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General lan Hamilton
(BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.)
DUNTROON MIITARY COLLEGE has
had the honor of being visited by many
distinguished personages, but surely
none were so much appreciated as
General Sir Ian Hamilton, a soldier
with much war service. In the Boer
war he did brilliant work in com
mand of the infantry at Elandslnagte
and in commanding the troops on
Waggon Hill and Caeser's Camp -
afterwards becoming Chief of Staff
in South Africa. He was present at
much of the fighting in the Japanese
War, 1904-5; was Conimander-in
Chief, Southern Command, 1905-9 ;
Adjutant General to the forces, and is
now Commander-in-Chief in the Medi
teranean and Inspector-General of the
over-sea forces. No wonder then
that Monday was a red letter day in
the history of the Royal Military
College. The General was met at
the Queanbeyan Railway Station by
Adjutant James on behalf of General
Bridges, Commandant. On arrival
at the College, after covering the
Duntroon road under the most ex
hilarating surroundings of a crisp
morning air and the fine picturesque
view of the Duntroon Estate, now
covered with a mantle of beautiful
green, relieved by the sombre back
ground of the Australian Alps-the
General was introduced to the College
Staff at the Officers' Mess. The
Ceremonial Parade of Cadets took
place at 10.30. At this juncture
a fair number of visitors were present
from Queanbeyan, including Rev.
Father Hogan, Messrs. J. Cunning
ham, A. F. and Arthur Campbell
(Woden), and John Gale, The
Administrator, Col. D. Miller and
Rev. F. G. Ward, from Canberra.
The parade was keenly watched, and
General Hamilton subsequently ex
pressed his satisfaction to General
Bridges and officers in charge. The
inspection of the various connections
of the College occupied over an hour.
Each cadet, who was at attention in
their respective rooms, was person
ally spoken to by the General, and it
is safe to say each expressed their
satisfaction with their treatment and
surroundings. Space will not per
mit to give the details of this inspec
tion, but following such, one is able
to understand what successive go
vernments have done to bring the
Australian College up to date. Aus
tralia should be proud of the Institu
tion, and in time to come, when
Australia is more aware of the po
tentialities of the College, then will
it appear to our people what work
our College and its excellent officers
and professors are doing to bring our
coming officers into line with the
equals of West Point or of Sandhurst.
Perhaps one of the best, at any rate
one of the most interesting events of
the day, was the physical training
exercises by 100 cadets of the 1st
2nd and 3rd classes. The evolutions
were admirably performed, the time,
precision and finish being excellent.
After lunch, General Hamilton was
the principal speaker at the presenta
tion of prizes. This function took
place in the newly erected gymnasium,
where a large audience had assembled,
including the cadets and their officers.
General Bridges Commandant occu
pied the chair and prefaced his re
marks with a reference of the visit
of General Hamilton, an honor which
they all appreciated. (Applause).
General Bridges referred to the
growth of the College, and its past.
3 years' history. At the conclusion
of his address, he invited the visiting
officer to unveil an oil painting of the
Duke of Connaught, which had been
draped with the Union Jack. Gen
eral Hamilton, on rising, was given
an ovation, removing the time hon
ored flag, he said, It was honor to be
asked to unveil the portrait of such a
distinguished member of the army.
He alluded in graceful terms to the
several high qualities of the Duke.
Following General Hamilton addres
sed his remarks chiefly to the cadets,
or as he termed them the future of-
ficers of the Australian Army. He
alluded to the necessity of obedience
to orders, the one essential to good
officership. He said the opportuni
ties and privileges of to-day were not
at his behest when he first joined the
army. He wished they were. Cer
tainly at Duntroon they were in ex
cellent quarters, and should be able
to give a good account of themselves
in the near future. He would say
that he wished the Australian Col
lege every success and he felt sure
what he had seen to-day, it was des-
tined to play no small part in the
annals of Australian Military his
tory. The General's address was at
tentively listened to, and he was
loudly applauded at its conclusion.
The presentationi of prizes, which
were valuable and useful, then took
place. The following were the re
cipients:--Prize winners, 1913, ag
pregate civil subjects, 4th class,
Lance Corporal F. H. Berryman,
5523 marks. Aggregate civil sub
jects, 3rd class, Corporal L. W. H.
Anderson, 5245 marks. Chemistry.
Corporal E. A. Wilton, 512 marks.
English, Corporal T. Elliot, 1o02
marks. French. Lance Corporal
Oopie, 344 marks. German, Cor
poral L. W. H. Anderson, 324 marks,
and Lance Corporal Oopie 323 marks.
2nd classes, 1912 and I913 marks
conibined :-Mathematics and astron
omy, Corporal N. E. .Biden, 2128
marks. Physics, Corporal N. E.
Biden, r43I marks. Drawing, Cor
poral N. E. Biden, 949 marks. 'I'he
General and Staff then made an in
spection of the stables and riding
school. The cadets gave an exhibi
tion of riding exercises. and the
General expressed his satisfaction to
General Bridges and Lieutenant
Schappere at the work done. The
day concluded with a motor trip to
the Federal Capital Site and Admin
istrative offices, Colonel Miller ex
plaining the various points of inter
est and future importance. To-day
an inspection took place of artillery
driving and manoeuvre, nuanual
squad antd company drill, musketry
on parade ground, light horse drill,
military engineering, etc. After
lunch General Hamilton and Staff
proceeded to Goulburn by motor.
g" Advanco subscriptions for the current
quarter are now due.
$