H.M.S. CHALLENGES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2399, 14 January 1909, Page 6

H.M.S. CHALLENGES.

A VISIT TO THE WARSHIP. (By our Special Reporter.) It is not every dayrthat a warship calls at Gisborne, ah<l this last visit of H.M.S. Challenger is the first occasion on which a vessel in His Maj esty’s service has shown itself since the unveiling of the Cook -Memorial, some two years ago. The visit wat quite a surprise one, and no elaborate arrangements for the entertainment of the officers and men were able tr be made. An invitation was kindly extended hv Commander C. C. Ha Costa, through His Worship tin Mayor (Mr. W. D. Lysnar) to tinpublic to inspect the vessel,- hut the* lack of facilities prevented people availing themselves of the opportunity. Nevertheless, there was considerable interest taken in the vessel and many were the expressions of regret at being unable to see her at close quarters. It is an interesting question, too, whethd\ cuiiosity regarding a strange object or a genuine.* patriotic interest in a vessel of the great British navy was the greatest element in that interest and regret. As the Challenger lay in the Bay shrouded, as one might say, in that peculiar grey color adopted bv the Navy, it was impossible, even with glasses, to see more than the mostprominent details about her. There is no doubt that, to most Gisborne folks, who have not had the opportunity to inspect a warship, a close view of this vessel would have come in the nature of a revelation, and would ■probably have been valuable* in helping them to properly realise the nature of the Navy, whose, acquaintance they have only made through the medium of pictures. At the saint' time, the Challenger is but a sninl , lightly-armed cruiser compared with the members of the big main fleets: but she is as fine a vessel as Gisborne is likely to see for a considerable time, being well up-to-date and. as warships go, handsome withal. Ycstefdav the writer had a look over the Challenger, and during an hour spent on hoard saw much of interest. - A brief description of the points that impressed him sliou’d be interesting to those who, however anxious to visit her while at Gisborne. were unable to do so. She is a second-class unprotected cruiser, of bSOO tons, and was launched in 11)02. She has an armament of 11 six-inch guns, S twelve-pounders, G threo-pouutters, and two Maxims. At full power tier engines can drive her at the high speed of 21 knots. One's attention on boarding a man-of-war 'ls' naturally attracted by her guns, and those on the main deck of this vessel are the six-inch breechloaders. They appeal to one as beautiful things, 'graceful in outline and perfect in their adaptation to their purpose! It is a treat to see them handled. The crew can manipulate them in a fashion to a landsman marvellous; and they are so easy of motion, despite their weight, that theslightest effort, .rightly applied, will move them. ,The writer saw severed of them in use—not with full-sized ammunition, but with a small inner tube, fitted with a‘min iature breechblock, and firing cartridges an inch in diameter, with pointed, lead bullets. There arc various methods of aiming the guns. In one the gunner, looking through a small telescope attached to the barrel, actually sees the target in its apparent- risings and fallings as flic ship rolls. But at- times the vessel's motion is too rapid- for that method, and then the roll of the ship has to he anticipated, the gun trained so that as she rolls the line of fire will pass through the target, and the gun discharged at exactly the right instant. It can easily be understood that nothing bid practice and an intelligent conception of the varying conditions can enable accurate shooting to be done; yet the marksmanship made with these ap parently unweildy ‘'firing tubes’’ would be considered “not half had” by a man with a rifle on terra Anna. Occasionally the ship indulges in target practice with' sen-ice ammunition but opportunities are not common.and the practice is too expensive to be frequent. The guns are fired in a peculiar manner, not with .the familiarpercussion cap or friction tube, or oven with a match held to the touch hole. There is a little electric fuse applied to each charge; and the marksman, with his eye glued to trie telescopic sight, grips in his hand an instrument, almost like a. pistol. As lie pulls the trigger a contact is made, the electric current heats the fuse, and the gun is fired immediately. In order to bo able to handle the full charges in an expert manner, the crow must be in constant practice; and it is plain that while it is comparatively easy to load a breech-load-ing cannon with a shell weighing 1001 b, and a large package of cordite, it is another matter to unload it without unnecessary waste of time. Therefore the Challenger has a special machine simply for practice in handling the heavy ammunition. It consists of the actual breech mechanism, perfect in every detail, of one of the big guns; but there is no barrel, and the charge, pushed into the breech, just passes into a wooden trough, out of which it, is easily lifted and used again. The projectiles used in this “dummy” are genuine,but the cordite charge is represented by a wooden block of the same size and weight. The six-inch guns are mounted on huge, iron pillars that extend through, to the lower, or protective dock; but the smaller guns are placed in various parts of the vessel, and one comes across them quite unexpectedly. They arc also /fitted with the inner tubes for. practice purposes; and, being small and light, are capable of very rapid firing. The. Whitehead torpedoes used on the Challenger are curious looking objects. They are fish-like in shape, and about sixteen feet in length. They arc discharged from the vessel from tubes under the water line and, by an arrangement of the mechanism, the torpedo is made to travel any distance up to 2000 yards at various depths up-to sixteen feet.. -"When toiv podo practice is being indulged Jlithe torpedoes arc not loaded and are always picked up again by a launch. .While the armament of a ship- is usually the most interesting part to a landsman, the interest of the crew possibly centres large in the mess deck, for here the sailor off duty lives, moves, and has his meals. It is cb flicult to describe a mess deck. Guo is struck at once by an array of shiny tinned vessels hung over long wooden tables, upon one of which the ship s cat sleeps. Overhead, the ceiling is made into ricks, into which are

