William Rooke Creswell
Encyclopedia
Vice Admiral
Sir William Rooke Creswell KCMG
, KBE
(20 July 1852 – 20 April 1933) was an Australia
n naval officer, commonly considered to be the 'father' of the Royal Australian Navy
.
, son of Edmund Creswell (head of the postal service at Gibraltar and for the Mediterranean), and Margaret Mary Ward, née Fraser. He was educated at Gibraltar and Eastman's Academy, Southsea
.
, Creswell was promoted to midshipman
in 1867 and on 20 October 1871 became a sub-lieutenant
.
Having already served in the Channel Fleet
, Creswell was transferred to the China Station
. In 1873 he was shot in the hip during a skirmish with pirates off Malaya
but remained at his post. His bravery won him promotion to lieutenant
but his wound meant returning to England to recuperate. Creswell's next seagoing appointment, to the East India Station
, was followed by a period in Zanzibar
, where he commanded a flotilla involved in suppressing the slave trade. Illness, however, again forced his return to England.
Creswell retired from the Royal Navy
in 1878 and, seeking to become a pastoralist, he emigrated to Australia
in 1879. A stint in the Northern Territory
, however, convinced Creswell that he was ill-suited to outback life. During a visit to Adelaide
in 1885 he met a former naval colleague and was convinced to take up an appointment as First Lieutenant
on South Australia's only naval vessel, HMCS Protector
, a posting he very much enjoyed.
Creswell soon began agitating for the establishment of an Australian naval force to supplement the Royal Navy squadron based in Sydney
. In mid-1895 he reached the rank of captain
; by 1899 he was arguing strongly for an Australian navy. On 1 May 1900 he was appointed Commandant of the Queensland
naval forces but was soon released to command Protector on its deployment to China to assist in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion
.
After Federation
, Creswell's lobbying for an Australian navy gained momentum. He was regarded by many as Australia's chief spokesman on naval matters, hence his appointment in February 1904 to the new position of Naval Officer Commanding the Commonwealth Naval Forces. He had retained his position in Queensland and accepted the role of Naval Commandant in Victoria
but his energies were primarily focused on the national navy.
Alarmed at Germany
's growing naval might by 1909, Australia's admiralty sought to dramatically increase Australia's naval strength. In company with Colonel Justin F. G. Foxton
, Creswell attended the Imperial Conference, which resulted in the Naval Defence Act of 1910 being passed which created the Australian navy. In 1911 Creswell was promoted to rear admiral
in the service of the Royal Australian Navy.
The fact that Australia's navy was ready for service when the World War I
began was largely the result of Creswell's hard work and lobbying. During the war he was involved as an administrator in ship construction, the development of shore support, and the arranging of convoys. After the war he worked on developing a defence program for Australia, focussing mainly on ensuring the continued strengthening of the RAN.
in 1922. He died on 20 April 1933 and was survived by his wife Adelaide Elizabeth née Stow (daughter of Justice Randolph Stow
) two sons and a daughter.
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Sir William Rooke Creswell KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(20 July 1852 – 20 April 1933) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n naval officer, commonly considered to be the 'father' of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
.
Early life
Creswell was born in GibraltarGibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, son of Edmund Creswell (head of the postal service at Gibraltar and for the Mediterranean), and Margaret Mary Ward, née Fraser. He was educated at Gibraltar and Eastman's Academy, Southsea
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
.
Career
Beginning his naval career at the age of 13 as a cadet on the Royal Navy's training ship BritanniaHMS Britannia
Six ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Britannia, after Britannia, the goddess and personification of Britain....
, Creswell was promoted to midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
in 1867 and on 20 October 1871 became a sub-lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...
.
Having already served in the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
, Creswell was transferred to the China Station
China Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
. In 1873 he was shot in the hip during a skirmish with pirates off Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
but remained at his post. His bravery won him promotion to lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
but his wound meant returning to England to recuperate. Creswell's next seagoing appointment, to the East India Station
East Indies Station
The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...
, was followed by a period in Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
, where he commanded a flotilla involved in suppressing the slave trade. Illness, however, again forced his return to England.
Creswell retired from the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1878 and, seeking to become a pastoralist, he emigrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1879. A stint in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, however, convinced Creswell that he was ill-suited to outback life. During a visit to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in 1885 he met a former naval colleague and was convinced to take up an appointment as First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
on South Australia's only naval vessel, HMCS Protector
HMAS Protector (1884)
HMCS/HMAS Protector was a large flat-iron gunboat commissioned and purchased by the South Australian government in 1884, for the purpose of defending the local coastline against possible attacks in the aftermath of the ‘Russian scare', of 1870s...
, a posting he very much enjoyed.
Creswell soon began agitating for the establishment of an Australian naval force to supplement the Royal Navy squadron based in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. In mid-1895 he reached the rank of captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
; by 1899 he was arguing strongly for an Australian navy. On 1 May 1900 he was appointed Commandant of the Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
naval forces but was soon released to command Protector on its deployment to China to assist in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
.
After Federation
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
, Creswell's lobbying for an Australian navy gained momentum. He was regarded by many as Australia's chief spokesman on naval matters, hence his appointment in February 1904 to the new position of Naval Officer Commanding the Commonwealth Naval Forces. He had retained his position in Queensland and accepted the role of Naval Commandant in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
but his energies were primarily focused on the national navy.
Alarmed at Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's growing naval might by 1909, Australia's admiralty sought to dramatically increase Australia's naval strength. In company with Colonel Justin F. G. Foxton
Justin Fox Greenlaw Foxton
Justin Fox Greenlaw Foxton CMG was an Australian politician, barrister and soldier.-Biography:Foxton was born in Melbourne and educated at the private Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, graduating in 1862. He moved to Queensland in 1864 where he was admitted to the bar in 1871...
, Creswell attended the Imperial Conference, which resulted in the Naval Defence Act of 1910 being passed which created the Australian navy. In 1911 Creswell was promoted to rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
in the service of the Royal Australian Navy.
The fact that Australia's navy was ready for service when the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
began was largely the result of Creswell's hard work and lobbying. During the war he was involved as an administrator in ship construction, the development of shore support, and the arranging of convoys. After the war he worked on developing a defence program for Australia, focussing mainly on ensuring the continued strengthening of the RAN.
Late life
Considered the father of the RAN, Creswell retired in 1919 and took up farming in Victoria; in the same year he was created KBE. He was promoted to Vice AdmiralVice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
in 1922. He died on 20 April 1933 and was survived by his wife Adelaide Elizabeth née Stow (daughter of Justice Randolph Stow
Randolph Isham Stow
Randolph Isham Stow was an English-born Australian Supreme Court judge.Stow was born in Framlingham, Suffolk, England, the eldest son of the Rev. Thomas Quinton Stow and his wife Elizabeth, née Eppes...
) two sons and a daughter.