Iles war diary, 1914-1919 / G. H. Iles - Page 29
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[Page 29]
Sep 2nd At noon our Squadron of three ships as previously mentioned arrived and anchored in Suva harbour Fiji, on our return journey so as to enable the Australia" and "Melbourne" to replenish our bunkers, ready for the next move in the great game, - the "Montcalm" did not require to take in coal, as the French ships are so built, to give them great coal capacity, owing I believe to the great distance between French coaling stations,- the British possessing innumerable coaling stations the whole world over, it allows us in constructing warships to pay greater attention to speed and armament, which are the predominating and deciding factor in naval warfare.
At 5 P.M. the "Montcalm" weighed anchor, and amidst great cheering from the remaining warships, departed alone for her base "Noumea" New Caledonia,-her first duty having been nobly done we "Fared thee well" - the "Australia" commenced coaling as soon as she arrived, but we did not commence until the following day, when on