 Indefatigable was initially assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet upon her commissioning in 1911 . She was transferred to the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean Fleet in December 1913 . New Zealand was only briefly assigned to the Home Fleet before she sailed for New Zealand in February 1912 . She returned to Portsmouth the following December and was assigned again to the Home Fleet . She made a number of port visits to France and Russia before the war began . Australia set sail for Australia almost immediately after she was commissioned in June 1913 to assume her duties as the first flagship of the Royal Australian Navy . 
