The presence of "Australia" around the former German colonies, combined with the likelihood of Japan declaring war on Germany, prompted von Spee to withdraw his ships from the region. On 13 August, the East Asia Squadron—except for , which was sent to prey on British shipping in the Indian Ocean—had begun to move eastwards. After appearing off Samoa on 14 September, then attacking Tahiti eight days later, von Spee led his force to South America, and from there planned to sail for the Atlantic. Patey was ordered on 17 September to head back north with "Australia" and "Sydney" to protect the Australian expeditionary force. On 1 October, "Australia", "Sydney", "Montcalm", and "Encounter" headed north from Rabaul to find the German ships, but turned around to return at midnight, after receiving an Admiralty message about the Tahiti attack. Although Patey suspected that the Germans were heading for South America and wanted to follow with "Australia", the Admiralty was unsure that the intelligence was accurate, and tasked the battlecruiser with patrolling around Fiji in case they returned. "Australia" reached Suva on 12 October, and spent the next four weeks patrolling the waters around Fiji, Samoa, and New Caledonia: despite Patey's desires to range out further, Admiralty orders kept him chained to Suva until early November.