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The Colonial Armies & Maori Wars |
In Australia, these distinctions became blurred over time. Some volunteer units became paid or partly paid, losing their right to elect officers. While compulsory service was possible under some Colonial Acts, these powers were never used, and voluntary enlistment was used by both volunteer and militia units. Only five years had elapsed from the demise of the Loyal Associations before calls for the raising of a colonial force were made. In 1830, a so-called mounted volunteer party was raised for a local emergency to assist the Mounted Police in suppressing bushrangers near Bathurst. However, it was not until 1840 that the first colonial force, with the confusing title of the Royal South Australian Volunteer Militia, was raised for local security reasons. Never a success, it was disbanded unobtrusively five years later. The actions of France in the Pacific, culminating in the annexation of New Caledonia in 1853, raised colonial suspicions. However, it was not until the following year, with the outbreak of the Crimean War and the possibility of Russian maritime raids, that volunteer units were first raised in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. In view of NSW’s convict heritage and the recent events on the Victorian goldfields, proposals to raise militia units in these colonies did not appear appropriate. These issues were not factors for South Australia, where the principle of self-support underlying the foundation of that colony was clearly recognised and a Militia Act was passed which could be used if compulsory enlistment became necessary.
made increasingly aware of the need to provide for their own defence, and volunteer units were raised in Tasmania (1859), Queensland (1860) and Western Australia (1861). Other world events, including the American Civil War, Russia's actions in Poland, the Balkans and Asia, the ever-present fear of an advance of Russia through Afghanistan to India, and the Franco-Prussian War, led to periodic colonial fears and the re-assessment of defence requirements. They were also accompanied by major fluctuations in volunteer units size and numbers. This situation was not helped by a decline in the discipline and efficiency of the troops arising from a wide range of problems.
obsolete weapons; the heavy financial burdens on volunteers of only moderate means; government financial stringency; and indifference by legislatures in the lulls between international crises affected their morale and enthusiasm. The colonies reacted in different ways. The recommendations of the parliamentary committees and commissions were not always followed. Tasmania, seeing no immediate threat in 1863, disbanded the volunteer infantry component, although increasing that of the artillery, and, between 1870 and 1878, completely discontinued the Volunteer Vote. In 1863, Western Australia withdrew the right of volunteers to elect their own officers. That same year, Victoria amalgamated all mounted troops into the Prince of Wales' Victorian Volunteer Light Horse. In 1865, South Australia introduced the concept of partly paid volunteers, thereby heralding the end of the purely volunteer system, with the South Australian system ultimately being adopted by all colonies. |
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| Regular
Colonial Forces
Small regular colonial forces were first raised in Victoria in 1870, and in New South Wales in the following year, to fill the vacuum caused by the departure of the Royal Artillery which had been manning the coastal defences of New South Wales from 1856 and Victoria from 1861. Two regular infantry companies were also raised in New South Wales in 1871, but were disbanded in the following year. Except for a small detachment, the Victorian regular artillery was disbanded in 1880, but was re-established two years later. |
At first things went badly for the whites and Heke managed to defeat a relief force that had been sent from Auckland to capture him. After this it was realised that Heke had to be taken a good deal more seriously. A local militia was raised among the white settlers, the celebrated governor of South Australia, George Grey, was called in to take command, and reinforcements were rushed in from Australia. These troops consisted of a number of British army units based in the Australian colonies. They contained large numbers of Australian-born troops so the dispatch of these units to New Zealand marks the first time that Australians ever served overseas on a large scale. Grey proved to be a good commander and by an astute combination of force and diplomacy he eventually forced Hone Heke to sue: or peace. With Heke's surrender the first Maori war came to an end.
Taranaki The Maoris themselves, however, were still a long way from being defeated and continued white encroachment on their lands made a second conflict inevitable. It broke out in the Taranaki region in 1860 after a dispute over the sale of some land on the Waitara River. Much to their horror the British authorities now found that they had only 1000 troops in New Zealand compared to the 20 000 the Maoris could put into the field. The Maoris fought bravely and once again the New Zealand authorities were forced to seek help from the Australians. Not only did the colonies send troops, Victoria even sent its entire navy, which consisted of the steam corvette HMVS Victoria, to the battle zone. (See 1st to fight)
New South Wales sent some gunboats. Once again the Maoris recognised that they could not withstand the superior fire power of the whites. The warships in particular proved very effective as they supplied the whites with portable artillery. The war was brought to an end in 1862 when Sir George Grey was recalled to calm the situation. Grey was a particularly valuable general as he had worked out a way to successfully capture the Maori hill forts, or pas. Other commanders had assumed that all that was needed to destroy these forts was a brief bombardment followed by a mass attack. To their cost they found the Maoris anticipated these tactics and hid themselves in the ground during the bombardment and came out fighting when the white troops charged.
The Waikato Wars A year after this conflict, war broke out again when the Maoris of the Waikato area rebelled. The Waikato people had taken to white ways quite well and grew and sold crops which they exported in their own trading vessels. In order to prevent further alienation of their land, the Waikato Maoris attempted to secede from New Zealand. They appointed a king and stated that they would only give their allegiance to him and to Queen Victoria. Again white firepower triumphed - but this time aided by Maori gallantry. Whenever the Waikato descended on a white settlement or household, they refused to take any action until the inhabitants and their possessions were safely evacuated. Only then did they burn the buildings. Australian troops had taken part in both the Taranaki and Waikato wars but the New Zealand government decided it needed a more permanent force. So, when the Waikato war ended, the government went on a recruiting campaign in the Australian colonies. Allotments of land were promised to anyone who undertook to serve in the armed forces should the need arise. More than 3600 Australians responded to this offer.
The Hau-Hau Rebellion These new settlers were organised into four Waikato regiments. They were used extensively to suppress the Hau-Hau rebellion which was led by the Maori prophet Te Kooti. Te Kooti told his followers to shout Hau-Hau in honour of the angel Gabriel. This, he told his men, would make them impervious to bullets. Of course it didn't but Te Kooti managed to keep the Waikato units occupied for seven years before he was defeated in 1872. As they had fought in British units the role of the Australians in the Maori wars has sometimes been overlooked. Yet their contribution marked the largest military commitment ever undertaken by the colonies until the outbreak of the Boer War. Casualties among the troops were surprisingly heavy, but by conquering the Maoris they ensured that New Zealand would remain a British colony. |
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An offer of land in exchange for military service during the Waikato War led to the formation of four regiments of Waikato Militia, the members of which were recruited in Australia. A total of 1784 enlisted in Australia. 31 Australians enlisted in the Regiments in New Zealand, including one South Australian. More than five hundred men enrolled for service as military settlers in Taranaki (West Coast).
Protests about the effects of this recruitment on the Australian Colonies of Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland led to protests by those governments. By March 1864, recruitment was only a trickle. During the Waikato War, engagements and skirmishes occurred at
Many other British Regiments and detachments ( 12th, 14th, 18th, 40th, 43rd, 50th, 65th, 68th and 70th Regiments), seamen and marines, artillery and local militia took part in the Waikato War. Among the latter was G. F. Von Tempsky's and Jackson's Forest Rangers. These counter-insurgency units were trained to engage Maori forces unexpectedly on their own ground. Before then, massed British forces since 1845 had been unable to bring the Maoris to any decisive encounter. The Maori tactic of building Pahs (fortified emplacements), with flanking rifle pits and trenches, and abandoning them at a strategic moment had previously outwitted British Officers and Generals. Some wording of this sub-section and the reverse photo of the medal from Defending Victoria |
