Foreign News: Sweet-Escott v. Von Spee

Governor of the idyllic Fiji Isles from 1912 until 1918 was Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott. "Toward the end of 1914," said he in England last fortnight, "I received a message that Von Spee's squadron was heading toward the Fijis and was only a day's voyage away.

"I knew that any wireless message sent from Fiji would be intercepted by the German warships, so I gave instructions for the following words to be wirelessed in English to H. M. S. Australia, flagship of the Australian fleet: THANKS FOR MESSAGE. SHALL EXPECT YOU EARLY TOMORROW....

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