PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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supplement the armament provided at Imperial charge to the small extent which would be necessary.
Meanwhile it is considered desirable not to send the guns and the mining equipment out until the Colonial Governments have decided on the precise localities to be defended, and the number of troops they are prepared to raise for the defence of the place, as well as the contributions they are prepared to make.
The Government of Western Australia have made arrangements providing in certain circumstances for the destruction of the coal stores at King George's Sound; but the Colonial Defence Committee are distinctly of opinion that the destruction of coal should seldom if over be resorted to, unless at the request of the Naval Commander- in-Chief.
I trust that the conference will lead to definite decisions as to the defence both of Thursday island and of King George's Sound in order that no further delay in commencing the necessary works may occur.
April 1887.
MY LORD,
APPENDIX A. to No. 66.
H. T. HOLLAND.
ADMIRAL TRYON to HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR.
H.M.S. "Nelson," at Sydney,
June 17, 1885. YOUR Excellency has been good enough to refer to me a letter from the Colonial Secretary, Western Australia, to the Honourable the Colonial Secretary, New South Wales, in which co-operation is sought for creating a defence for Albany.
2. This opens out the very important question of the protection of the outlying ports, especially when they are coaling ports, and inseparably connected with the question are Albany on the west and Thursday Island at the north.
3. At the early part of this year I was at Albany, and was much struck with the importance of the harbour. It is not large, yet it is convenient, and capable of extension and improvement. It is situated near the extreme west point of the south coast of Australia.
4. The bulk of the external steam trade of the Colonies pass it. The port cannot fail to become of great importance, both in a military and commercial sense; and these remarks apply with force also to Thursday Island in the north extremity of this country.
5. At the time to which I refer the coal stowed in those ports, for the convenience of vessels that otherwise would pass them, was in a condition that simply invited an enemy to come and help himself, and that at our very threshold in both directions, so that he would arrive at our doors with full bunkers, and therefore with a full capacity for mischief.
6. If occupied by an enemy, such places are so defensible that it would cost much to expel him.
7. At Albany, there is a sparse population in a scattered township on the shores of the harbour. Its defence is in the hands of 70 volunteer riflemen.
8. As to Thursday Island, I am informed 20 or 30 steamers pass each month; the population is 300, chiefly composed of native races from the islands cast and west.
9. Ports at the extremities of these coasts, and of their respective Colonios, obtain far less protection from cruising squadrons than do central ports. The importance of these ports has only sprung into existence of quite recent years. The external trade of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia passes close to them, and they should not only be ports of supply, but ports of refuge and defence.
10. The value of these ports in both a military and commercial sense will certainly increase with the growth of Australia. I need hardly add that recently they have been the subject of many telegrams, and many letters have passed; and something has been effected with the view to make such arrangements as were practicable in the best interest of the nation.
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11. Albany can readily, and at no great cost, be protected sufficiently for the hour. As years roll on, more and more doubtless will be done.
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12. The position at Thursday Island, and of the islands in its immediate neighbour- hood in the Torres Straits, are sure to command attention, and its great geographical and strategical importance will force itself into consideration.
13. There are no other positions of equal importance from the above points of view, as well as from a general point of view, in the whole of the Australian littoral.
I have, &c.,
G. TRYOX, Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
APPENDIX B. to No. 66.
The RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF DERBY, K.G., to the GOVERNORS OF THE
AUSTRALASIAN COLONIES. MY LORD,
SIR,
THE Governor of Western Australia has
*You have
Downing Street, June 12, 1885.
recently drawn the attention of Her Majesty's Government to the defenceless condition of King George's Sound.
This question has already on more than one occasion been brought into notice, and it was alluded to at the Intercolonial Conference held at Sydney in January 1881.
At that conference a resolution, giving expression to the Colonial view, was adopted in the following terms:-
"That in the opinion of this conference, considering the large Imperial interests involved, the naval defence of these Colonies should continue to be the exclusive charge of the Imperial Government, and that the strength of the Australian squadron should be increased. That the members of this conference pledge themselves to use all legitimate endeavours to procure the efficient fortifications and land defence of the several ports of the Australian Colonies, at the cost of the several Colonies interested."
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Although this resolution would apparently contemplate that oach Colony should bear the cost of fortifying its own porte, yet there are some ports the cost of defending which it is hardly reasonable to expect that a single Colony should bear, and with. regard to which the Australian Governments might well, in the opinion of Her Majesty's Government, consider the expediency of providing the defence in common King George's Sound is a strong case in point, for as Colonel Scratchley, after a careful investigation on the spot, reported "The protection of the Sound and Princess Royal Harbour is of vital importance for the general security of the Australian Colonies in time of war. If left undefended, the Sound becomes the weak point in "the Australian system of defence."
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It is, however, obviously unreasonable to expect the Colony of Western Australia to provide and maintain the defences of this port at her sole expense, even if her means permitted her undertaking such a charge.
Major-General Scratchley, when reporting in detail on the measures necessary to defend Princess Royal Harbour, including the town of Albany, and to deny the use of the Sound to an enemy, recommended the construction of a fort mounting seven guns, of which three should be heavy guns, two 7-inch 7-tou guns, and two 64-pounders, on Possession Point, a rocky mound at the entrance of the harbour. He further recoin- mended submarine mines, torpedo launches, and a gunboat carrying one 8-inch breech- loading gun, and he estimated the total cost of the defences at 70,0001.
It is
There is no reason to doubt that Possession Point is the best position for a per- manent work constructed at leisure, but the engineering difficulties of the site forbid its adoption for hasty defences, such as alone could be provided at short notice. also considered that defences on a more modest scale than those recommended by General Scrat:hley would meet the requirements of the present moment.
The following scheme of defence, recommended by the Inspector-General of Fortifications, could be rapidly improvised, and would, in his opinion, answer al present purposos :——
1. Submarine mines for the entrance to Princess Royal Harbour.
2. Three 16-pounder muzzle-loading guns on travelling carriages, to be mounted on wooden platforms in a small carthwork, either to the west of King Point, or to the west of the semaphore station, for the defence of the mine field.
*To Western Australia.
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