A ship from the Australian Navy. Photo / AP
On October 4, 1913 the new battlecruiser HMAS Australia steamed out of the mist into Sydney Harbour, in company with the cruisers Melbourne and Encounter and three destroyers.
For the first time, the Australian Navy was showing its muscle to mark the arrival of its newest ship, cheered by hundreds
of thousands of Sydneysiders, in a naval review that sparked a fervent bout of nationalism.
Yesterday, the crowds were out again as 16 tall ships, including the Spirit of New Zealand, sailed into Sydney for this weekend's international fleet review. This morning the 21st century seapower arrived from Jervis Bay on the New South Wales coast, where dozens of ships from 17 nations had earlier assembled.
They range from Tongan and Melanesian patrol boats to frigates, destroyers, guided missile cruisers and support ships from navies as distant as Nigeria, China, France, Spain, Britain, Japan and Southeast Asia.
In the fleet is the New Zealand frigate Te Mana, on its way to a four-month deployment to anti-piracy patrols in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