stored weapons, personal belongings, and miscellanea indescribable. In the midst of all, unenclosed, is the great galley, with white-attired cooks. In various corners one comes across an ammunition hatch and its hoist, and at intervals there rise the fartpedcstals of the big guns on the deck above. At the end of the mess deck is a great array of canvas bags, containing the hammocks of the men, packed neatly away, and stowed in a prosaic rack, bearing no resemblance to the romantic hammock nettings of the old-style warship. Rifles, bayonets, and revolvers are arrayed in convenient places on this deck, and one of the most striking things on the vessel is the big rack containing nothing hut- revolvers on end. ' t Though one may see a- great deai in an hour, that time does not nearly suffice to peep into all the departments of even such a vessel as the Challenger, and It was with great regret that blie writer left without having seen the engine-room and a him--dred other things that he knew were' to be seen. A brief view was obtain ed of the apparatus for wireless telegraphy of which all vessels in FI is Majesty’s service now make considerable use, and the writer was informed that tlie Challenger could send a message a- distance of 1200 miles. Curiously enough, though the crew mini-! hers just on 4-50 (of whom, by the way, over 000 are -colonial born and 70 are New Zealanders) and although the majority were oil board,, there did not appear to be a quarter--'of them .on view, and the others must have been stowed away in some unvisited parts of the vessel. On deck there were, besides the crews working the guns, small squads being drilled, little circles standing round idle guns being lectured to upon gunnery topics, and twos and threes moving about- full of business of one kind and another. But apart from the noise of the guns, she was a. .curiously silent ship. There was no boatswain’s whistle, no hoarse commands, no bustle, nothing to indicate the amount of life on board. Mention 'must just- be made of the ship’s brass band, which came ashore in the afternoon and played some fine music. It is a purely volunteer combination, numbering about 23 players,, and the bluejackets are very proud of it. The band plays every evening, at dinuer, and at other spare times, and the members are relieved of various other duties to allow them sufficient time to practice. Bandmaster Barnett-, who is in charge, is -an enthusiastic musician, who has brought his combination to a high musical standard. It is but courteous to state that Captain Ha Costa aml his officers were most kindly to the writer. They did everything they could to make his visit instructive and pleasant, apparently taking pleasure in answering innumerable questions as to the whvs and wherefores of everything about the ship. OFFICERS ENTERTAINED. Shortly after 2 p.m. yesterday a number of the junior officers of H.M.S. Challenge’.' came ashore, and were met on the wharf by His Worship the Mayor. A short visit was paid to the Poverty Bay Club, and then the party proceeded for a motordrive in the country, in three cars kinill.v provided by the Messrs Barker and T. Adair, who drove them.

His Worship the Mayor, Mr. John Towuley, and Hon. Capt. Tucker accompanied the visitors, and the first places visited wore the Native church at To Arai and the carved whare a little further on. The vsitors were delighted with the excellence of the carvings, such work being altogether new to them. After these buildings had been inspected, the party drove out through Waeronga-a-hika-, and along the Ormond Road, making another e-i'l at the Native settlement adjacent to the Ormond quarry. Tlio cars were then turned homewards, and proceeded down the Ormond Rood through Wlmtaupoko to the Mayor’s residence, where afternoon tea was provided for them by the Mayoress. After this had been partaken of the visitors left again for their ship, expressing themselves as delighted with their afternoon’s outing. c THE BAND CONCERT.

