Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902

From the time of its acquisition by Britain during the Napoleonic wars, southern Africa had been shared between British colonies and independent republics of Dutch–Afrikaner settlers, known as Boers. Throughout the 19th century the two powers had maintained a wary co-existence, although increasingly the question became whether Britain or the Boers should control southern Africa. The two had already fought an inconclusive war in 1880. The discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer republics in the 1880s intensified rivalry. British imperial ambition and Boer independence caused more friction, which in 1899 provoked the Boers to attack in order to forestall what they saw as an impending British conquest.

As part of the British Empire, the Australian colonies offered troops for the war in South Africa. At least 12,000 Australians served in contingents raised by the six colonies or from 1901 by the new Australian Commonwealth (about a third of men enlisting twice), and many more joined British or South African colonial units in South Africa. At least 600 Australians died in the war, about half from disease and half in action.

Australians served mostly in mounted units formed in each colony, often known as mounted rifles, bushmen, or imperial bushmen. They fought in both the British counter-offensive of 1900 which resulted in the capture of the Boer capitals, and in the long, weary guerrilla phases of the war lasting until 1902. Colonial troops were valued for their ability to "shoot and ride", and they performed well in the open war on the veldt. Australians at home initially supported the war but became disenchanted as the conflict dragged on, especially as the effects on Boer civilians became known.

Men from the 2nd South Australian (Mounted Rifles) Contingent, who fought in the Boer War.
Third from left is Trooper Harry "The Breaker" Morant. South Africa, c. 1900.
AWM P00220.001

The conflict in South Africa is generally divided into three phases:

The early phase from October to December 1899, when the British armies, mainly infantry, were defeated or besieged by highly mobile Boer mounted troops.
The second phase, from December 1899 until September 1900, which involved a British counter-offensive resulting in the capture of most of the major towns and cities of South Africa.
The third and longest phase, from September 1900 to May 1902, when the war was mainly a guerrilla conflict between British mounted troops and Boer irregulars.

The outbreak of war had long been expected in both Britain and Australia. Queensland had offered troops in July, expecting that conflict was imminent, and the same month Britain had requested participation from New South Wales and Victoria. Each of the colonies ultimately sent between four and six contingents. The first groups arrived in South Africa between November 1899 and March 1900; the second between December 1899 and February 1900; the third between April and May 1900; and the fourth between May and June 1900. The 4th Tasmanian and the 6th Queensland, South Australian, and Western Australian contingents did not reach South Africa until March–April 1901. A further three contingents were raised by the new Commonwealth after Federation in 1901, but they did not embark until 1902, and most arrived too late for any action; some were still at sea when the war ended on 31 May 1902.

The first Australian troops arrived in South Africa in December 1899, too late to become involved in the serious British defeats of "black week" – 10–17 December – when 2,300 men were killed or wounded in three separate engagements. Five hundred members of the Queensland Mounted Infantry and the NSW Lancers participated in the relief of Kimberley in February 1900, and men of the NSW Mounted Rifles played a minor part in the last major battle of the war, at Paardeberg, in the same month. After a series of defeats in 1900 the Boer armies became fragmented, forming groups of highly mobile commandos which harassed British troop movements and lines of supply. Faced with this type of warfare the British commanders became increasingly reliant on mounted troops from Britain and the colonies.

British tactics in the early phase of the war were to launch frontal attacks on concealed Boer positions, but these proved ineffective and led to the defeats of December 1899. Using smokeless powder the Boers were able to snipe at British infantry from up to two kilometres away before withdrawing to avoid confrontation. The colonial contingents and South African volunteers had less trouble adapting to Boer methods of warfare than the British.

Conditions for both soldiers and horses were harsh. Without time to acclimatise to the severe environment, the horses fared badly, and many died not only in battle but of disease; others succumbed to exhaustion on the long treks across the veldt, while quarantine regulations in Australia ensured that even those who survived could not return home. In the early stages of the war Australian losses were so high through illness that components of the first and second contingents ceased to exist as viable units after a few months of service.

Scene of the NSW Imperial Bushmen camp. South Africa, 1900.
AWM A04298

In the second phase of the war, when the British armies captured the major South African towns, over-extended supply lines and inadequate food caused problems. Looting was widespread, and it did not stop at the acquisition of bare essentials for men and their horses. Disease and epidemics also took a heavy toll. Water contaminated by corpses and human waste infected the army during a period of rest in Bloemfontein after its capture in early 1900, causing 1,000 deaths, mostly from typhoid.

After September 1900, when the war had become mainly a guerrilla conflict, Australian troops were deployed in sweeping the countryside and enforcing the British policy of cutting the Boer guerrillas off from the support of their farms and families. This meant the destruction of Boer farms, the confiscation of horses, cattle and wagons and the rounding up of the inhabitants, usually women and children. These civilian captives were taken to concentration camps where, weakened by malnutrition, thousands died of contagious diseases. By mid-1901 the war for the Australians was characterised by long rides, often at night, followed by an attack on a Boer farmhouse or encampment (laager) at dawn. The skirmishes were often minor, involving small Boer forces quickly overwhelmed by superior numbers. There were occasional fights between the Australians and larger Boer forces, but encounters with Boer commandos were rare.

The experience of the NSW Mounted Rifles in the last five months of 1901 was said to be typical: they trekked 1,814 miles and were involved in thirteen skirmishes for the loss of five dead and nineteen wounded. They reported killing 27 Boers, wounding 15 and capturing 196. The men spent long periods in the saddle with few opportunities to bathe or change their clothes; lice were a constant problem. Temperatures on the veldt ranged from relentless heat during the day to freezing cold at night.

Members of E Company, 5th Contingent, Victorian Mounted Rifles, in action against the Boers in front of the Pongola Bosch. October 1901.
AWM P01866.006

It is generally believed that 16,175 Australians fought in the Boer War, though this does not allow for double-counting of those who served in two contingents. There was also an unknown number of Australians already working on South Africa's goldfields who served in local units, and a small number of Australians are known to have fought on the Boer side. The nature of the conditions under which the war was fought can be deduced from the fact that 251 died in action or from wounds sustained in battle, while 267 died from disease. A further 43 men were reported missing. Five Australians received the VC in South Africa and many others received other decorations.

William Dargie, The incident for which Captain Howse was awarded the VC in Vredefort, July 1900
(1968, oil on paper on board, 25.5 x 35.5 cm)
AWM ART29246

Further information available on this web site:

Sources and further reading:

P. Dennis, J. Grey, E. Morris, R. Prior, and J. Connor, The Oxford companion to Australian military history (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1995)

L. Field, The forgotten war: Australian involvement in the South African conflict of 1899–1902 (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 1979)

Kit Denton, For Queen and Commonwealth: Australians at war, vol. 5 (Sydney: Time-Life Books Australia, 1987)

J. Grey, A military history of Australia (Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1990)