Diary of Alexander Sutherland Mackay, 9 November 1916 - 4 March 1917 - Part 2

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We are all longing to see the
end of this seatrip. It would be
enjoyable on a passenger boat, but
packed like sardines as we are, makes
one long for the end of the voyage
9/10/12 Practically nothing doing simply
loafing about. Getting very warm
11/12/16 The first of the Artillery, a
young fellow named Johnson died &
was buried at 10 am today. We all lined
the decks in marching order. The buria
ceremony was rather long, by the time
we finished we were practically wet
through from the hot uniforms. We
were told today that from the 14^th
inst we must wear our lifebelts all
day long. A submariner guard started
today. For the last three days we
have been passing through shoals of
flying fish. I was surprised how
small they are - little longer than
 

20
your finger.
12/12/16. Raining heavily all this morning
the skylight being open all night, a
lot of kits got wet. My luck was in
mine being near the bottom. We had
physical drill until 11 am. At 2 pm we
fell in for the usual saltwater gargle
& then dismissed to watch semifinals of
Boxing tournament. There were some
exciting goes. This tournament is
lingering on. The heavyweight final
takes place Saturday between Bill Nott
& a Russian named Merrin of the
of Pioneers. There is great enthusiasm over
the final, both sides being confident.
13/12/16. The boat has changed her
course again this morning, now sailing
nearly due West. She only averaged
about 8 knots yesterday. All sorts of
rumours as to the reason some say
the Afric is an front & they dont wish 

21
to catch up. Others say we are
waiting for the boats behind. Goodness
knows the real object. We are supposed
to pick up the guns at Sierra Leone
tomorrow or the day following. We live
in our lifebelts from tomorrow. The
last three nights we have been sailing
with lights out but imagine its
only practise, otherwise they would
insist on the lifebelts being worn.
The sea is that smooth that a canoe
could lev live on it. Another man
died this morning, the funeral will
probably take place about midday. Im
on messroom picket today, its a
soft snap. Im not sorry as the
fetlock I injured playing football
is very sore this morning & I can now
give it a good spell.
14/12/16 The wearing of lifebelts has been
postponed until 16^th inst. The ship is

22
going still at a slow pace, & continually
changing her course. The latest is
that we strike Sierra Leone tomorrow
nobody knows anything definite. I also
heard that we had been in touch
by wireless with a British Warship
ahead. Both the Warship & this boat
had been trying to call Sierra Leone
neither were successful. The tucker
aboard is nothing to skite about
of late. Things were brought to a
climax yesterday by a crowd of the
infantry passing their dishes of rabbit
over the side; amidst the general cheers, & tho
one of the buglers also sounded the last
post. The result was that rabbit has
now been cut off the menu. Some
kind of fish, probably shark, & some
tinned figs also shared the same fate.
The men ha are determined to taboo
these items, so they will have to 

23
produce fresh lines from the
cold storage or look for trouble.
I mentioned yesterday that a man
died, this was evidently only a rumour.
I hear they have a bad case in the
hospital, but he is still alive today
15/12/16. We arrived at Freetown, the
capital of Sierra Leone this morning &
found five other troopships & two
man-o-war. It appears one troopship
was chased back. We we told that
no oders orders for the ship had yet been
received & that we might be here a
month or only a few hours. The men
off one of the ships told us they had
been here three weeks, so evidently
there is some unforeseen danger ahead.
The heads are evidently preparing for
a long hangup, as they today cut off
all fresh water although they admit
we have a months supply aboard.

24
At present we can't even get a
drink. This place is called the
white man's grave so they wont
take water on for fear of fever.
Freetown has a large harbour, in
addition to the man-o-war & troopships
there are about nine cargo boats. We
are all anchored up. The town itself
is surrounded by lar mountains &
built right on the waters edge. It
must be a frightfully hot place in
Summer: The buildings are all of
the old style & look anything but cool
The private dwellings, from the boat
appear very low & flat. On the
mountains we see several forts
& on one a group of tents, evidently
a military camp. The suburbs look
rather attractive, covered with palms.
Low huts occupy most of these.
The canoes of the niggers are a sight 

25
They look as if they are simply large
bamboos scraped out. The niggers
are naked & there is only just room
for one in a canoe. With a short
spade like paddle, its marvellous how
expert the niggers are. They came
out this morning, most of them with
fruit lying in the canoe. The skipper
warned us not to eat the fruit &
hunted the niggers away. Now he
has changed his mind, but we
can't make the niggers understand
they wont come near us. The boat
lying alongside of us is the
Border (I think they said) full of
Queenslanders direct from Brisbane.
I wish I could get aboard, I suppose
I would meet a number of old friends
16/12/16. We are still anchored out in
midstream nothing definite can be
ascertained re going ashore. The men

