auxiliary

There's something about that downpipe that make me think that this might be the building. Streetview 25"OSI That could well have been the highest Lewis machine gun in Ireland on that day.

THE MEELIN AFFRAY. An authoritative account of the Meelin affray, superseding the earlier official message, says the Sinn Fein attackers opened fire on the military patrol. using a machine gun mounted on a crest of a hill dominating the road. The range was 300 yards. The police and military took cover and replied. The fight continued for two hours, until reinforcements appeared, when the Sinn Feiners fled. The soldiers, when subsequently occupying the hilltop, found blood there, indicating that some of the Sinn Feiners had been wounded. The military arrested six men at Meelin, including a youth, who ran away when challenged and was shot in the stomach. Gen. Strickland has given orders that five houses near the Meelin road, from which premises shots were fired at the military and police party, are to be destroyed.

From trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/55151458 (7/1/1921), which implies the reprisals happened a month later ?

I've a feelin' that the photos of Meelin in the NLI catalogue are not too reliable with the dates - catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000218124 - 7/12/1921 (!) catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000218266 - 20/1/1921 catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000279878 - n.d. 1921 (amazing photo)

beachcomber australia I think you're right about the dates. The attrocities happened soon after the IRA attacks on the 4th January. The woman in your last photo may be the daughter of the widow, Mrs M Browne..... see page 2 of this Bureau of Military History Witness Statement. www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0785.pdf "The place was such after these reprisals that Madam Gonne McBride and several other members of the White Cross arrived on the scene a few days after and photos of the burning appeared on the Press later " I wonder are these the same photographs Maud Gonne saw in the press? .

In the modern age of internet and social media suppression like this can't be carried out without the world getting to know about it almost instantaneously.

The ship has an interesting story. A german passenger liner, converted at the German naval base in Tsingtao to an armed auxiliary cruiser, made 11 "kills" of Allied ships. Then she surrendered in March, 1915 to the then-neutral U.S. When America entered the war, she was seized and converted to a U.S. Navy ship, the U.S.S. De Kalb. More at: navalwarfare.blogspot.com/2012/04/german-auxiliary-cruise...

I think we have a date 5/9/91 - 5th September 1891 - it was a Saturday. And thanks to Trove, it was the Arrival of the (first?) Australian Auxiliary Fleet. Seven ships - KATOOMBA, TAURANGA, and WALLAROO in one line, and RINGAROOMA, MILDURA, BOOMERANG, and KARRAKATTA in another line. Very full details SMH 7/9/1891 p.8 (other relevant articles also on same page) - trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13837805

Background history to "Australia's First Fleet", ship details and crew names, enough for any maritime historian - SMH 5/9/1891 - trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13837652

beachcomber australia Wow thanks Beachcomber! Didn't realise it was 'Australia's First Fleet' - what an important moment in our history :) Very happy to have identifited the occasion.

Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons It's a bit strange. This occasion was of great importance at the time (1891) to Australia and NSW, but seems to be forgotten now. Probably more related photos will turn up now that we are conscious of the event.

beachcomber australia Hopefully! Will see if we can find anymore possibilities in our collection...