interest for the visitors, and the officers on both were most attentive and obliging. On the Carysfort the Gattling and Norfendelt guns were uncovered and explained. The Gattling is a weapon which has been made familiar to the' Melbourne publio through specimens of it having been shown at the Melbourne Exhibition. The Nordenfelt, however, is more of a novelty. The one on the Carysfort is placed on the forecastle. It consists of four parallel rifled Larrols, which are loaded at the breech by m us of an ingenious mechanism. The barrels ..io lin bore, and from them steel shots or .-mall shells may be discharged. The discharging apparatus is so contrived that the ba; rels may be fired individually or simultaneoufily. As the chambers are emptied fresh cartridges drop in, and they are thus immediately reloaded. Hence they can keep up a continuous fire. They have been provided chiefly for uso against the torpedo boats of an enemy. At, 12 j'ol.-ck royal aulu'ea were fired hy tho ships oi the Squnli-oi, the Nolson and the Finis) ore. Iho first gut ,i fired as the hour strrc': by the Aj^ii.-a! _ ship, and in a minute or t wo t.ll tho c _.„•.• h_d joined in the demonstration. The spectacle thus presented was one r.evor equalled before .'n Hobson's Bay, and in tho midst of it all, tite magnificent Orient Liner Potosi, with her passengers crowded on her upper deck, woighed anchor, and steamed away for England, adding further animation to the scene. Twenty-one guns being fired by each vessel, the saluting lasted for about a quarter of an hour, and the demonßtr > i ion carried to some extent the appearance >.t t, naval engagement. The Carysfort, IV ui-inaline, Fmislere, and Nehon used 6_-poui riers, and this accounted for the loudness of tii i-i r reports as compared with thoso of tho iv pounder saluting guns of the flagship. Imuiodiately after tiuo t.he boom of cannon and rattle of musketry coming from tho Sandridge-flats announced the faot that the city volunteers had commenced thoir sham-fight, and large numbers of the people assembled on the piers hurried away to witness the operations. The ships continued to wear their decorations all day until sunset, when the bunting was taken down. For the majority of the seamen on Her Majesty's ships the day was what is termed a ,c liberty day." Largo parties of them therefore landed and visited the metropolis, but as it waß a public holiday the shops were nearly all closed, and the weather being far from ploasant, they were unable to obtain a view of Melbourne in a favourable aspect.