26
are all growling when they see crowds
from the other boats going ashore. Some
of the men however disgust ^you, they’re
continually growling, as if the Benalla
was the only boat putting up with
some inconveniences. No doubt the
other boats experience the same
troubles. The following troopships
are now here – Bordar, Argyleshire,
Marathon, Port Nicholson, Suevic, Afric
Port Lincoln with a broken propeller, &
Benalla (our ship). There are also
Cruisers - Kent & Highflyer & an
auxiliary cruiser. There are also
several cargo boats & a Greek prize.
The Port Lincoln men are being
divided up amongst the other boats,
we took 60 aboard this morning, all
Victorians. The niggers are now
flocking around the boats with fruits,
but the men give them a hot time 

27
pelting them with spuds. The
O/C has just informed us, that
if we are here long enough, we
may get ashore. Other boats arriving
previous to this boat, have yet to
take their turn. They are taking men
ashore in small lighters towed by
a bold dilapidated looking launch.
We heard that Germany has sued
for peace, but on impossible
conditions: Probably that is only some
of her bluff to inflain influence
neutral countries. We are now in
our sixth week since leaving Sydney
& have heard no reliable War news.
Our only ports of call have been
Durban, Capetown & this place
17/12/16. A meeting occurred last night
the 36^th 37^th & 38^th Battalions situated
forward marched up to the Officers Quarters
& gave hoots for the Captain of the Ship,
 

28
Colonel, Adjutant & the Officers & also
started pelting spuds. One man
was arrested, but the crowd demanded
his release. There was only one thing
for it, the Colonel had to hand
the man back. The Officers used
their blocks, as all communication
with the after part of the ship was
blocked. The result being that down
this end, nobody knew anything about
it until the trouble was over. Anyhow
today half the men are to go ashore
the other half Tuesday. The cutting off
of drinking water for the men, practically
started the riot, the men informed the
Colonel they wouldn't stand it whilst
the Officers had sufficient to bath in.
The food issued of late didn't tend
to mend matters. I’m afraid now the
men have won, it will lead to
further trouble. The Officers will 

29
undoubtedly have to be careful. They
were all told so last night, I believe,
in pretty plain & livid language.
17/12/16. W Half the men aboard went
ashore to Freetown today, I was one of
them. Naturally it was a novel sight
for us. It h being Sunday all the shops
were closed but we wandered round
& managed to put in the day. We
only saw four whites, two of whom
were missionaries. The whole of the
town is run by blacks, even the
Treasury & Customs. Churches abound
galore & to see the variety of clothes
war worn was interesting. The little
boy & girls to about six years, I suppose
run about naked, then the variety
starts, you strike men & women with
only loin cloths on, then a man with
a long flowing shirt, or a woman with
a long wrapper, these ^(the clothes) being of every

30
colour of the rainbow, then a man
togged up in a nice black serge or
white duck suit, starch colour collar
boater hat & flash boots ^&walking stick just as if
they were off the yacht. Some women
were all also arrayed in nice linen
or black silk dresses, good stockings &
shoes. Really some of the men & women
as far as dress was concerned, might
have lobbed from Queen St, really
good taste. We went ashore in short
pants & were warned to wear two shirts
to protect us from the sun. Mind you
this is Winter here. In spite of this,
we saw kids with hardly a hair on
their heads knocking about hatless
in the boiling sun. It was marvellous
to see the weights the women carrying
on their heads, they walk along with
a kind of dish bearing heaps of washing
or other articles, balanced on their top pieces 

31
Ill swear we couldn't go two yards
unless we have hung on to the dishes.
I might mention that the niggers
appr wash clothing, by thoroughly soaking
the article & then folding it up & belting
it on slaps of stone. The women carry
their babes strapped on their back
by a kind of scarf, one little leg
either side of the mothers' body. We
saw little girls saddled with babes
in this manner. We saw no means
of conveyance, with the exception of
a hammock swing from a wooden
roof, each corner of which rests on
the head of a nigger. Evidently the
richer native enjoys this, it was
amusing to see some fat negress
togged up to the nines, sitting
sideways on at hammock being conveyed
to Church. We looked in t at a
couple of churches & got surprises to
 

