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[Page 18]
1914.
sunk his grievances. Finally, married men were allowed 4 hours shore leave, and single men were allowed to have their friends on board. One officer who had been engaged to be married for some time determined to take no risks, so he got married quite unexpectedly the night before we left Sydney. On the actual day of our departure a seaman was married on board before the ship left. The ceremony took place in the ship's reading room, and our padre (Rev. Riley) officiated. This couples' honeymoon consisted of kissing each other "good-bye" an hour before the ship left. At last, the master-at-arms warned all visitors that the ship was about to sail. Some of the partings between the men and their wives and sweethearts were very touching. So far there had been no declaration of war, but we had sealed orders, and we left Sydney at 9.30 p.m. with a deck cargo of 100 tons of coal in addition to the amount which we could stow in our bunkers.
Aug. 4.
Our destination was unknown except to the Admiral & his Staff. In Every part of the ship could be seen small groups eagerly discussing the situation. As soon as the ship began to move we were cheered to the echo by the crews of the "Melbourne" & "Encounter" who were preparing for sea with all dispatch, and ringing cheers came from the crowds at Man-o-war Steps, who had gathered to bid us farewell. The ferries wished us "good luck" on their