H.M.S NEW ZEALAND.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 36, 18 June 1913, Page 5

H.M.S NEW ZEALAND.

OFF MEW PLYMOUTH.

A PICTURESQUE SCENE. Monday night was a wakeful one. Many a little head tossed restlessly in ■'blanket bay;" aye, and waking, stole noiselessly into the nearest room where there was a clock or a. watch co see the time. Few households were not up in plenty oi time to catch the lirst train, and the promise of a line day put everyone in the best of moods. About 700 adults booked at Stratforo daring Monday and Tuesday, though the school children did not attend in the numbers anticipated. The Toko train was delayed about 35 minuter (going out in the evening) owing to a number of Toko passengers missing the connecting train from New Plymouth. The railway officials here, a elsewhere en route, and at New Plymonth, had a. very busy day. Thai ihey carried out their multifarious du Dies' to the letter, was shown by tin commendable standard of punctualit; maintained throughout and by tin absence of accidents. A very tire: party it was that reached home ii the evening, hut all were happy ii the realisation of their pent-up hop if seeing their own Dreadnought. OX THE SEA FRONT. Naturally, there was a good dea lof disappointment at the opportunity to board the ship not being given t. all, but, after all, the arrangement, were made for the best by those ii authority. To the landsmen, o course, there was no trouble what ever in sight in landing the 20,000 o: more visitors to New Plymouth's liar bor front on the New Zealand; nor dk there seem any the less reason whj the whole ship's company should no have stepped ashore and played foot ball on tho park with the men o nicnlcked on the sandhills with boti

:.oxes

AFLOAT.

Those who were fortunate in gei ting about the warship never had sue.

.•, time in their lives among guns, a ihese were the "big guns" and th latest in gunnery. The lectures am. explanations made by the severa members of th ship's wen listened to with hated breath, and th •'innards" of the leviathan were ex plored from stem to stern. By thway. speaking of the stern, man; failed without enquiry to discer "t'other from which,' 'the clean-cu; bow-like appearance as distinguishec from the square or squat stern bein; the reason. THE HIGH LIGHTS.

The day was an ideal winter one >r.d of Taranaki's best, i It was o lie made-to-order variety. Ther '.as bright warmsunshine and a shor tind, and though the sea was fa ■rom resembling the proverbial mil! vond. thero was just enough roll t ie felt, and occasional" "white horses' 1 o be seen, to give the trip across am •ound about and back to terra firm; he necessary spice and colouring. ' GUESSWORK. It was quite impossible to accuratel •;iiage the attendance at Motorua o xiople or vehicles,but it is certain'tha lever before has the Breakwater roa' leaii so alive in this respect. Th iil wells and refinery "caught" a ver nrge number of visitors after the oi leial party from the ship had take: heir departure. THE QUARTER DECK. The arrangements were very good :nd reflected infinite credit npo lajor Bellringcr and his first liout .•mint, Mr T. C. List. Particular], marked was the effect of organisation in the handling of the school children r.hose lives were placed in the guid ing hands of Captain Rogers (a "lifer' A.M.P. and formerly of the Imperii, Army). Altogether 3200 children wer marshalled and passed on to the sten rners. A few figures will serve 1 show the nature of the "old general's* luties. Tho first company numberer 550, then followed others comprisin 330, 2-10, 450, GOO, 500, 200, and 300 N T ot a mishap has been reported ii he day's proceedings, and this, surel : 3 credit enough. It must not be ar turned, however, that with every <!<■ rail everyone was satisfied. Ther was the usual little list of complaints

-ot forgetting, of course, that som people are never satisfied. Cases ii point were the miscarrying of thf arrangements in regard to the veter ans, who did not get aboard the ves:sl, and who, it is said, were hour; without any kind of refreshments; the delay with batches of children who were kept on the wharf hungry. ind not too warm ; and the absence of Information setting forth that an inspection of the warship could only be assured by the trip being made in a launch and not a steamer. As against these pin-pricks, thoiigh, must be sot the encomiums passed unon the quality of the "tea, for all" as supplied by the committee, as well as the general satisfaction that sat so happily ui)on the huge crowd. IN OFFICIAL CIRCLES.

Before the Now Zealand had droppod anchor, the official party left thr wharf in two oil launches for the battleship. They were met by Commandpr (J race, who introduced thorn later to Captain Halsey. The party were shown over practically all the vessel. I'Yom the inner workings of the big 12-inch guns down to the cables and [anchors all points of interest were I minutely explained, so that the veriest landlubber could get a grasp of matters.

