On this occasion he began by hardly daring to allow himself to speak with regard to the gracious message of the Prince of W a l e s . Pie trusted that Mr Chamberlain 'a great statesman
(cheers) - a wise administrator, had made no mistake in
1. D.G. Creighton, 'The Victorians and the Empire', in Canadian Historical R e v i e w , 19, (1938), pp. 138-153. 2. Supplement to British Australasian, 4 October 1900. 3. Review of R eviews, 20 November 1901, p. 414.
thinking him worthy to occupy the post'. He prayed for patience, tact and common sense - and 'above all ... for reasonably good health'. He promised homely virtue, a
strong desire to do what was right, an untiring devotion to duty and an infinite capacity for taking pains, in the
absence of the more brilliant qualities which he regretfully confessed he did not possess - (cries of 'No'). It was a time when 'any man may be proud to take part in the government of the Empire' and though 'khaki talk' was a forbidden
subject for an officer supposedly above politics he risked a reference to the heroic defence of the Elands River post by Australians who 'had kept the flag - the good old flag that
they came all the way from Australia to fight for - flying'. He took special pains to dispel any fears that his long and happy connection with the colony of Victoria might cause him to disregard his duties to the whole community. Finally he referred to the absence of any precedent for him to follow:
there are no well-worn boots for me to put on when I arrive in Australia. It will be my duty to make these boots. I shall try my utmost to make them so that they will fit my own feet tolerably comfortably, and so that it will be possible for my successors in future to wear them with dignity and satisfaction to themselves.1
This 'Grand Federal Banquet' was an occasion of gracious formality and flattering attention for the guest of honour, bolstering his conception of the office as a great Imperial pro-consulate.
Hopetoun left England on the day following his farewell dinner. In the arrangements for the journey to Australia can
be seen some of the early difficulties of the post he was taking up. In particular they revealed that His Excellency needed to tread warily to allay intercolonial jealousy. Lyne had proposed that the Governor-General land in New South
Wales.'*' The senior colony had been forced to recognize
Melbourne as the seat of Government pending erection of a new capital and it was later announced that the opening of the first Parliament would be marked with proper ceremony by the
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presence of the Duke and Duchess of York. Lyne was determined that Sydney should have its share of Imperial pageantry and
contemplated 'great public rejoicings' to welcome the Governor-
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General. At the urging of the Colonial Office he agreed that the welcoming ceremony should be incorporated in an
Inauguration festivity for the Commonwealth. The Governor of New South Wales, Lord Beauchamp, vacated Government House and
1. Agent General for N.S.W. to Secretary of State, 9 July 1900, 'It is the strong desire of my Government that the Governor-General should disembark at Sydney ... prior to landing at Melbourne'. C.O. 201/629/ 22087, folios 120-123. Correspondence between New South
Wales and the Colonial Office can also be found in N .S ,W . Parliamentary Papers,1906, I, pp. 267-283, 'The
Residence of the Governor-General in New South Wales'. 2. See draft telegram 17 September 1900, notifying that the
Queen had approved the proposal in C.O. 418/8/30438, folio 280-286.
3. Beauchamp to Chamberlain, 17 July 1900. C.O. 201/627/ 22390, folio no. obscured, (?59) .
4. Telegram Chamberlain to Beauchamp, 25 July 1900 urging that 'the more important public celebrations should be postponed till establishment'. File 4/1401 'The Governor, March - July 1900', N.S.W. Archives.
returned to England to assist Lyne' s arrangements.'*' In this action lay the seeds of future difficulties over the provision of an offical residence for the principal Representative of the Crown in the Commonwealth.
Careful plans had been made concerning the arrival of the Governor-General in Australian waters. It was arranged that he would land in Fremantle in early December after a short holiday in India. He and Lady Hopetoun would leave the mail vessel for a one day visit to Perth and then embark on the
flagship of the Australian Squadron, the 'Royal Arthur', for conveyance direct to Sydney. The object was to avoid going
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ashore at Adelaide or Melbourne so as not to anticipate the official welcoming ceremony planned by the New South Wales Government.
This petty manoeuvring over where the Hopetouns should first set foot on Australian soil was made even more unseemly by the unfortunate effects upon Their Excellencies' health of their visit to India. Lady Hopetoun was stricken with a
severe attack of malaria and her husband suffered a bout of typhoid fever. Though he began to recover in time to leave Colombo on 25 November, the Countess was too ill to accompany him and the planned visit to Perth had to be cancelled.
1. Beauchamp to Chamberlain, 17 August 1900. C.O. 201/628/ 26929,folio 166.
2. These were the normal ports of call for the mail steamer. New South Wales suggested that a man of war convey
Hopetoun from Albany to Sydney direct. See Agent General N.S.W. to Secretary of State, 18 July 1900 and 20 July 1900 . C.O. 201/629/2319 and 23562, folios 126-132 and 134-138. Hopetoun did not think Sydney would resent his breaking the journey by a trip to Perth. See his letter to Colonial Office, 23 September 1900 . C.O. 418/8/31141, folio 430.
Forbidden by his medical advisers to leave his cabin when he reached Fremantle, the Governor-General was forced to arrange that the 'Royal Arthur' precede the mail steamer to Adelaide before he transhipped. Although he did not land there he received official visitors and spoke briefly to reporters who noted his 'sallow face and bent attitude'.^ From Adelaide the flagship sailed direct to Sydney, landing at Farm Cove on
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