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Australians and the War in South Africa, 1899-1902

About this guide

Between 1899 and 1902 more than 10,000 Australian soldiers sailed for South Africa to support British troops engaged in the war against the Boer settlers.The first contingents were raised by the colonial governments and it was not until 1902 that the newly-formed Commonwealth raised the eight battalions of the Australian Commonwealth Horse. This guide to the official government records of Australia's involvement in the Boer War includes both colonial and Commonwealth records held by the National Archives and the Australian War Memorial. These records document the process of recruiting, training and shipping contingents through nominal rolls, pay sheets, reports and thousands of red-taped files.

About the author

Craig Wilcox is a military historian and author of For Hearths and Homes: Citizen Soldering in Australia 1854-1945 (Allen & Unwin, 1998). He is currently writing
a history for the Australian War Memorial on Australia's part in the Boer War, based on archives in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.