Framed Photograph of Australian Soldiers of the Boer War

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Overview

Framed sepia photograph showing 4 Australian Light Horse soldiers from the Boer War with their horses in the background. The wooden frame has a gilt crown at the top.

Historical information

The Second Boer War, also known as the Boer War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the Boer Republics of South African Republic and Orange Free State. The 1886 Witwatersrand Gold Rush caused a large influx Cape Colony British to move to the South African Republic. When relations soured with the Boer government these British protested to the British authorities in the Cape and the conflict broke out in October 1899.

The Boers recognised that they could not match the might of the British military in pitched battles and instead mounted a guerilla campaign using hit-and-run attacks and ambushes against the British for two years. These tactics proved difficult for the British to defeat and British High Command ordered scorched earth policies as part of a large scale counterinsurgency campaign. Over 100,000 Boer civilians, mostly women and children, were forcibly relocated into concentration camps, where 26,000 died. Black Africans were interned in concentration camps to prevent them from supplying the Boer forces and 20,000 died. British mounted infantry, including the Australian Light Horse, were deployed to track down guerrillas, leading to small-scale skirmishes. Few combatants on either side were killed in action, with most casualties dying from disease. This was not warfare as it had ever been seen before!

In May 1902 the Boers surrendered to Kitchener and the former republics were transformed into the British colonies of the Transvaal and Orange River. In 1910 these colonies were merged with the Natal and Cape Colonies to form the Union of South Africa, a self-governing dominion within the British Empire.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-124-2024.142

Item type

Material

Width

29 cm

Height or length

34 cm

Themes

War and Conflict

Contextual Information

Around 15,000 Australians, most of whom were born between 1870 and 1880, served in eight contingents for the duration of the Second Boer War in South Africa between October 1899 and May 1902. These were mostly mounted units that were initially raised in individual Australian colonies as this predated Federation.

The Australian Light Horse served in the Second Boer War and World War 1. These men and their horses were not conventional cavalry but rather mounted infantry who could use their mounts to quickly cover great distances to reach and, when need be, withdraw from the enemy. In battle they would dismount and fight on foot.

Keywords

Boer War

Australian Light Horse Regiment

Primary significance criteria

Social or spiritual significance

Links to additional resources

Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902

The Australian War Memorial tells the story of Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902

Busselton Historical Society

Organisation Details
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