THE FIFTHS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2543, 18 August 1915, Page 7

THE FIFTHS

■ -*——- NARRATIVE OF THE: VOYAGE TAHITI SECTION festerday's mail brought to hand a ft??}' .. • ® rst ' S3Ue of the '-'Tahit-ian K®' issued during the voyage of the m i^^ orcelnents by those on board ■tne .Tahiti. Iu the description, of the .voyage, it is stated:—Tho short trip uito stream Where we anchored till dayrrea, ?. J1 Sunday morning gave rise to foreboding, as to tho ability of the 'lafliti to play at Ye Eoyale and Ancient Uame of Pytche and Tosse. That night many a. backblocker's roverios which carried him back to- the cattle and the. th° butter and cheese, the green Mil,. valley and stream/ were woefully mingled with, unpoetio .reflections ou tho ocean billows ana briny deep. 'Twas a sad .week for' most of us that began ' nest morning, and one that will best be dealt with briofly. On the third day out war, grim and earnest, was dodared by our captain against the common enemy, mal-de-mer. The Knights of i the Red Cross were ordered to charge Uheir Winchesters with the old ' reliable .ammunition, Magi sulph., and >nthin favo days over 200 rounds were fired, causing the enemy to rotire in all directions. Whether this determined attack was the cause or no, it is satisfactory to note that the health of the troops on the Tahiti has been excellent, and' compares favourably with the health of those on our sister ships. Beaming faces appeared from clean decks towards the end of the week, and there was much clattering of pannikins and' plates when tho call was sounded . for mess. i Bight days out from Wellington occurred the most solemn incident that can take place on board ship. Private J.. J.'Merrick, of thei Aso v died on ; board the' Aparima from meningitis, on June 20, and at TO a.m. nest day tho i three transports slowed down, the troops 1 stood to : attention while the mortal .re- ; mains of'the deceased were lowered into-the bosom of the deep,' and the in- .,- spiring notes of that most impressive i . call; "The Last Post," were Sounded. The' ship steamed onward, but it was . some time before the gloom caused by , the sad event was dispelled and the , ordinary,-routine of life aboard was re* J sum'ed." • ' • lie rough weather experienced between Wellington and Albany was responsible for the loss of five horses, and sympathetic references were frequently heard among the mounted men and others 'as to the suffering anf6ng "Man's best friends."1 ; Albany. Our arrival at Albany on June 26 was hailed -with delight, and the liberal air lowance of leave granted was accepted with good spirit, no complaints whatever being reported of the behaviour of the Tahiti men. The, Fifth, we were -informed by an Albany resident, who had good opportunities for judging, made the best impression of any troops visiting that town. Unfortunately the weather was not very propitious until , the day of our departure, when the ' beauty of Albany find Its surroundings became fully apparent. To Colombo. : ' : ' At daybreak on Tuesday, June 29, the three troopships weighed anchor and commenced the next stage of the long voyage. ' Twenty-four hours out from , Albany- news went iwmd the ship that we. were to part compainy with the Maunganui, our iiagsJhip,orders,having 'been received that she was. to steam , ahead to our destination, while the . 'Aparima and the Tahiti were, tp call at , .Colombo. Favoured % glorious weather , (this stage was enjoyable indeed. . / Keen was the competition for bed apace on deck, and the . frequent parties of impromptu >sqngsters could be traced | to the soothing effects of the glorious tropical sunsets. ..We. sighted Oolombo in the early morning of July 12. All looked eagerly . forward to seeing the world-renowned ' ■beauty of the town, but surprises awaited us. Dame Rumour had it that we i were not to go ashore, and alas, for once she was right. Tnere had been riots between the rival religious factions in Kandy and Colombo, and both towns Were under martial law. Orders were received that we were' to sail .again at's p.;n., and it "was there- ' fore, impossible to allow the large body of .troops on- the two transports to go ashore. The officers and some of tlho sergeants made a short visit to the township to procure various articles for their respective units. At every street corner , .there were sentries, and even in the shops, we were served, by men in uni- i form. . Club houses and residences of ] former Gorman inhabitants were> all. i empty; we were assured that tho trouble i ' was among the natives only. i Bombay and Madras. The glorious uncertainty of tho ' (Voyage was now its chief charm, for at 1 '6 p.m.-we steamed away from Colombo j towards—well, all sorts of places at i first, and then, definitely, Bombay. 'An- } other surprise—from the Aparima we • .party company, and she steered for j : Madras. ' _ - j Three vessels with' the Fifth Rein- j forcements on board, in three different , ' sea^.. No oiie had predicted this state i of things. We are to change horses, do garrison duty, steam to the Persian Gulf, everyone has a different theory. We have received no mail from. New Zealand, and thero seems no prospect of one for some time. But-we are very oheerful, anxious to get into tho firing line, but glad to have the opportunity to.see Bombay, at all times ready i to do our duty, whatever may befall. 1 \ ' . ; : ; —: ; ...