Tuesday 4 September 2018

THIRD CONTINGENT... AUSTRALIA IN THE SECOND BOER WAR - TROVE TUESDAY 4TH SEPT 2018





Australians and New Zealanders at Klerksdorp, 24 March 1901 by Charles Hammond (1904, oil on canvas, 77 cm x 127.6 cm). AWM Caption: Being the furious moment depicted in this painting occurred during an action near Klerksdorp in the Transvaal, about 160 kilometres south-west of Johannesburg, during Lord Metheun's operations in the district after the fall of Klerksdorp itself, against the forces of Boer General De la Rey. This art work was inspired by an illustration by British military artist R Caton Woodville, which appeared in 'The Illustrated London News'. Public Domain




South Africa has had a troubled past from over a century ago.
Australia was part of the contingent that was involved in the conflict between the British Empire and the Boer republics of South Africa. This post is not written to discuss the politics of the time, rather to portray the brave men and women who were part of the Third Contingent, and though this second Boer War ranged from 1899 to 1902, it will concentrate on the year of 1900.

A short summary from Wikipedia...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Australia_during_the_Second_Boer_War
The military history of Australia during the Boer War is complex, and includes a period of history in which the six formerly autonomous British Australian colonies federated to become the Commonwealth of Australia. At the outbreak of the Second Boer War, each of these separate colonies maintained their own, independent military forces, but by the cessation of hostilities, these six armies had come under a centralised command to form the Australian Army.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, an escalating conflict between the British Empire and the Boer republics of southern Africa, led to the outbreak of the Second Boer War, which lasted from 11 October 1899, until 31 May 1902. In a show of support for the empire, the governments of the self-governing British colonies of CanadaNew ZealandNatal, Cape Colony and the six Australian colonies all offered men to participate in the conflict. The Australian contingents, numbering over 16,000 men, were the largest contribution from the Empire, and a further 7,000 Australian men served with other colonial or irregular units. At least 60 Australian women also served in the conflict as nurses.[1]

By chance, I came across a series of articles not only listing the names of many, if not all, of those enlisted in the Third Contingent, but also what to family historians, is 'genie gold'.. photos also.

TROVE never ceases to amaze...
Please click to enlarge...
Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Friday 23 February 1900, page 7
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19044205




We go now to the Queenslander as below... pages 406 - 413
Note.. p. 405 isn't available so the images, which are numbered to correspond with the list of names, begin at no. 6...

e.g. No. 245 is linked to Wylie Andrew Wilson who gave his contact as Q.N.Bank, Brisbane..
Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Saturday 3 March 1900











Letters from a mother...
The Queenslander 31 March 1900


The Queenslander 31 March 1900




More reading here... and here



Lord Roberts enters the city of Kimberley following the relief of the besieged city in February 1900

Public Domain


















A troop of the Australian Contingent raised for the protection of Johannesburg (1899).

Public Domain








Possibly the best known figure from the conflict, was 'Breaker Morant..' you can find numerous articles about him, via TROVE, movie, books, etc.


Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant (1864- February 27, 1902), circa 1900 26 February 1902 The 'Confession' The 'Confession' written on the back of photograph A05828 addressed to the Reverend Canon Fisher was written by Lieutenant (Lt) Harry Harbord Morant and signed by Morant and Lt Peter Joseph Handcock, it reads: 'To the Rev. Canon Fisher, Pretoria The night before we're shot We shot the Boers who killed and mutilated our friend ( the best mate I had on Earth) Harry Harbord Morant Peter Joseph Handcock' http://cas.awm.gov.au/screen_img/A05829
Public Domain

Do note that in the lists above, though they were predominantly from Qld, you will find some that gave a home address or contact address from various other states.


For further reading or research, here is a small selection of relevant links... 








Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902 | The Australian War Memorial



TROVE..


Were your ancestors involved in the Boer Wars? I would love you to leave a comment telling us about them.






6 comments:

  1. Wonderful information - thank you for collating it so well

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  2. Thank you, Flissie.. I'm so glad that you appreciate this..TROVE is such a treasure to family historians, genealogists and all who simply love history.

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  3. I think this is truly the first time I have ever thought about the history of Australia, other than learning it began as a penal colony in school. This is such a wealth of information for genealogist/family history newbies too. Great post, it really made me stop and pause ~ Sharon

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    1. Often we don't appreciate history as children, but it becomes more real, more applicable to our daily lives, as we get older. I couldn't have a greater compliment than that it made you 'stop and pause'.. thank you for that, Sharon, and for taking the time to comment.

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  4. Great post! My own ancestors were in Kimberley at that time, part of the Kimberley Town Guard. Even though I am South African, I honestly had no idea that Australia was so involved (16 000 men!)in the Second Boer War. What an amazing resource TROVE is....those photographs are definitely "genie gold"!

    Sue (KindredPast)

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    1. Sue, I'm glad that I was able, with the help of our wonderful TROVE, bring a little more of your history to life. Have you ever written about those ancestors, there is sure a story or two to share there...
      I will expand further on this era as soon as I have the time to do so. There is so much available on that conflict now. Thank you for taking time to comment.

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