Albany, Australia

"Farming and Cattle Grazing"

Albany, Australia

September 15, 1908

Dear Papa,

Your letters of July 14^th and 27^th and August 3^rd and August 7^th reached me here at Albany and I was very glad to get them, letter me know that you were both well and enjoying good health.

We received 35 bags of mail today from the Kansas, she staying behind in Melbourne to meet the mail steamer and get the mail from the states.  Have only had time to open two packages of Repositories and was very much surprised to hear about Horace Bender and Schaufle.  You have no idea how things happen and are more noticeable to one when he is away from home.

You need have not fear for me while in foreign ports.  As I have never frequented the low resorts and always travel in company with someone else.

Notice in the paper about the watermelon gimmick presented to his associates.

Suppose you spent most of the summer at Hillcrest.  Next year I want to spend September out among the good old Franklin County mountains, which are not covered with Australian bush and other scrubby trees.

I heard about the Hassler wedding, will send the Hassler’s a letter from Manila or Manilla.  Also about the post office surveying, wrote Carl Satuffer from here and put an Australian stamp on it.

Was greatly surprised to hear about Mr. Smiley.  Sincerely hope he gets better.  Am sending him postals from time-to-time.

I always thing of the direction that home is from me but sometimes it takes me some time to figure out my bearings, as we get twisted around while at anchor in the different ports of the world.

I am writing this in the navigator’s office and the orchestra is playing sweetly on the outside.  Here I am about 12,000 miles away from down in Western Australia at a town named Albany, population 3600.  Was ashore last Saturday.  It is quite modest little village with fine roads and substantially built houses with the average number of saloons, with their bar-maids.

Only special first classmen were allowed to go ashore and all the inhabitants were complementing on the good conduct of our men.  Sent you a post card.  Hope you get all of them as I have an idea that many are taken for the foreign stamps that are upon them.

Albany is built upon the side of a hill. 

At Right: Western Australia Program for the visit of the Fleet

The inhabitants of which are engaged in farming and cattle grazing.  Just east of the town there is a rock about 20 feet high which resembles a bull dogs face very much.  They call it “dog rock”.  There are two harbors to the place, an outer one which is quite large, when we first anchored, and a inner one where we went to coal on account of the outer one being too rough for a collier to come along side of the ship.

We are short of coal on account of all the colliers not showing up, but we hope to make Manila on the coal we have, 1400 tons.  We on the Virginia are economizing in everyway possible only allowed to burn certain lights, officer’s and men only allowed a small amount of water ect.  If we strike no storms, we will make Manila all OK.  Hope we don’t have to go into any fort for coal.

Was up in the chart house doing some drafting for our navigator when the door opened and the Captain came in.  He asked me what part of the country I came from, and on replying Chambersburg, PA, he exclaimed:  “The devil your are!  Said he wondered if I knew the Joshua Sharp, said he was a first cousin of his ect., of course I was right at home and we had a several minute conversation together suppose the navigator was surprised to find that I was well acquainted with the Captain’s relatives.

The weather here is as you know early spring and showers are frequent.  The temperature is quite pleasant ranging from 50 to 64 in 24 hours.

Just came from swimming by hammocks and find that there is a marine (soldier) stationed over the water-cooler so that the men will not drink too much water, and yet in the face of all this they are illuminating the ships the last 3 nights we are here.  Suppose they want to make the bluff that we are not short of coal.

This mail leaves tomorrow presume by Vancouver BC and then to Seattle.

Love to Both,

Fank