ent House, the usual
reception by the Premier and members of the Government, and official
calls; and the residents of Glenelg decided to hold a ball in their
honour. Great was the excitement, especially amongst the young ladies, at
the prospect of meeting such a large number of naval officers. Previous
to their departure the admiral and officers of the ship gave an official
dinner and an afternoon reception to the chief residents. Then up went
the anchors and away they steamed. Where they were going was not made
known to the public, as far as I know. This unusual event took place
early in 1885.

While the visit lasted the excitement attending it had kept the people's
minds fully occupied, but after the departure of the ships people began
to think what would happen if, instead of coming in a friendly capacity,
the men-of-war had arrived with hostile intentions. To put it very
shortly and to the point, it would have meant practically the surrender
of Adelaide. There were no fortifications at Glenelg. Though the guns on
board the ships had not sufficient range to shell the city itself, the
distance being too great, yet they could in a short time have played
havoc with Glenelg, and it may be doubted whether in those days the
Government and people would have preferred the destruction of Glenelg to
coming to some terms with the enemy. This gave rise to much thought.

Immediately afterwards what became popularly known as "the Russian Scare"
took place in Australia. Our Government instructed the acting Commandant,
Major Jervois, to mobilize our military forces and to take up their war
positions without delay. They further gave instructions to make a final
selection of the site for the construction of the Fort near Glenelg, the
immediate preparation of the plans, and the acquisition of the land
required. A cable was dispatched to our military adviser in London, then
General Harding-Stewart, to place at once on order the armament for the
fort, which it had been decided should consist of two 9.2 and two 6-inch
breech-loading guns, mounted on hydro-pneumatic gun-carriages, the latest
up-to-date ordnance approved of by the home government for coastal
defence purposes throughout the Empire.

The mobilization was duly carried out. A couple of days after the
concentration of the forces had been completed, and the night before the
arrival of our new Commandant, I met with a severe accident. An infantry
camp had been formed at Glenelg