The volunteer hand of H.M.jS. Challenger, whiei i is nearly 30 mem bow strong, and was recruited by Bandmaster Barnett from among the members of the crew, gave a concert on the Point, near the Haiti bridge yesterday, afternoon. There was a large crowd present to hear the music. The programme submitted showed that Bandmaster Barnett has a versatile taste, and he was so happy in selecting music that was interesting and popular that the conductors of tho local bands might learn a profitable lesson from the programme submitted. A selection from Gounod’s opera “Faust,” containing the chorus “Hail! Merry Gleaners,” the ballet music, the “.Jewel -Song,” Mesphistopbeles’ denunciation of Marguerite; and the “Soldiers’ Chorus” was exceedingly well played, and the band received loud applause. Sullivan's “Lost Chord” was played as a euphonium solo with band accompaniment, and.-proved a most popular number, but the treat of the afternoon was the chorus from the third act of AVagner’s “Tannhauser,” the piece being beautifully, played. Another pleasing number was a fantasia on American airs, and “God Save tho King” brought tho concert to a close. ENTERTAINING THE MEN. * After the hand concert the Borough Council entertained the bandsmen and a number of petty officers and sailors at the Cosmopolitan Club, which was kindly granted for- the purpose b,y the club’s management committee. The club was thrown open to the men without restriction,; and while they comported themselves with every propriety. it was easily to be seen that they thoroughly enjoyed the free use of the billiard tables and tho rooms. Upstairs a. large table was liberally spread, and around this the men were seated; and needles,? to say did full justice to all that was provided. Crs. Sheridan, Mann) and Bright, with Mr. C. Ambridgo (president of tho Cosmopolitan Club) were present, and it was interesting to see tho “city fathers” drawing corks and handling •plates "of cake and sandwiches around.

Mr. Ambridgo welcomed the men to tho club, and Cr. Bright proposed the toast of the “Navy,” which was responded to by Mr Symons, C.E.R.A. A short programme of songs and recitations was-given, and some of the men proved that they possessed considerable talent. The. proceedings terminated-with t-lie singing of “Auld Lang Syne” and “God Save the King."

SOME HUMOROUS INCIDENTS. Although the bluejacket is kept under strict discipline while fie is aboard, the training docs not destroy his sense of humor when lie is ashore, but- rather sharpens his -wit and keeps him continually on the look-out for a joke, aiid yesterday did not- pass off without laughable incidents. During the reception at the Cosmopolitan Club, Cr. Sho-ridan was called on by some of the sailors, who had quietly been “tipped the wink,” for a song. Cr. Sheridan, with lus usual bashfulness, hesitated to mount the platform. “Como along now, come along, Air. Sheridan; don’t be so assiclidioiis,” said the jester of the party ashore, and the application of tho' distorted word seemed so suitable ‘that the room -shook from laughter, and Or. Sheridan at once complied with the request. » At another time a petty officer was replying to a speech. He had apologised a great many times for having been taken unawares, and for having so, little to say, and while trying to give expression to his thoughts clutched nervously at the back of liis chair. Seeing his predicament, a Jack bravely came to the rescue. He put his hand in his pocket, drew out a large knife, opened it, and .put the handle between the speaker’s twitching fingers. The hint to “cut it short” was taken at once, and ’ the speaker sat down. The Jacks also showed a fondness for dancing, and while the band was playing on the Point, numbers of them formed couples and danced to the music. DEPARTURE OF THE MEN.

The main body of the men who had boon spending tho day -ashore left tho wharf for the ship about 6.30 p.m. A number of them bore traces of -having had a jovial time, and took away with them will at they termed “trophies of their visit.” Knives and forks, umbrellas, hats, and dogs formed part of the collection, and two or three of them were arguing as to which one of them was entitled to the possession of a parrot, which they had succeeded in annexing during their stay on shore. One man, evidently a lover of the material things of life, had with him a leg of lamb, others had hags of fruit, and various eatables. while the liquid refreshments, in the shape of bottles of beer, would servo io stave off thirst for a considerable while.

All the men were aboard the Challenger bv 7 p.m., and it was expected that the vessel would leave for Napier and Wellington at an early hour this morning. She takes in 600 tons of coal at the latter port, and leaves shortly for Hobart, where all the warships of the Australasian squadron will meet for several weeks manoeuvres.