THE OTWAY'S TRIP

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2263, 24 September 1914, Page 7

THE OTWAY'S TRIP

PASSENGERS' EXPERIENCES. Sydney- passengers who arrived by tho R.M.S. Otwav from Tilbury on September 14 were full of the incidents of the trip. The vessel left England on July 31, the day before Germany declared war on Russia j and on arrival at Gibraltar on August 4 was held up for six 'days owing to fears 'regarding the whereabouts of the Gorman cruisers Goeben and Breslau. Some of the pas-. Bengers, who missed the ship at Tilbury, or were on the Continent at the time, had exciting experiences before joining tho vessel a-t Port Said. "I was at Ostend," said Mr. N. Syme, a Taranald (N.Z.) business man, who is just concluding: a world's tour. "It was the height of the season, and the hotels, cafes, and boulevards were crowded day nud night with fashionable gatherings. There, was just a whisper of possible war, but'everybody thought that it would blow over. We arrived at Gibraltar on the morning of Tuesday, August 4. Germany and England were not then in a state of war—they were .14 hours-later—but the inner harbour of the famous fortress was closed. Seeing the large lrumbere of merchant ships lying in the' outer harbour, we were certain that something unusual had occurred.. We were Dot allowed ashore, and next day tho governor of the fortress (Lieutenant-Colonel H. S. G. Miles) proclaimed that wo were at war with the Kaiser. Sixteen German ships were collared by the British at Gibraltar. "The following Monday we suddenly received orders to clear for Malta, omitting tho ports of Toulon, Naples, xind Taranto, and we Tcaohed there after a two days' run, and having stopped' only a few minutes, £ot away to Port Said, where we arrived-on Saturday> August 15, and where for the first time after leaving' Tilbury wo woro en'ablod to walk ashore. At Port Said the Otway took on board a number of passengers who had gone overland to Italy to join the ship at Taranto, but who, on learning that tho liner was not stopping there, joined the City of Calcutta, a Glasgow boat, which brought them to tho entrance of the Canal. Amongst these woro Adjutants Annotts, Melk'Eliam, and M'Lean, and Staff-Captain Goldfinch, 'Australian Salvation Army officers, who were returning from tho big London conference.' Adjutant Annotts and Staff-Captain Goldfinch were in Paris on Juno 29, tho night the Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wifo woro assassinated at Sevajevo. They were advieed to leave the French capital, and travol'ed through Berno on to Rome, where they joined" the City of ■Calcutta. "Thero were a large number of German merchantmen in' Colombo when wo arrived there," said Mr. S.ymo, "and Hindu tYoops (Sikhs) were in charge ov<-.r,Twhero, ..We had w> uneventful trip to.Frsmantle." .. ,' .S