The Navy Vol_22_Part2 1960 - Navy League of Australia

AUSTRALIA'S DEBT TO THE ROYALNAVY HYDROGRAPHICSURVEYORSBy OEOFFKET C. IWGLETON(Author, "Charting aContinent")HK first hydrographic surveyorfrom the Royal NavyTto work in Australian waterswas Lieutenant James Cook,who discovered the easterncoastline in 1770 and conducteda running survey of it in H.M.Barque. ENDEAVOUR.None of Cook's work, excepthis nomenclature, has survivedon the Admiralty charts today.In spite of great care topreserve this nomenclature,mistakes have occurred: for example:Cape Moreton was calledMorton by Cook after theEarl of Morton. On Flinders'charts an "e" was added tothe name and the mistake hasexisted ever since.Cook was a hydrographicBurveyor of long experiencewhen he reached Australia, butmany of his immediate successorsin Australian waters werenaval officers with a great zealfor discovery, but without theessential training in hydrographicsurveying. The most notedof these was Matthew Flinders,whose exalted reputationdepends mainly on his voyagein H.M.S. INVESTIGATOR,1802-1803.Only a small portion of Flinders'work survives on the Admiraltychart to-day andconsists of some isolated linesof soundings in out-of-the-waywaters, especially the Gulf ofCarpentaria. Flinders' name,however, is kept before thepublic by the extraordinarynumber of place-names whichwere named in his honour orafter members of his family.For some strange reason,almost every year, someone inAustralia is inspired to namesomething after Matthew Flinders.The latest proposal is toname the new inner harbour atPort Kembla. the MatthewFlinders Harbour.In 1814. following the publicationof Hinders' "A Voyageto Terra Australia." theAdmiralty issued a series ofcharts from Cape Lecuwin toPort Curtis, skilfully compiledand beautifully engraved byAaron Arrowsmith. and basedlargely on Flinders' surveys.Aaron Arrowsmith was a notedcartographer, whose contributionto the charting of thePacific has never been fullyrecognised in Australia.An Australian, LieutenantPhillip Parker King, R.N., wasthe next hydrographic surveyorto survey in Australian waters.His work was the most outstandingby the pioneers, andmuch of it still survives on theAdmiralty charts, especially onthe north-west coast of Australia.King also conducted anoteworthy survey along thecoast of Chile, much of it inthe region of the recent seriesof earthquakes.Following that arduous survey.King returned to Australiato occupy in his privatecapacity, the position ofauthority on hydrographic mattersin Australia. His advicewas sought constantly, andsome of his work was publishedlocally in Sydney. He died,a Rear-Admiral, in 1856.The voyages of CaptainFrancis Blackwood. R.N., inH.M.S. FLY, Captain JohnLort Stokes, R.X., in H.M.S.BEAGLE. Captain Owen Stanley.R..Y. in H.M.S. RATTLE-SNAKE, anil Lieutenant C. I!.Yule. R.X.. in H.M. cutterBRAMBLE, all provided essentialdata, much of it exploratorysurveys, which addedgreatly to the hydrographicknowledge of these waters.Most interesting narratives ofthe voyage were written by theofficers ami published iu London,in the decade before 1850.Following the discovery ofgold in Australia. Captain H.M. Denham, R.N.. arrived inH.M.S. HERALD, and proceededto conduct a series of surveys.from 1853 to 1861, inmany parts of Australia andthe South-west Pacific. Thesesurveys can be considered thebeginning of scientific hydrographicsurveys in Australianwaters, and much of it surviveson the charts to-day. WithDenham were a number ofyoung naval officers, who receivedan excellent training inhydrographic surveying. Manyof them returned to Australiato conduct surveys for thevarious colonies.Denham was instrumental informing agreements betweenthe Admiralty and the AustralianColonies to carry out thehydrographic survey of eachcolony's coastline, the expenseof which to be shared by theAdmiralty and the colony concerned.These important surveyscommenced in the early1860s. and continued until the1880s. The Admiralty chartsbased on these surveys wereused by mariners