Guide to the Papers of Lieutenant Graham de Chair (as filmed by the AJCP)
M717
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Created: 2018
Online Items
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 (File 1)
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...
Journal kept by de Chair in 1930 while travelling in South East Asia, China and Japan, 1930 (File 2)
De Chair accompanied his parents and his sister Elaine on their leisurely journey from Australia to England at the end of Sir Dudley de Chair's term as Governor of New South Wales. The journal, which covers the period 8 April to 11 July 1930, describes in considerable detail the first part of the journey. It begins with a short account of de Chair's experience as ADC to the Governor in 1929. It describes the farewells to the Governor in Sydney, the journey by train to Brisbane, the voyage on the Nieuw Holland (Capt. F. Bauer), sightseeing in Macassar, Bali and Jogjakarta, visits to the temples at Borobudur and Prambanan, a reception given by the Sultan of Jogjakarta, meetings with governors and the governor-general of the East Indies, travels in Java, visits to Batavia and Singapore, a tour of the Singapore Naval Base which was then under construction, travels in Indochina, including visits to Saigon, Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh, and their arrival in Hong Kong. The party then travelled on various ships to Shanghai, Tsingtao (Quingdao), Weiheiwei (Weihai) and Peking (Beijing), with visits to the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, before proceeding to Kobe, Tokyo and other cities in Japan. The journal ends at Yokohama, with some reflections on the White Australia Policy...