FIRST SHOT IN WORLD WAR.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 June 1926, Page 4

FIRST SHOT IN WORLD WAR.

HOW AUSTRALIA WARNED THE EAI Pi RECAPTURED C DDE INFORMS BRITISH FLEETS. Not only did Australia (ire the first shot in the world war, hut it was owing to Australian vigilance and promptitude that Lhe admiralty and *he admirals of the British Fleets all over the world were supplied wiui the German secret code, which enabled them to determine lhe movements of German vessels in the early part ol the conflict.

Though tho German Admiralty twice changed the key, the Navy Office in Melbourne succeeded in discovering the new arrangement., and cabled hack to England the interpretation of many of the enemy’s coiled messages which had been intercepted by wireless. THE FIRST SHOT.

It is not generally known outside the Commonwealth that Australia lived the first shot in the Great AA'iar. This came from a gun at one. of the forts at Port Phillips Heads and was fired across the hows of the Gorman merchant, vessel Pfalz, which was attempting to escape, but was successfully brought to 1 1 v the prompt measures which had hoem taken.

The Pfalz afterwards Iwcaine Ihe Boorara one of the Commonwealth line of steamers. AA’hen she came into Australian possession on August I. 1914, the date on which the arresting shot was fired, she was comparatively a new boat, having been built in Germany in 1913. She is a fine vessel, of 6763 ton gross register, fitted with electric light, refrigerating machinery and wireless, and is 472 feet in length. The incident above recounted it iccalled to memory by ail excellent article. “Some Australian Naval Operation,” which A'ico-Admiral A. Gordon Smith has contributed to the April number of that admirable periodical “The Blue Peter.”

-At the time of the occurrence, A’ieeAdmiral Smith was one of those lent for service under the Commonwealth Government, and was a member ot the Naval Board at the Navy Office at Melbourne.

He writes: “Milieu the war broke out the Australian licet had reached a respectable size, it consisted of the Australia, a battle cruiser .the Melbourne and Sydney, fast light cruisers, three destroyers and a eouplo of mod,ern submarines. There were under construction at the dock at. Sydney the Brisbane, the sister ship to the Melbourne and Sydney and three more destroyers.

“When the ‘Warning Telegram’ was received this (toot was further augmented lay (the ertiicers Encounter and Pioneer, which had been lent from the. Royal Navy for use as sea-going training ships. “These ships and a few others were then completed to full complements with men from shore establishments

“The first episode was the capture of a. German merchant vessel, the Pfalz. This vessel sailed from Melbourne in great haste on being informed presumably that hostilities imminent. But before tdio reached the entrance to Port Phillip 40 miles distant war had been declared. Our first act at the Navy Office was to telephone to the forts at the entrance to stop her leaving. AA'o were just in time. She was brought to with a shot across her hows, was subsequently interned, and her crew had to spend the next four years in idleness, f believe that this was the first shot fired in the Great AYar. SEYDLITZ ESCAPES.

“At Sydney, however, we were not so fortunate. A large German mail steamer, the Seydlitz left that place in similar haste on the morning of August 4, but was out of sight by the time the ‘AA'ar Telegram’ was received. A destroyer was sent- after Ijcr, but she escaped and spent her long holiday somewhere in the Dutch East Indies.

“A few days later however, two more captures, which proved to he of far greater value were made at Port P-'il-lip. AA'o had been informed that all German merchant vessels fitted with wireless installations would have on hoard a secret code hook for us in time of war when communicating with their'naval vessels. AA r e were rather anxious to obtain one of these little books. The only chance of getting

ono would bo from a ship that liad not received news of the outbreak of hostilities. TRAP .SUCCESSFUL. “On tlio outbreak of war there were three German cargo vessels fitted with wireless en route from South Africa to Melbourne. It was hoped that they would not. hear of the war before their arrival, in Australia. To board them at sea was hazardous. It was- therefore decided to let them arrive in due course, and to search them as soon as they had anchored. “Preparations were, made to fetch these ships in by force if they showed any hesitation ill entering the harbour. But this was not necessary.

“The scheme was completely successful. Two of tha three ships arrived in Port Phillip without suspecting that anything out of the ordinary had occurred. I lie Mil deni els came in late one evening three days after hostilities had begun. A torpedo boat was waiting lor her at the Meads, and as soon as she was in sight she v, as ordered to anchor. The captain of the. Examination Service then boarded her with an tinned guard, ordered the captain and the chief officer out of the ship and made a search ■in ihc captain’s cabin. It was such a surprise party that no one oil board had •time to do anything. A TENSE MOMENT.

“The code bad; was found,, hut there was, in addition, a key to be used with it, a transposed alphabet, without which the hook itself was of little value. This was not discovered. So Captain Richardson R.A.N., the officer in charge of these proceedings, spent the night in the captain’s cabin in order to have a further and closer search hv daylight ; the Wildenfcls .remaining at anchor under the gums of the tort for the noght. “He had his revolver in bed w.'fh him, hut he (lid not sleep. He waited. When it could reasonably be assumed that lie was asleep, the second officer of tha ship cumo into the cabin stealthily. Captain Richardson cocked his revolver with one hand and switched on the electric light with the other. “The intruder was discovered to be opening a sliding panel in the bulkhead, and here was found a little envelope containing the missing key to the book. The captured hook arrived at the Navy Office the next day, and immediately a code book factory v. as established there. German scholars, of guaranteed British descent and fidelity, were obtained from _ the Melbourne University; the hook was cutup into sections and translated, and a stjuad of typists made copies cf it, which were printed off by a cyclostyle machine. TELLING THE FLEETS. “These copies were sent to the Admiralty, and to Admirals of British Fleets all over the world. “Subsequently, the German Admiralty twice changed the key, hut alter long and tedious labour, the new arrangement was, in each case, discovered. and, during the early pari of the War, many of the enemy’s -oded messages, which lsul beau intercepted by wireless in various parts of the world were deciphered at the Navy Office, and their interpretation sent back by return cablegram.

“Bv this means, some indication of Die movements of Admiral Aon Spec’s squadron ms obtained, culminating in its destruction off the Falklands.” Other results of this little stratagem are the discoveries by the Navy Office of the rendezvous at which ono of the enemy's Pacific licet was to meet, her collier; hut in neither ease was there any ship near enough to get there in time. A FORGETFUL CAPTAIN. Viee-Adniirul Smiih continues;— “The Unhurt, another German cargo bno.l. arrived about a week later. Her Captain, when asked for his code book, said he hadn’t one but afterwards remembered that he had a packet somewhere, and unearthed it. The packet was intact, just as it had been received from the German Admin illy, and contained the code book, with hey complete, as well as instruction.-, for the procedure to be adopted in the event of war. ‘•The dear old skipper of the Hobart hadn’t had sufficient curiosity even to

open this secret packet to find out what it contained. .'His-copy was fe.nt off post-haste, to Brisbane, and from there whs talien to sea and transferred to the Australia, which was on her way North at that time with the Australian Fleet.

“The third German ship that-was expected did not arrive. Presumably she must have picked up the news while at sea, and proceeded to sonic neutral port according to instructions, to verify her suspicions.’’ After describing in detail the operations of the Ausrtalian Navy during the war. Admiral Smith concludes:— “The Fleet has justified its existence. Its presence had saved Australia and •New Zealand from any hostile incursion ; it had ejected the Germans from their possessions in these waters, and, finally, frustrated their attempt to establish themselves as a power in the Pacific,”