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[Page 48]
15
Colonel Paton. We cleared Praed Pt about 10.15 & made for Cape Gazelle which we passed shortly afterwards & then shaped a southerly course. During the day the coast of New Britain was visible on the starboard hand; at night the fleet moved forward without lights.
Wednesday 23rd : Our course is now west and we are to proceed thus till about sundown when we should sight German New Guinea.
9.30 pm : Just before dusk the "Australia" altered her course to N.W. & we all followed her lead. We are now moving silently in the wake of the flagship & no lights are visible. It is a beautiful night; the air is cool and the moon, though the sky is cloudy, sheds sufficient light to distinguish our comrade ships. It is one of those nights when one can lean over the rail & watch the phosphorescent sparkles along the ship's side, a night when even the ash-ejection adds beauty to the scene by whipping up the surface of the sea into a thousand scintillating points. A night in which to dream, except that ---? Ah! those slender projections from the "Australia's" hull! Her decks are cleared for action, her guns trained on the beam. A night in which to dream? Nay! a night fraught with grave possibilities. Who knows what may be lurking in the shelter of Rook Island. Who knows that one of the enemy's torpedoes might not even now be on its way to deal out death & destruction. With a sigh we turn from the rail & seek our berths not knowing what may be in store on the morrow. "To sleep! perchance to dream! To dream aye there's the rub for in that sleep what dreams may come … must give us pause".
Thursday 24th : At 8 o'clock this morning I was notified that I was to land at Friedrich Wilhelmshafen in charge of the Naval Guard. About 3 hours