Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

16th Battalion, The Royal Western Australia Regiment - Regimental Colour (1962 Presentation)

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Subcollections

Honourable Insignia - