ARRIVAL

West Coast Times, Issue 689, 9 December 1867, Page 2

A R R IVA L

OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH . AT MELBOURNE. + MARITIME RECEPTION. (iHOJI THE MEIBOTTBKEAGE, KOVESIBER 25.) To-day Victoria will welcome his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. The reception given him on Saturday, gratifying as we are assured it was to the Prince, was a mere foretaste of what he will experience. The spirit of rejoicing is universal, and the manner of displaying it is creditable to the people as to the Prince. The city has put on its holiday attire, and the citizens are suffering from a temporary delirium of loyalty which will culminate in such an outburst of enthusiasm as the Prince passes along the route defined for the procession as it has not been his lot to witness since he took his departure from Europe. From an early hour on Saturday, flags, banners and streamers waved in profusion in every street, and workmen were engaged in completing the decorations of the balconies, which have sprung up like mushrooms in every quarter of the city. Bourke-streetand Collins-street already present an- appearance which betokens the grandeur of the display, But when filled with swarms of gaily-dressed people, and when every window and balcony is occupied withladiesall smiles andgaiety, fluttering a welcome to the Prince, a scene will be witnessed which a life-time will not efface from remembrance. The eagerness manifested to join the steam flotilla which proceeded to Queenscliff to meet the Galatea, drew thousands to Sandridge and Williamstown at an early hour on Saturday. Tickets were at a premium, and some of the vessels were alarmingly overladed. Those who were fortunate to get on board one or other of the numerous steamers proceeding to the Heads, enjoyed an exhilarating trip. A bracing southerly breeze and a clear sky was a constitutional prescription which cost but a trifle and could not fail to be productive of beneficial results. As the day advanced there was a rush to the beach. Business was .'comparatively neglected until the evening. The trains could scarcely convoy their living freight witli sufficient expedition to their termini, and up to five p.m. there was a continuous stream of passengers to the railway stations. At Sandridge, Emeraldhill, St. .Kilda, Brighton, and Williamstown, the gatherings were immense. It is computed that not less than fifty thousand people were assembled on ihe shores of the Bay and witnessed the maritime reception. It was shorn somewhat of its attractions owing to the distance at which the Galatea anchored. Perhaps it is as well that it was so, since it has served to wet the public appetite for the display which will take place this day.

THE TRIP OF THE VICTOEIA. Her Majesty's colonial steamsloop Victoria, under the command of Captain Norman, and bearing, in addition to his Excellency the Governor, a select company of military magnates, Ministers of the Crown, ex-Ministers of the Crown, and others who were not, had not been, and had no expectation of being Ministers of the Crown at all, cast oft" from her moorings near the Sandridge Town Pier, about three o'clock on Friday afternoon. In the teeth of a strong southerly breeze, she steamed to her destination, Queenscliff, in three hours and a quarter. The trip was barren of events of even minor interest. Anchor having been cast about half a mile from the shore, the party, with tho exception of his Excellency the Governor, his Excellency's suite, the gentlemen of the military department, and Professor Halford, landed and proceeded to Adman's Australasian Hotel, which had been taken for the night by the Reception Commission. Here a very substantial repast was served up by the host, and this, it need not be said, was done ample justice to by those assembled. By eleven o'clock there was silence in the hotel, broken only, as far as the writer of this is concerned, by the bell which rang the company to breakfast shortly after seven o'clock. Far away in the south was a dense bank of clouds, from which ever and again there came strong gusts of wind, accompanied at times by a driving, cutting sleet. It was expected that we would not have to go on board before ten o'clock ; and a number of the party, after breakfast was over, betook themselves to a neighboring hill, on which was a church, wherein the lord of the manor had recently erected a very beautiful window. At half-past eight; a message from Captain Norman to Mr Verdon, who acted as a a sort of marshal for the occasion, informed him that it would be necessary for us to go on board at once. The sea, just then, looked so uninviting that there was many

a faint heart at the intimation. It was not long before we were once more on the deck of the Victoria, and then the order was given to up anchor and away. To a variety of tunes played on two very unpretending wind instruments by boys from the training-ship, the capstan went round merrily, and soon we had the batisfaction (or dissatisfaction of feeling by heave of the ship and the thud of the screw that we were once more in motion. Our captain intended to get under Point Nepean, and there to await the coming of the Galatea. In due time we were across, and the anchor once more fast in the sandy bottom. The monotony of the scene had been somewhat relieved by the arrival, during our way across, of the barque Tien Tain, from Foo-Chow-Foo. How to pass the time (some two hours) before the Duke's arrival was the question now. We knew he had been sig-» nailed off the Otway about half-past five, and we expected him at half-past ten. The time crept on, and the hour of expectation came. It was eleven o'clock, and yet the looked-for signal (the telegraph nag over the ensign) had not been hoisted at Point Lonsdale. It was thought that it would fly at least an hour before the Duke's ship entered the Heads, and many were the prophecies made about the time at which the flotilla would reach the Bay. Meanwhile this same flotilla had not put in a very brilliant appearance. One tiny little tug was to be seen near the Swan Spit light-ship, to the annoyance of those amongst us who had backed the Aldinga for first place. Away two or three miles in her rear was the smoke of some three or four boats. Half an hour made a change in the scene. At twenty minutes past eleven the anxiously expected signal floated from the signal-post at Point Lonsdale ; and looming out to the northward were to be seen at least a dozen of the fleet. About five minutes past, and then over Point Nepean, about half a mile from its extremity, was to be seen rising in graceful curls the brownish mixture of smoke and steam emitted from the funnel of a steamship when she is in motion. Another minute, and then the tapering spars of a large ship were seen gliding. Was it the Galatea ? Some said " Yes," some said " No." It's the City of Melbourne, from Sydney, was the exclamation of people whose nautical knowledge is great till it is tried. Not long was there time for argument. Shortly, rounding the bluff, there came a bowsprit which set all doubts at rest, and this was followed by the ship herself, with hor port-holes open and the mouths of her cannon grinning formidably through them. Hardly a soul was to be seen on her deck, but right aft was a group of some four persons, from whom the knowing ones very soon picked the Duke. From the mizen peak floated the white ensign of England, and from her mainmast head the pennant of her commander. Beyond this she gave no sign. Yet another minute and the big ship was in the Rip, rolling about like a little boat, and showing the red sheathing of her bottom almost to the keel. As she emerged from the white combs of the sea, the guns from the Queenscliff battery thundered out their sounds of welcome, and in a trice every conspicuous landmark was covered with bunting. We on the Victoria had dressed ship some time before, and now the order was given by Captain Norman to man the yards. Tho men and boy 3 were away aloft almost as

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Dtjke of Edinburgh. — Contimiedfrom page 3. soon as the bootswain's whistle had done sounding, and from a distance she must have presented a very pretty spectacle. Here a few words of digression may be allowed. It seems that the Galatea was first observable from the pi ot-boat at 10.30 a.m. on Saturday, when about ten miles off Queenscliff. As she came steaming along and got abreast of the Corsair, she presented a noble appearance, for never before has a ship of her class and size been seen in these waters, and even an unpractised eye in nautical affairs would have no hesitation in pronouncing her to be a man-of-war of the modern school. On a nearer approach, however, the standing rigging would create some surprise, as men-of-war have as little iron above board as possible, whereas she has wire standing rigging ; but in these improved clays of steam, ships are not so much beholden to their sails as they were when England first became- mistress of the sea. The Galatea was boarded by Mr Pilot Bowers, from the Corsair, who took charge of her and proceeded to Queenscliff and thence to Hobson's Bay. The passage from Adelaide' was accomplished in the time stated it would occupy, nothing of moment occurring. After passing Queenscliff she rounded to the South Channel, and was boarded by a Customs boat. On board this craft was the gentleman who had charge of the lord of the manor's surprise. For the information of the uninitiated, it may be mentioned that the lord of the manor is Mr Thomas Howard Fellows. His surprise consisted of an address. It is said to have been prepared by the Borough Council of Queenscl : ff, and was presented by the Mayor of that -borough, who had a seat in the boat. There are a variety of stories afloat as to the way in which this address was received by the Duke. Some say he was very short with the presenters, and informed them that he thought it a very hard case he was not allowed to navigate his ship to her port in peace, Be that as it may, Mr Fellows can, in the time to come, chuckle in his sleeve at the pleasant way in which he sold the Royal Reception Commission. A boat was despatched from the Victoria directly with Captain Norman and Lieutenant Bothwell on board to ask whether his Eoyal Highness * would receive any of our party. Before she reached her, the Galatea had let go her anchor, and someof the steamflotiJla came up. Leading was the tiny George Rennie, crowded with passengers. She passed under the Galatea's stern, and dipped her ensign as she did so. There was a reciprocal action from the frigate, and then came the Express, dressed in flags from stem to stern. There was a similar exchange of civilities with her, and then the Victoria made a bow, which was quickly responded to. With the band playing " Rule Brittania," and her decks crammed, came the Aldinga, and after she had rounded to, a boat was seen to leave her side, with Captain M'Mahon on board. Captain Norman and Lieut. Rothwell shortly after returned with a message to the effect that his Eoyal Highness would receive the Governor privately. Accordingly, attended only by his aide-de-camp and private secretary, the Governor left us. Then thundered forth our royal salute. Oh ! the din of that dreadful five minutes. One of the party had provided himself with wadding, with which the ears of some were stopped. It was only a warning from the Governor's aide-de-camp which kept others from following in the lead. He had, he said, known cases where wadding had been driven into the ears of those who used it by the explosion of guns. " Stand with your side to it," said he, with a humorous grin on his face, " and it will go into one ear and out of the other." His advice was followed to the letter ; but, though the sound went in, it is to be doubted if it ever came out of the ears of some of us. When we had quite done, the little Pharos came up with her yards manned and her deck full, and she commenced to pop away, and went on popping till she had. completed the mystic number of twenty-one. Of the rest of the events at Queenscliffe very little was seen from the Victoria. As soon as Capt. < Norman returned with his boat's crew the anchor was tripped, and the signal was given to form fine. While this was being done, however, the Galatea was seen to start away at a great rate, and there was nothing for it but to follow lies. Accordingly, off we went, the engines going goodness knowshowmany evolutions a minute. It had been first proposed to form lines on the port and starboard and then to get the Galatea to steam through the vessels. This sudden start, however, knocked all ' arrangements to the winds, and gave us all we could do to keep within a respectable distance of the frigate. By-anrt-by. finding we were leaving the fleet (with one or two exceptions) behind, the order was given to " ease her." The ships nearest the Victoria then were the City of Melbourne, the Hero, the Southern Cross, and the Aldinga. - Away in the rear were several other vessels, amongst them the Barwon, which only arrived from the coast, at the Heads, at six o'clock in the morning. She took her place in the flotilla, and had to set all sail in order to keep near her company. We came through the South Channel, and as we neared the high lands about Dromana and Arthur's Seat, the scene was very pretty. The Commodore had been signalling away all this time to those in the rear, and the order having been given to form line abreast, the Coorong and other steamers tip, and our line now began to look very formidable, On the port side of us was the Here, loaded to repletion with passengers, and at times coming so near that the features of those on her deck were plainly discernible. To starboard the Aldinga had come into premier position, and she kept our captain in mortal diead several times. On board of her were several ill-behaved persons seated in the fore chains, whose exuberant spirits should have been repressed by some one on board. The Gothenburg, with her painted ports and deck full, was seen a little in the rear. It was not long before we saw the masts of the shipping at Williamstown, and as we approached a little tiny white speck was seen in the distance. As this became more visit it turned out to be an adventurous personage, whose excess of loyalty had led him to encounter the dangers of the sea in a frail canoe. When we got abreast of the batteries at Williamstown the sound of cannon again became painfully audible, and there was soon after another dreadful period for us, for the Victoria, as the Galatea brought up in the outer anchorage, fired another royal salute. The Pharos, evidently managed by a thorough sailer, was not long in following our example ; and, amidst the din of all the guns, it was hardly possible to do anything but stare in bewilderment around. The ships in the Bay, however, looked perfectly brilI'int with bunting, and the number of aniall vessels afloat was something marvel-

lous. Had the arrangements of the Eeception Commission been carried out to the full, the flotilla would have come up the Bay in the following order : — Gralatea.

As it was, many of the smaller craft were hull down in the' distance when the final salute was fired by us. The first halfdozen of each division only kept their places.

Victoria. Commodore, Captain Norman. PORT DIVISION. STABBOARD DIVISION. 1. Hero 1. City of Melbourne 2. Southern Cross , 2. Derwent 3. Coorong 3. Barwon 4. Edina { 4. Gothenburg 5. Tararua | 5. Eangatira 6. Tasmania 6. Aldinga Captain Saundebs, Captain Macmeikan, Vice-Commodore. Vice-Commodoro. 7. You Tangs 7. Express 8. Samson 8. Murray 9. Resolute 9. Reliance .0. Titan 10. G-eorge Rennie LI. Sophia 11. Hercules .2. Annie. 12. Bendigo 13. Eleanor.