The New South Wales Marine Corps (1786–1792) was an ad hoc volunteer unit that the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

created to guard the

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...

s aboard the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...

to Australia, and to preserve "subordination and regularity" in the

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Established in 1786, the Marines saw active service in New South Wales from 1788 to 1792 and was instrumental in establishing the colony's rule of law. Study of the complete New South Wales Marine complement indicates they were chosen from Plymouth and Portsmouth Divisions with only one exception. Beginning with guards arriving with the 2nd and 3rd fleets but officially with the arrival of on 22 September 1791 the New South Wales Marines were relieved by a newly formed British Army regiment of foot, the

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying th ...

. On 18 December 1791 left Port Jackson taking home the larger part of the still serving New South Wales Marines. Those leaving included Maj Robert Ross,

Watkin Tench Lieutenant General Watkin Tench (6 October 1758 – 7 May 1833) was a British marine officer who is best known for publishing two books describing his experiences in the First Fleet, which established the first European settlement in Australia in ...

, William Dawes, and Ralph Clark, and 90

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s (NCOs) and privates. Of the departure, Tench said, "we hailed it with rapture and exhilaration". There remained in New South Wales a company of active Marines serving under Captain George Johnston, consisting of three officers, eight NCOs, two drummers and 50 privates. Also remaining in the colony were some 90 discharged Marines, many of whom became settlers. The official departure of the last serving Marines from the colony of New South Wales was in December 1792 when Governor Phillip departed aboard Atlantic Transport accompanied by the remaining three Marine lieutenants and some 20 NCOs and privates who received their final discharges at the Marine headquarters in Portsmouth in June 1793, marking the official disbandment of the Corps. Officers were allowed to transfer into other divisions to continue their careers.

Establishment

The Corps was established on 31 August 1786 with assent from King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

for a force of 160 enlisted marines and accompanying officers to attend the settlement of New South Wales "... for the purpose of enforcing subordination and obedience in the settlement t Botany Bay as well as for defence of that settlement against the incursions of the natives."Correspondence, The Lords of the Admiralty to His Majesty the King, 21 November 1786. Cited in Bladen (ed.) 1978, pp. 372–373 Volunteers for the NSW Marine Corps were required to have had a satisfactory prior record of service in the British Marines, to be at least tall and under forty years of age.Moore 1989, pp. 22–23 Recruits were offered a two-

guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

incentive payment if they volunteered for the Corps. A further inducement was that although enlistment as a British Marine was traditionally for life, members of the New South Wales Marine Corps could seek an honourable discharge after three years of colonial service.Moore 1989, p.8 With an eye to the likelihood of delays in setting out, the three-year term would commence on arrival of the Fleet in New South Wales rather than the dates of enlistment in England. Marines who chose this option had no automatic right of return to military service after discharge, but in practice few were refused re-entry when their service expired. Rates of pay were in accordance with those of the British Marines, including routine provision of a subsistence allowance equivalent to two-thirds of daily pay. British Marines received the allowance when in the field (i.e., not serving on board a vessel); the NSW Marines received the allowance for the duration of their three-year enlistment, relieving the Admiralty or the government of the colony of the responsibility of providing messing facilities. New South Wales Marine Corps uniforms consisted of a red long-tailed doublet, white trousers, black headdress, and shoes and

gaiters Gaiters are garments worn over the shoe and bottom of the pant or trouser leg, and used primarily as personal protective equipment; similar garments used primarily for display are spats. Originally, gaiters were made of leather or canvas. ...

. Officers were authorised to carry swords and sidearms; other ranks were issued Brown Bess muskets.

Active service

In May 1787 four companies of marines, consisting of 160 Privates with 52 officers and NCO's under Major Robert Ross, accompanied the

to Botany Bay. In addition there were 34 officers and men serving in Ship's Complement of Marines aboard Sirius and Supply, bringing the total to 246 departed EnglandReturn of the four Companies of Marines detached to serve in the Settlement in NSW - 20 May 1787 (TNA CO201/2, p158-9) The Board of Ordnance had provided one thousand carbines and ten thousand musket flints for Marine use in New South Wales, but due to an oversight in provisioning, the Fleet left Portsmouth without any substantial supply of ammunition.Moore 1989, p. 41 The error was kept a secret from the convicts in order to avoid an uprising, and was addressed via resupply when the fleet made port in Rio de Janeiro midway through the voyage. Security was strictly maintained during the voyage. Bulkheads filled with nails were constructed across each deck to separate the convict quarters from those of the Marines and ship's crew. Marines were routinely stationed at loopholes in these bulkheads in order to fire upon the convicts if necessary. Marines were located behind barricades constructed across the main deck and at each of the hatches leading below. A further Marine detachment was also permanently stationed on the quarterdeck. A marine caught in the convict women's tent was drummed out of the Corps on 9 February 1788. The music played for the occasion was the "Rogues March", the first record of a named piece of music being played in Australia.''CHOMBEC News'', Summer 2012, Issue no. 13. – accessed 10 November 2015.
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Precedent

The New South Wales Marines helped establish a precedent for the creation of ''ad hoc'' units for overseas service under the aegis of the Royal Marines. One example, from the Americas and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, was the Corps of Colonial Marines, recruited from freed slaves.

Citations and references

Citations References * * * *{{cite book, last=Mundle, first=Rob, author-link=Rob Mundle, title=The First Fleet, year=2014, publisher=Harper Collins, isbn=9780733332364 Military units and formations established in 1786 Military units and formations of the British Empire Royal Marine formations and units Convictism in New South Wales Military history of New South Wales Military units and formations of Australia British colonial regiments 1786 establishments in England Military units and formations disestablished in 1791 First Fleet

Establishment

Active service

Precedent

See also

Citations and references