Australian Army uniforms; Page 6

The Loyal Association (above left) was formed in Sydney about 1800. It followed the pattern of the volunteer organizations which were being raised in England to assist, if necessary, in repulsing the threatened invasion during the Napoleonic wars.

In Sydney the threat was of rebellion among the large number of convicts at liberty and on ticket-of-leave. The Association comprised about 200 volunteers recruited from citizens as a reserve or loan guard to the N.S.W. Corps.

There was little difference between the uniforms of the Association and the Corps but a glance would suffice to distinguish one member from the other-the regulars wore their natural hair tied into a pigtail, the volunteers had their hair cropped.

The other unit whose uniform is illustrated was the N.S.W. Veterans Corps (above right) which was formed in 1810 of volunteers from the 73rd Regiment who elected to remain in Sydney when their tour of duty expired. They were long service men who had been engaged in civil duties and the administration of the colony. Approval was secured to form them into a Veterans Corps to be under the command of whatever regiment was stationed in the country for the time being.

The uniform was identical with that of the 73rd Regiment of Foot except that the facings were of blue.

Photograph of Capt William Henderson in his uniform and one of him with the troop/unit or whatever it might be called. Below is a paragraph taken from "The Scottish Australasian" October 1917 issue:- The Scot We Know So far back as the "sixties" Mr Henderson joined the Defence Forces of Victoria as a volunteer attached to the Field Artillery, and in 1896 he, with many other enthusiasts, formed the National Guard, under the command of the late Sir George Dibbs. This was a perfectly disciplined body that maintained its reputation until it was disbanded on account of the poverty of the Exchequer. Many of its members became absorbed into the various Rifle Clubs that were then formed. On the retirement of Sir George Dibbs the "Scot We Know" took over the command, and became Captain, and so continued until the age limit necessitated his retirement. Donors; Alastair & June Henderson

CAN YOU HELP IDENTIFY? THE BEST CLUE TO DATE IS BELOW.

James Henderson, brother to the above. His uniform is unknown at this stage. The pips on his shoulder mark him as an officer. The hat marks him as probably not of a mounted unit so we can assume Infantry or maybe Artillery, but unlikely. Family details mark him as Victorian, and the cross on his hat badge and the medal ribbon could possibly be associated with the medal shown right, a Victorian Long Service Medal. He appears to be about 30/40 and was born in 1840 so the year can be assumed to be about 1870/80.

<<< This is probably the badge he is wearing

Captain F K. Best, 4th Battalion Victorian Rifles circa 1890. n.b. 2 "pips" indicated Captain at this time.

The uniform of the two men appears identical. The hat seems to be identical. The badge COULD be the same. As we are sure of Captain Best's particulars I believe it fair to assume that Henderson was also of the Victorian Rifles and appears also to be a Captain.

Photographer: Verey & Co., Castlemaine, Victoria. Donor: J W . Kemp.

Dear Mr Harris,

I came across your great 'diggerhistory' site yesterday after following the link from your reply to Mrs Henderson's post on 'AUS-MILITARY'. I have a general interest in late nineteenth century commonwealth uniforms, and think that the photographs from Mrs Henderson are particularly fascinating. I thought I could add a couple of points to the notes you made. It's worth pointing out that the National Guard was a NSW unit. Rick Grebert's Military Badges of the Australian Colonies says it was raised on 27 August 1896 and was made up of veterans of the British or colonial forces.

The uniforms in the second picture are very similar to NSW infantry (especially the white gorget patches), and not so much so to the Victorian forces. I don't think it's possible to identify the unit of James Henderson from the photo, since his badge seems to be a generic Victorian Forces one, but I agree it's probably infantry, and definitely not artillery (the picture of Sgt Major Jones, 4th Bn. also seems to be the same). It must be after 1880, because officers' 'pips' were worn on the collar until then in the British Army, and maybe later in some colonial forces. Thanks for your time. Hope I'm not sticking my nose in. (received 7/01/2002)

Ted, Attached is another photograph of James Henderson and remarks made by TL after I had sent him a copy of same. Hope this is of some interest to you. June Henderson "The hat is the type of headgear worn by many Australian artillery units from the 1860s until the introduction of blue or white helmets (like the one held by William Henderson) in the late-1870s/early 1880s. It was a black (sometimes brown) busby, with a red 'bag' on the right and a white plume on the left. A similar hat, but with the plume at the front, is worn by the Royal Horse Artillery today. The rifle strongly suggests that the subject is a 'ranker' rather than an officer (officers did not usually carry rifles, certainly in peacetime). The greatcoat seems an odd choice for a studio photograph, but I think it is more or less a regulation one. The artillery in Victoria wore this kind of headdress during the period, so perhaps the two brothers served together in the ranks of the Artillery before later becoming officers. To me, the general look of the photo suggests mid-to-late 1870s rather than earlier, but I could be wrong. Hope this is helpful."