ARRIVAL OF THE ' HIMALAYA' WITH TROOPS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1987, 24 November 1863, Page 3

ARRIVAL OF THE ' HIMALAYA' WITH TROOPS.

(From the Southern Cross, 16th inst.) \ The Himalaya, whose wide-spread fame as one of those mighty floating machines by which Britannia "rules the waves," has anchored iv New Zealand waters, and brings 800 of her bravest sons to assert her supremacy at the Autipodes. There are few that have not heard of this magnificent vessel, of her huge proportions, and here great capabilities as a transport ; and the many services she has rendered to the State make her movements as remarkable as those of an army setting out on a campaign. Who would have supposed that a Maori war, a contest with a handful of savages in the Northern Island of New Zealand, would hare been the cause of bringing this leviathan to this end of the globe. At all events, it is an event to be remembered, and recorded that on the 14th November, 1863, the Himalaya dropped aochor in our harbour with 800 British soldiers— the " Fighting Fiftieth " — on board, to assist us in the suppression and final extinction of the native rebellion. We are sure that those who saw this noble vessel come into sight round the North Head on Saturday evening must have had a feeling of pride thut they belonged to a country whose resources are so great as to enable it to furnish such aid. " She comes," was the exclamation, as soon as a good view of her could be obtained ; and as the huge vessel steamed up the harbour, many a telescope was directed to her, through which her crowded deck* could plainly be seen. ' On reaching the man-of-war offing, splash went the anchor into the water, and the Himalaya brought up not far from the Curacoa. Those, however, who Saw the Himalaya from the Queen-street wharf could have had but a poor idea of her proportions; but the imagination, no doubt, filled up what was otherwise wanting. Taking boat on I the first appearance of the Himalaya rouud the heads, we were not far from her when she I dropped anchor. On nearing her, her vast dimensions became more and more striking. From a long line of port holes were to be seen the faces of the gallant 50th, each evidentlj desirous of a front place to see this little city of ours>, which has caused such a*fuss of late at home and abroad. Passing along the wall of iron we were soon at the steps, and having made the ascent with due care, remembering that a fall from the upper story of such a vessel would be no joke, we reached the deck in safety, There all was teeming with life, and we hail the gratification of finding that with the exception of Mr Pilot Burgess and the commanders of the men-of-^ar lying close by, we were the first after her arrival to place foot on the deck of the noble Himalaya. " Meremere " was] the first word uttered in our heuring ; and in reply to a dozen enquiries about it, we were compelled in the most laconic manner to iterate and reiterate that, to us now most comprehensive polysyllable in the English language "evacuated." This seemed to be a far from pleasant piece of new* to our interrogators, aud as if afraid that John Maori had puoked up his traps and cried " enough," we were impatiently asked " is there any work for us to do ? " « There's work enough for all," was our reply, and the countenances of the representatives of the "Fighting Fiftieth " brightened. Some may remember their feelings when entering for the first time a large city, and their difficulty in knowing which way to turn— which the shortest cu£to their desired destination. This was just our case on boarding the Himalaya ; we wanted to find the shortest cut and the readiest method of obtaining information upon everything Himalayan, everything, from her magnetic needle to ber anchor, aud how to attain this was the end aad aim of our visit. We were fortunate enough,

