Mackenzie Gregory: Centenary of Great White Fleet visit to Melbourne

10 August 2008

In 1908, the U.S. White Fleet was sent by President Teddy Roosevelt to the Pacific Ocean to demonstrate U.S. strength. En route from the Atlantic, via Cape Horn, the fleet was invited to visit Australia by the Prime Minister Alfred Deakin. The fleet visited Sydney, Melbourne and Albany. The talk will cover the visit of the Great White Fleet to Melbourne, in the context of the development of the Victorian Navy, prior to, and just after Federation.