11 September 1914
At the outbreak of war in August 1914, the first task of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was to seize or neutralise German territories in the Pacific. These territories represented a formidable network capable of providing intelligence and logistic support to the Imperial German Navy’s East Asia Squadron, based in Tsingtao (Qingdao), China.
On 30 August, HMA Ships Australia and Melbourne, with Royal Navy ships and a French cruiser, escorted 1,400 New Zealand troops to occupy German Samoa. Faced with this force, the colony surrendered without a fight.
In September, Melbourne steamed to the German wireless station on Nauru and landed 25 personnel. They likewise captured the territory without opposition. Closer to home, Australia sought to seize German wireless stations in New Guinea and New Britain.
During August, Australian authorities had raised a volunteer force, the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF). They were a battalion of 500 naval reservists and time-expired Royal Navy sailors, and a battalion of 1,000 infantry.
On 7 September, this force sailed for Rabaul, New Britain, aboard the transport Berrima. They were escorted by:
- HMAS Australia
- HMAS Sydney
- HMAS Encounter
- HMAS Parramatta
- HMAS Warrego
- HMAS Yarra
- the submarines AE1 and AE2
- a store-ship
- three colliers.
Parties of naval reservists landed at dawn on 11 September and seized the inland station at Bita Paka. After which, Australian naval parties fought several skirmishes with German forces. During the fighting that morning, Able Seaman Billy Williams was struck by bullets and wounded, dying in the afternoon. One of the ANMEF doctors, Captain Brian Pockley, also died of wounds sustained during the morning’s fighting. These two men were the first Australian fatalities of the Great War.
Sailors led by Lieutenant Thomas Bond RANR fought the final actions of the day, leading to the German forces’ surrender. For his efforts, Bond was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He became the first Australian decorated during the First World War.
The Germans lost one German and about 30 Melanesian troops, while 6 Australians died in the fighting. These were the first Australian battle deaths of the First World War.
The following day, the Australians secured Herbertshöhe (now Kokopo) and Rabaul without opposition. It was following a bombardment by HMAS Encounter. The remaining German forces in the field subsequently surrendered. Within a few weeks, Australian and allied forces had occupied most of the other German territories in the area without further opposition.
The disappearance of AE1 on 14 September marred the success of the operation. The submarine was lost while patrolling between New Britain and New Ireland, with the loss of all 35 crew – the first RAN unit lost in wartime. Extensive searches failed to find the vessel. Researchers only discovered its final resting place, off the Duke of York Islands, in 2017.