WINTER CRUISES

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 980, 24 May 1930, Page 6

WINTER CRUISES

NEW ZEALAND NAVAL DIVISION DUNEDIN FOR VILA The ships of the New Zealand Squadron will disperse early in June for their winter work, after the Easter period of refitting, docking and leavegiving is over. From the first week in June until about June 20, the flagship Dunedin will carry out gunnery and torpedo exercises, with aircraft co-operation, in the Hauraki Gulf. The sloop Laburnum, towing the large target, will assist her for one week, and for another week the Dunedin will be attended by aircraft from Kobsonville Base. The vessel will sail about June 26 for Nukualofa, where the commodore will call upon the Queen of Tonga, but it will first call at Auckland to’replenish fuel and. stores. On the way to Tonga the position of certain of the Kermadec Islands will be verified, and during the vessel’s stay of one week at Tonga, drills and boat exercise and training generally will be carried out. A call wall be made at Noumea as a compliment to the French for the visit of the cruiser Tourville to New Zealand last year. Suva will also be visited. The Dui'iedin will call at Vila, in the New Hebrides, to enable the commodore to meet the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, who will be there in H.M.S. Veronica. The Dunedin will return to Auckland at the beginning of August for fuel and supplies before visiting Wellington and the South Island. She is due at Lyttelton about August 12. Under Commander G. W. T. Robertson, H.M.S. Veronica leaves early in June for Suva to embark the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, Governor of Fij, for a cruise round all the islands in his jurisdiction in the Gilbert, Ellice, Solomon and New Hebrides groups. In August the Veronica returns to Suva. Her subsequent movements have not yet been decided. VISIT TO TOKELAU

H.M.S. Laburnum, Commander C. E. Hotham, after assisting the Dunedin at exercises in Hauraki Gulf, is to carry out a cruise among the Eastern Pacific groups until August, when she will embark the Administrator of Western Samoa for a short visit to the Tokelau Islands. At the end of September, the Laburnum will embark an astronomical party at Suva and land them on the island of Niuafou to take observations of the eclipse of the sun in October, Niuafou being the only island where the eclipse is total. The sloop returns to Auckland about the middle of October.

H.M.S. Wakakura, Lieutenant H. F. Edwards, which has returned to Auckland after an extensive and very successful cruise round New Zealand ports for the purpose of training Royal Naval Voluneer Reservists, will remain at Auckland for some time refitting, giving leave, and completing the seagoing training of the Auckland Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Division.

H.M.S. Diomede is expected to arrive back from England about the middle of December, after having been completely overhauled and refitted. She will be commissioned with an entirely new ship’s company. Empire Day today, the birthday of the Queen, May 26, and the birthday of the King, June 3, will all be celebrated by the ships in port “dressing” with flags. A Royal salute of 21 guns will be fired by H.M.S. Philomel on the Queen’s Birthday, and by both H.M. ships Dunedin and Philomel on the King's Birthday. On June 4 the Governor-General will visit the Devonport Naval Base to inspect the ships’ companies of H.M. ships Philomel, Veronica, Laburnum end Wakakura, proceeding later to H.M.S. Dunedin. On leaving the flagship he will receive a salute of 19 guns.