Under the overall command of Colonel William Holmes, the AN&amp;MEF departed Sydney on 19 August aboard HMAS "Berrima" and halted at Palm Island off Townsville until the New Zealand force, escorted by the battlecruiser , cruiser , and the French cruiser "Montcalm", occupied Samoa on 30 August. The AN&amp;MEF then moved to Port Moresby where it met the Queensland contingent aboard the transport TSS "Kanowna". The force then sailed for German New Guinea on 7 September but the "Kanowna" was left behind when her stokers refused to work. The soldiers from the Kennedy Regiment were also left in Port Moresby as Holmes felt that they were not trained or equipped well enough to be committed to the fighting that was expected.