however, to fall into good hands. The Himalaya had touched at Melbourne, and we were obligingly supplied with the latest Argus and Examiner by the special representative of the foimer journal. Tbe Himalaya had touched at Melbourne to take in coals, and after gracing the waters of Hobson's Bay for a few hours, during which time she was as much an object of interest to the Melbourne folk as she will be here, she came on to her destination. Crowded as the Himalaya appeared to be, we soon discovered that she had not the number of troops on board that was supposed ;in fact, her capaj bilities as a transport were over-estimated, when it was thought that she could bring the whole of the expected reinforcements at once. It is possible that on short voyages, and on a piuch, I she might carry many more tronps than she has on board now, perhaps twice the number ; but on a long voyage, such as she has just comi pleted, she is comfortably filled, bearing in mind, that with her crew, she has from 1,000 to 1,200 souls on board. The regiments which are to follow are the 43rd from Calcutta, and jhe 68th from Rangoon ; and those, which are comiug in other transports, the Lady Jocelyn being mentioned as one, are probably now on their way. But in the Himalaya we have the flower of the troops expected, the Queens Own, "Fighting; Fiftieth" men, who have " seen service' in Spain, Egypt, Crimea, and India, and who have received those recognitions of distinguished services which Britain never forgets to bestow upon her deserving sons. Virniera, Sobraon, Inkermann, Coranna, Vittoria, Alma and Sevastopol ! — are not names such as these, embroidered on the colors of the regiment, a guarantee that we have a " Fighting Fiftieth," and the only matter for regrett is that they should not have a worthier foe to contend with. Under the guidance of an old friend we descended into the saloon of the Himalaya, the accomodation of which is, we believe, superior to that of any vessel afloat, except — every rule has its exception — the Great Eastern. We never could be bothered with plumb-line and rule descriptions. Height, breadth, and depth are better understood by comparisons, and the best idea we can give of the saloon of tbe Himalaya is that it is like a tolerably sized concert or dining hail, except of course in height, and that Mr Chairman and Mr Vice Chairman would have to raise their voices nearly to concert pitch to be heard by each other. The fittings are rather massive than elaborate or beautiful ; but they are handsome without the gaudy decorations which one sometimes sees in large passenger ships. The cabins opening from each side of the saloon are fine < airy apartments, acd everything is consonant ( with the magnitude and reputation which the Himalaya bears for being one of the floating wonders of the world. But what a mass of [ people are to be seen crowding the main deck ! . We resolved upon a flying tour of^ inspection, and with some little difficulty managed ' to wind our way through the little city • garrisoned by the " Fighting Fiftieth. We 1 confess to never having seen such a sight before, j and that we hardly knew which to admire most — the huge proportions of the vessel, or the soldier like and gallant appearance of its tern. ' porary occupants. There was a continuous « buzz of voices, and with all the surrounding ] accompaniments, it was hard to realise that all . this was on the insecure foundation of the deep, and that by the buoyant properties of the Hiraa • laya a little colony in itself was sustained above the waves. Our visit to the Himalaya was ne- j cessarily very brief, and only sufficient fur an £ outline of her, to excite, if it were needed, the curiosity of the Auckland public to see this fine specimen of naval architecture. Before leaving * we desccuded to the engine room ; aud here i again the mind is struck more and more with j the magnitude of (he vessel. Immense steam ' pipes, huge masses of jointed iron and polished steel but only just come to a state of rest, and ( stokers moving about in the palpable obscurity of ihe stokehole, raking out enormous fires and under such a heat, that oue must either suppose them to have been acclimatised to the atmosphere of the furnace room, or by a gradual transition to have changed their nature to that of the Salamander— -was what was to be seen there A walk from the stein to the stern of the vessel —no slight promenade— and we took our departure. On leaving the vessel we had more time to survey her from a distance, and her beautiful lines, and noble appearance generally, are well worthy of the eulogiums which have been passed upon her. As our readers know, the Himalaya made the passage to the Cape in twenty-eight days; thence to Colombo 'in nineteen days ; thence to Melbourne in twenty-two days, where she arrived on the 2nd November, and, after taking in 700 or 800 tons of coal, she took her departure for this port, and cleared the Port Phillip Heads on the evening of Saturday, the 7th inst. She had fine weather for the first three days, on Wednesday last a stiff breeze, winch continued till Thursday at Midday, when fine weather was again experienced until she sighted the Three Kings ; just off the Little Barrier she carried away her jibboom. She cast anchor in the harbor about half-past five o'clock on Saturday evening. The Himalaya brings from Melbourne a battery of six 12-lb Armstrong guns, which the Victorian Government have very considerately parted with for use in this colony. The correct number of the troops of the 50th Regiment and their wives and families on board is 793 rank and file and uon«coramissioned officers, 37 olri cers, with 4 wives and 5 children, 57 soldiers' wives and 87 children. The list of the officers is as follows: — Lieut-Colonel and Colonel R. Waddy, C.8., Major and Brevet Lieut. Colonels H. E. Weare and F. G. Hamley ; Captain R. M. Barnes, Captain and Brevet Major D. W. Tupper; CaptainsG. W.Bunbury, J.Thompson, R. H. P. Doran, T. D. Lee, C. R. Johnson, W. Minister, and C, A. F. Creagh ; Lieutenants F. Galkner, W. H. Wilson, H. E. W. Preston, j C. R .King. G. H. Turner, W. Barker, W. R. White, W. L. Fleury, O. Goldsmith, and J. H. Van der Menleii ; Ensigns J. H. Rnlleston, D. M. Churchill, G. J. C. AWardice, A. S. Camp bell, D. L. Grant, J.E.C.Doveton.K. Douglass, A. Huut, and H. R. Worthington ; Captain and Paymaster J. Nowlan, Quarter-master J.Turner, Lieutenant and Adjutant E 1 Leach, Surgeon J. Fuser, M.D., Assistant Surgeons, H. F. Davis' and H. Lamb. The ladies on board are Mrs Waddy, Mrs Bunbury, Mrs Creagh, Mrs Nowlan, and Mi's Gassner. Mr Gassner has charge of the band- There .are also on board Captains Cecil, and W. Buckley, R.N., .V.0.. on leave, Captaiu Lewisou Gower, who has exchanged from the 80th Regiment, now stationed at India to the 65Ui in New Zealand, with a view to active service here, Mr Le Gevet, deputy inspector of stores, and Mr H.Willoughby, Special Correspondent of tbe Melbourne Argus :—Originally the Himalaya was the properly of the P« and O. Company, and was purchased by her Majesty's Government. She ia under the command of Captaiu Edward Lacy, and the following are tile officers — Lieut. G. D. C. Hendersdu. Lieut. Nathaniel C. Barton, Lieut. Fedecick S. van der Meulon ; Master, John Thompson ; Surgeon, William J, Wilson ; Paymaster, John Mallard ; Chief Engineer, Thomas H. Symons ; Second Master, W. J. Graudy ; Assistant Surgeon, Hugh B. Wyntes ; Assistant Paymaster, N. D. E. Roberts, and Assistant Paymaster, Charles H. Stone. Engineer officers — Messrs. K. Biddle, P. Hutchinson, W. H. Sedgwick, J. Keav, G. Ludlow, R. Anderson, J. Anthony, and W. Thompson.. Warrant officers— Messrs Sullivan, Misslebrook, and Booker ; gunners, Baliie. Tharougbgood, and Bramplou ; boat* swains, aad Sanders carpenter. . •;.