THE AUSTRALIA STATION - A History of the Royal Navy in the South West Pacific, 1821-1913 by Bach, John

University of New South Wales Press, Sydney: Kensington, 1986. first Australian edition, hard bound in dust jacket, 7 1/2 x 10, fine/fine condition, XII, 260 PAGES, illus, maps, appendices, bibliog., index.------------------------ The influence of the Royal Navy on our early colonial history is everywhere evident. As representatives of the world's greatest Imperial and maritime power, the commanders of the Navy's ships in the southwest Pacific exercised their authority with a confidence later generations can but envy and admire.For almost a century, from the decision in 1821 to detach annually a ship from the East Indies command for service in Australian waters to the arrival in 1913 of the new Australian navy, the Royal Navy filled a variety of roles, from island policeman to agent of British foreign policy. Dr Bach examines these activities not only from the broad perspective of the often tense and sometimes hostile relationship between colonial and Imperial authorities, but also from that of the defence of the colonies and the later Commonwealth.----------------------------------------------------- This book also raises the controversial question of the debt Australian society owes to the Royal Navy, a debt which the author suggests has social as well as political dimensions.Dr Bach has drawn on a wide range of contemporary sources to present a thoughtful and absorbing history, told from the viewpoint of Imperial officers seeking to discharge their responsibilities to the best of their ability while obeying orders that were often conflicting, frequently imprecise and even evasive, and always reflecting their origin half-a-world away amid competing Imperial departments.