The Australian Regiment was a regiment of troops from the

Australian colonies The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...

that served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. It began its existence as infantry but was soon mounted due to the conditions of the war.

History

The Australian Regiment was formed on 26 November 1899 at

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

under the command of Victorian Colonel

John Hoad Major General Sir John Charles Hoad (25 January 1856 – 6 October 1911) was an Australian military leader, best known as the Australian Army's second Chief of the General Staff.Warren Perry'Hoad, Sir John Charles (1856–1911)' Australian Dic ...

with units of the first contingents sent by Australian colonies to fight in the Second Boer War, the first wholly Australian regiment formed for combat duty. It initially included infantry companies from Victoria,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, as well as the Victorian Mounted Rifles squadron; the only colony not ultimately represented was

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The regiment numbered 716 and was equipped with three Maxim guns. It spent the next few days re-equipping at Maitland camp, where it was inspected by

Governor of Cape Colony This article lists the governors of British South African colonies, including the colonial prime ministers. It encompasses the period from 1797 to 1910, when present-day South Africa was divided into four British Empire, British colonies namely ...

and

High Commissioner for Southern Africa The British office of high commissioner for Southern Africa was responsible for governing British possessions in Southern Africa, latterly the protectorates of Basutoland (now Lesotho), the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) and Swaziland ...

Sir

Alfred Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British politician, statesman and colonial administrator who played a very important role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-189 ...

on 28 November. It entrained for

De Aar De Aar is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It has a population of around 42,000 inhabitants. It is the second-most important railway junction in the country, situated on the line between Cape Town and Kimberley. The juncti ...

to join the relief force for

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

under Major General Andrew Wauchope on 1 December. Arriving at De Aar two days later, the regiment was instead forwarded to

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

, where it joined the relief force. Four scouts from Rimington's Guides were attached to the regiment on 6 December; their leader, Corporal

John James Clements John James Clements, VC (19 June 1872 – 18 June 1937) was a South African recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forc ...

, would subsequently receive the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

. The Australians marched eleven miles to Witteputs during the day on 7 December and a further ten miles to Belmont during the rainy night. Reinforced by the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

infantry company on 9 December, they marched to Enslin and encamped there with two

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

guns on the next day. The 1st

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

, two more field guns, and detachments of

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

and Rimington's Guides were sent to the camp on 16 December, where they came under the command of Hoad. On New Years' Day 1900 fifty men from the Victorian Mounted Rifles under Captain Duncan McLeish made a reconnaissance toward

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

and scouted a Boer

laager A wagon fort, wagon fortress, wagenburg or corral, often referred to as circling the wagons, is a temporary fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, circle, or other shape and possibly joined with each other to produce an improvis ...

there without engagement. The Victorian Mounted Rifles participated in another reconnaissance into the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

under Major General James Melville Babington on 9 January. The

12th Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...

came under the command of Hoad at Enslin on 17 January. It served in the northern part of

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

and was quickly mounted in December due to the demand of the conflict for mounted troops. The regiment fought in the defence of the

Colesberg Colesberg is a town with 17,354 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, located on the main N1 road from Cape Town to Johannesburg. In a sheep-farming area spread over half-a-million hectares, greater Colesberg breeds ma ...

front between 9 and 12 February and the advance into the

. The regiment was disbanded after it reached

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

in April; Hoad was made a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George for his leadership.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Regiment (1899-1900) Military units and formations of the Second Boer War Military units and formations established in 1899 Military units and formations disestablished in 1900 Military units and formations of Australia