32
listen to the singing. It was fairly
good. The majority of the blacks are
Kroomen & a awful takedowns. I got
a kid to guide us round & entering
some shop asked the price of some
silk handkerchiefs we saw, 8/- was
the answer. Needless to say we
knew the blacks rep & in about
two shakes, we were offered them at 2/-.
It was the same all through, cut down
300 per cent every time. We could
not get a meal ashore so we lived
on fruit - oranges bananas & plantains.
The buildings are a very poor class,
with the exception of the Works Dept
a couple of churches & the Governors
residence. Only one pub reigns.
The white population only numbers
about 250 but the blacks are thick,
God knows what number there are.
Another item of interest was a nigger 

33
working weaving cloth, with a
peculiar sef self made appliance. I
really couldn't explain the process but
know one of our fellows tried to work
the appliance & immediately broke the
thread. They have a nice little
park & some nice trees (chiefly cotton trees)
in the streets or I should say lanes, but
taking it all through, its rather a
stinking shop. The niggers all talk
English, but its hard to make them
understand at times. Goodness knows
how they all exist, I tried to find out
the staple industry, but the nigger
could not give much satisfaction. They
only get a mail once a month in
the ordinary course of events, so no doubt
the present is a bean feast for them.
Saw a few cattle, they appeared to
be xxxxxx a small specie of the Jersey
breed. Their sheep look like hybrids
 

34
being half sheep & half goat. They are
covered in hair no wool so probably
are only bred for meat. They mostly
have white body with black necks &
head, all police.
18/12/16. Still hung up in this place
the heat today was something awful
everybody was lolling about with hardly
any clothes on. If this ^is Winter, I’ve no wish
to experience Summer. I never felt it
more in Townsville. We are still hearing
all sorts of rumours - Athens in ruins,
& Greece throwing in the sponge. Spain
at War & a big fight with the British,
& Spanish fleets & so on. I really believe
the two German raiders near the Canary
Islands have been captured, so that we
may get a move on anytime. The sister
boat to our ship the Borda had a
narrow escape. She was about a thousand
miles from here, when she got a wireless 

35
one night th telling Sea her the position
of one raider. It appears they were
within a few miles of her so they
immediately turned tail & bolted back
here. They seem to think if they had
stayed until daylight, it would have,
been all up. We have been supplying
her with provisions today. The other
half of our men go ashore tomorrow.
Nobody will regret to hear the anchor
rattling aboard & see the last of this place.
Ive been on messroom picket today from
11 am to 1 pm & 5 pm until 7 pm.
Some of the finals in the Boxing tournament
take place tonight, Bill Nott
was to fight, but this morning went
into hospital with the mumps. I suppose
he will now be kept in isolation for
three weeks. Hard luck for him; Im
afraid the mumps are spreading, 7
of our men went in this morning

36
The Doctors appear to have the
meningitis beaten at last, no fresh
cases have ocu occurred of late.
19/12/16. The other half of the men did
not get ashore today as anticipated, &
needless to say there was a good deal
of growling. We were informed we
would be sailing at 10 am but
its 8 pm now & no sign of a shift.
The latest is that we leave at 6 am
in the morning. Only loafing about
& watching niggers selling fruit, all day.
20/12/16. Left at 6 am this morning, to
the joy of all aboard. The heat has
been suffocating, we may strike a
bit of a breeze at sea, An Auxiliary
cruiser went first followed by a
troopship, we are second, it looks
as if two or three of the others are
preparing to follow us. Both warships
are evidently remaining behind.
 

37
Dack Dakkar Dakar is rumoured as the
next port, we have no guns aboard
yet. I suppose we will have to
don lifebelts today & live in them
until our arrival? All the mumps cases
have been turned loose, they had no
room for sickness. Another man was
buried at 2 pm today, pneumonia was
the cause of his death. There are
five transports now lead in a direct
line the City of Sparta with black
troops leading away. About half way
up the line on the port side is the
Auxiliary cruiser the Oratavo. I hear
now that we pick up guns at Dakar
arriving Friday morning. We are to
wait there for the three troopships
left behind at Sierra Leone. Struck
Cooks Fatigue today, first time since
leaving. I was rather dreading this
duty but so far its not nearly as
 

38
bad as painted
21/12/16. The five troopships are running
along at a fairly slow pace on a sea
as smooth as glass. You could see a
periscope a long distance away in this
weather. During the night, the boats
closed up & considerably shortened their
line. They have continued so all day
At lunch time we sighted a four
funnelled warship coming over the
horizon towards us for all she was
worth. The auxialary cruiser, convoying
on us, opened ou out from us a good
distance. We saw signals flying
on her & then the warship put about.
The cruiser has remained her
increased distance ever since. Evidently
some Warships, we know nothing about
are accompanying us also. No smoking
or lights allowed on deck after sunset.
They say we will reach Dakaar tomorrow.