Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson GCB - the Governor-General [Sic] of New South Wales, who, as the representative of King Edward, will welcome the Officers of the American Fleet in Sydney

Photographer Underwood and Underwood

Date1908

Object number00046749

NameNewspaper clipping

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall: 57 x 44 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

Great White Fleet

DescriptionThis photograph from a newspaper clipping was published prior to the visit of the American Great White Fleet to Australia during its 1908 world tour. The photograph features the Governor of NSW Admiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson seated with his daughter. His aide-de-camp and secretary stand behind. The caption notes that Rawson will welcome the Officers of the Fleet in Sydney as a representative of King Edward VII and that his daughter would act as hostess (his wife having died).HistoryIn December 1907 United States President Theodore Roosevelt sent a US Atlantic Battle Fleet of 16 battleships on a 14 month goodwill cruise around the world. The fleet was a chance for the Navy to practice seamanship and express America's world power. Roosevelt was also concerned about rising Japanese aggression and their expansionist foreign policy. The cruise would be a political and public relations exercise to build domestic support for more naval construction. Led by the flagship, USS CONNECTICUT, the Great White Fleet as it became known, consisted of 16 battleships painted white, as was the practice of all US Navy ships in times of peace. The ships sailed in four divisions of four ships each. Early in the voyage the order of the ships was altered to allow the best-looking vessels to be at the front of the fleet. The cruise incorporated six continents, 26 countries and 32 ports with 614 officers and 13,504 crew. It consumed 435,000 tons of coal, more than any other naval expedition and was the largest fleet to ever accomplish a circumnavigation of the globe. Australia was not originally on the itinerary route of the Great White Fleet, who only decided to visit after receiving a direct invitation from the Prime Minister Alfred Deakin. One quarter of the Australian population, over one million people, saw the Great White Fleet during its three-week visit to Sydney, Melbourne and Albany. Public holidays were declared and enthusiastic crowds flocked to see the ships and parades. Vast arrays of souvenirs were produced for a population caught up in the euphoria.SignificanceThis press clipping demonstrates the level of interest in the general public relating to the preparations for the arrival of the American Fleet.