In 1908, 500,000 Aussies turned out to welcome the arrival of the Great White Fleet to Sydney. The reception was so warm that hundreds of sailors went on unauthorized absence so that they could further enjoy the hospitality of the Aussies. When the fleet left, USS Kansas had to stay behind for several extra days to round up the stragglers, offering a $10 bounty on every sailor returned.
Tales of an Asia Sailor 
Don’t know about 1908 but I enjoyed Perth in 1982 and 1983 when I was there! Great liberty!!
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I wonder what the economic impact was on the local talent.
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My dad told me about the Great White Fleet. Teddy Roosevelt asked for a budget appropriation to sail the fleet around the world. Congress was scared of sending the Navy so far away, so in their “Infinite Wisdom” they appropriated only half enough of that budget. Teddy sent the fleet half way around the world, then asked Congress for thr rest og the money to get the Fleet back home. Yes sir, you just can’t outsmart those Congressmen!
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I enjoy the Tales of the Asia Sailor, immensely, even thinking about sending you a few Seabee stories. Just wanted to point out. you left out the “a” in Australia, in the article’s picture and the headline. That’s 8 hours extra duty in the galley cleaning shit cans for the proof reader/spell checker.
Thanks and keep up the great Sea Stories.
V/R,
Ralph Marshall
On Sat, Aug 21, 2021 at 11:25 AM Tales of an Asia Sailor wrote:
> davisg022 posted: ” in 1908, 500,000 Aussies turned out to welcome the > arrival of the Great White Fleet to Sydney. The reception was so warm that > hundreds of sailors went on unauthorized absence so that they could further > enjoy the hospitality of the Aussies. When the f” >
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