Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 53
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[Page 53]
While the Sydney had been busy at Cocos the Convoy in charge of the Melbourne had been steadily pushing on towards Colombo where it was due on the morning of the sixteenth.
The Sydney hurried in at 18 knots to rejoin and Captain Gordon Smith signalled the request that she should pass through the convoy in daytime to enable the ships to make a demonstration but out of respect for the many maimed and wounded enemies on board and the our defeated prisoners Captain Glossop asked that there should be no cheering and the Sydney slipped through the transports before the dawn of the sixteenth and made Colombo just after breakfast.
The New Zealanders having the faster ships had already arrived and in spite of orders they were unable to the soldiers climbed the rigging and cheered madly. The Germans, seeing our troops for the first time remarked "Poor wretches they will soon be all killed, they will never stand up to our Prussians"; and these were the men who afterwards became the famous Anzacs!
Colombo Harbour seemed full of ships though we were told that forty had gone to sea as soon as the news of the Emden's destruction was received. The breakwater and foreshores were crowded with people; all Colombo and half the population of Ceylon seemed to have congregated to do honour to the ships, which had been lucky enough to rid them of the German. pest which had held up their trade and destroyed as much of their shipping
At the back of the Sydney came the Ibuiki and the Australian divers of the convoy, some thirty ships and as ship after ship all each crowded with khaki clad men came up quietly and dropped anchor inside the breakwater the amazement of the Germans was amusing to see. They had simply no conception that so colossal an armada