until the presentday. and it is only recentlyChina's Sub Fleet GrowsChina is steadily acquiringwarships and submarines,mainly from Russia. About 22submarines were reported recentlyto be under the ChineseCommunist flag. They havealso acquired warships fromJapan and even from theUnited States.ROYAL NAVY SURVEYORSARE BUSY, TOO!that they are gradually beingre-surveyed by the Royal AustralianNavy Surveying Service.From the 1880s until the beginningof World War I theRoyal Navy maintained at least The giant tankers now using the English Channel areone, and for much of the timethree, surveying ships in Australianwaters. The names of wrecks of ships of two World Wars.making the Royal Navy, take a second "look" at the seabedthe surveving ships. LARK,DART. PALUMA. MYRMI-DON, FLYING FISH, EGE- ECAUSE of the increasing using modern echo soundingB1A, RAMBLER. PENGUIN, B draughts of these large vessels,it is necessary thatequipment.WATERWITCH. FANTOME,and SEALARK. arc wellknownto mariners, largely be-pinpointed on marine charts wrecks, whose positions andpossible obstructions should be There are some fifty to sixtycause they feature in the titles and the safety margin of water depths may have changed,of Admiralty charts and often over them re-examined. A start within the limits in which thebecause their name is attached was made in March in the SCOTT is being employed. Herto some notorious underwater Channel between Dover and task is likely to take somedanger. The work carried out Dungeness by H.M.S. SCOTT, three months. The latest asdicin these vessels was, indeed, a a survey ship, commanded by will ensure that the wrecks arenotable contribution to Australia'shydrographic story. D.E.P.D. Scott, R.N.miralty charts, which arc usedLieutenant - Commander accurately fixed on future Ad-One officer, who served for aby every maritime nation. Byvery long period in AustraliaOropesa and drift sweeping,in these ships, is worthy of After the last war, Naval the clearance above them willmention, an Australian. V. C. survey ships checked wrecks be measured and possible risksC. Pasco. He commenced hisaround the coast and those into shipping reported.hydrographic surveys in Australiain 1889 as a Lieutenantimportant channels and likelyto be a danger were afterwardsin H.M.S. PALUMA. He finishedthem as a Captain in ance of at least 45 feet at low been determined by survey ves-depth-charged to give a clear-After their positions hadH.M.S. FANTOME in 1910. Hewater by trawlers of the R.N. sels. hundreds of wrecks werethen became Assistant Hydrographer.but disliking officeWreck Dispersal Fleet, which tackled by the Wreck DispersalFleet after the war andwas disbanded in 1958.work, he declined the opportunityof becoming Hydro-effectively "buried" or brokenup. Since 1958, Naval responsibilityfor the dispersal of dan-It is now considered, however,that there should be atgrapher. Unfortunately, thisAustralian officer of experiencegerous wrecks has been takenleast sixty feet over these over in the majority of casesin hydrographic surveying was wrecks in view of the size ofnot available when the AustralianCommonwealth Naval years, and their whereaboutsby Trinity House.the tankers built in TecentBoard commenced its own SurveyingService in 1921. fic equipment now available Royal Navy will also havefixed accurately by the scienti-Other survey ships of thefor this purpose.tasks this summer in the samepart of the Channel. The EastCoast of England Survey Unit,including the inshore surveycraft ECHO, commanded byH.M.S. SCOTT, based onDover, is working in a busyarea stretching south-westwardsfrom the North Goodwinslightship to a point some12 miles south of Dungenesslight and including the Varneshoal. The work being undertakenby the ship is the firstsystematic survey of the areaLieutenant-Commander RichardGreen. R.N., is going backto the Goodwins to finish workstarted there last snmmer.Operating out of Ramsgate,they will be concentrating onreported sand encroachmentinto the Gulf Stream.10 THE NAVYJIIIW,twoII