Journal kept by de Chair while serving on HMS Laburnam (1927-29), as ADC to the Governor of New South Wales (1929) and while serving on HMS Nelson (1930-31), 1927-1931

Component identifier:

File 1

Content Summary:

The journal commences on 24 October 1927 when de Chair joined HMS Laburnam (Commander F.N. Attwood) at Auckland. The entries mostly record life on the warship, including ship movements, navigational matters, tours of New Zealand and the Pacific islands, naval manoeuvres, rifle practices, formal events such as the King's Birthday celebrations, repairs, disciplinary matters, official visitors to the ship and weather conditions. There are also references to recreational matters, such as sport, fishing, social events and drives in the country. The ship visited Russell, Dunedin, Lyttelton, Picton, Wellington, Napier and other ports in New Zealand. In June-October 1928 it did a tour of the western Pacific visiting Pago Pago, Papeete, Bora Bora, Raratonga, Suva, Nadi and other places. This section of the journal ends on 9 April 1929 when de Chair left New Zealand.

There are many inserts in the journal including sketches by de Chair, photographs, maps, official circulars, timetables, orders, and a typescript account of a tour of tourist resorts in the North Island.

The second section of the journal begins in April 1929 when de Chair arrived in Sydney to take up his duties as ADC to his father, Sir Dudley de Chair, the Governor of New South Wales. The entries tend to be brief and record the daily activities at Government House, including visitors, lunches and dinners, balls, sporting events, concerts, theatrical performances and church services. There are more detailed descriptions of visits to the Riverina (May 1929) and Mount Kosciusko (August 1929), and a tour of the unfinished Sydney Harbour Bridge with the engineer J.J.C. Bradfield. Photographs, maps and programs are inserted in this section and also a few letters from de Chair to his mother written from New Zealand.

The journal resumes on 3 November 1930 when de Chair joined the crew of HMS Nelson, following his return to England in September 1930. It records the daily routine at Portsmouth, a tour of the West Indies and Gibraltar (January-March 1931) and naval exercises at Invergordon, Scapa Flow and Rosyth in Scotland. The journal ends in November 1931.

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