Item 01: Eric Susman war diary, 1 January 1915-4 April 1916 - Page 54
Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 54]
Saturday 30 January 1915
Left for Port Said this morning. As was the case yesterday, we received a good reception all the way up the canal. We are now getting quite used to the camels and palm trees, as a substitution for horses and gum trees.
Passing an Italian man-of-war, and also the Australian hospital ship "Kyarra" we steamed slowly past the Canal Offices at a little after four in the afternoon. We received an enthusiastic reception all the way along the town which reminded me of picture of Venice. Coming to a standstill almost opposite to the statue of that great engineer, De Lesseps, we were pestered by the usual crowd of divers, hawkers, musicians, all of whom, after a while, kept at a distance away from the Ulysses by the vigilance of the military police. Of course there was no leave, and for the remainder of the day, we were entertained by the appearance, antics and harmonious melodies of the coolies who were coaling the ship. Also, everybody was interested in the French hydro-planes which continued to buzz overhead and to skim along the surface of the water till nightfall. When I retired at 11.30 we were still at anchor.