When Captain TTalsey and his party

arrived at the wharf they were met by the official party, and adjourned

to a raised platform on the wharf,

which had been specially prepared for the occasion. The speakers were Mr J. B. Connett (chairman of the Harbor Board), the Mayor (Mr G. W. Browne), Mr H. Okey, 31. P. for Taranaki, and Captain Halsey in reply. Captain Halsey thanked those present most heartily for coming to the Breakwater to welcome them. "I can assure yon," continued Captain Halsey, "that although our stay here is short, it would be our wish that we should stay a longer time, because not only shall we have very little chance of seeing your beautiful district, but I am quite sure that we should have received the same welcome here, over your district, as we have experienced wherever we have been in this Dominion. (Applause.) This is the last place on the West Coast that we are visiting, and we are lucky enough to be able to get ashore for the first time on the West Coast. (Applause.) The only thing I hope is that I shall get on again. (Laughter). Not that I want to leave you, but I don't want to leave my ship. (More laughter.) "I , am glad to think,' Captain Halsey I went on to say, "that we have a fine Jay here, although many thousands: cannot leave the big craft to go alongside, yet from the smaller vessels they are getting aboard. In the big ships they are cruising around, to see all they can of the battleship, which you so magnificently gave to the Empire. During the time we have been in the Dominion waters, we have had four hundred thousand people aboard. It has been the greatest pleasure to us to receive them on board;. The only thing is that we are sorry that the time has been so short in some places. They have all been .so loyal in wishing to see everything in the ship that we more deeply regret that we have not been able to show them all that we should have liked them to have seen. However we have done our best to show all wg could, and I am very grateful tc all who have been aboard for the patient way in which they have behaved on the ship. It has made the greatest difference to us." "Now, a? fas as the ship is concerned," our visitor proceeded, "as you know you that ship to the Empire to help the Empire, to defend the Empire As one speaker to-day said, you have always in the past' done your best to help the Empire, right away from the date when the first settlers came here in 1840, and I am perfectly certain that you will still continue to do your utmost for the Empire. I am sure of this, from what I have seen, pince I have been here, that the Emoire has no more loyal Dominion than vew Zealand. (Applause.) And vhatever may occur, I know that thr '.vhole manhood of New Zealand, i necessary, will come to Iter assistnice." (Applause). FAREWELLS.; i

In the evening those who, willy nilly, boarded the latest trains had the pleasure and : satisfaction of. witnessing the effect of the searchlights of the warship. The weird rays travelling athwart the heavens, and, anon, lighting np ifhe very trains themselves afforded a great source of interest to the travellers. Indeed, all the coast-line displays have been eagerly looked forward to, being not the least of the novelties to bo seen in connection with the ship.

THE CRUISE TO DATE. The New Zealand commenced, her ?ruise on February 6, and experienced some fairly heavy weather while cross< ing the Bay of Biscay. She reached st. Vincent on February 13, and, after coaling, left; on the loth, and arrived ib Ascension Island on the morning of February 20. Sailing the same evening she reached the anchorage at St. Helena at (3 p.m. on February 22, and left again next day. Capetown was •cached on February 28, and the ship remained there until March 4 on which date she called at Simonstown, on hei way to Durban, where she arrived o; March 6, and whence she sailed o March 15.. Good weather had been tin rule after clearing the Bay of Biscay and the New Zealand met with the same conditions on the passage tMelbourne, where she arrived on the morning of Monday, March-31. Leaving the Victorian port on April 8, she had a good run to Wellington, which she reached on Saturday, April 12. After calls at Napier and Gisborno. and a stay of 12 days at Auckland, she sailed for Lyttolton, and after staying there for some days left for .Akaroa, Timaru and Oamaru, putting in at the first-mentioned place for f. few . clays' gun practice. She has since visited the Bluff, Port Chalmers. Creymouth, Westport, Nelson. Picton, Wellington and Wanganui. After leaving New Zealand she will proced to Fiji, Honolulu, Vancouver, Panama, Callao, Valparaiso, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Trinidad, Barbadoes, Grenada, St, Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. John, St. Kittß. Kingston (Jamaica), Bermuda, and is due to arrive at Plymouth on October 6. The steaming rate at sea is to be 15 knots.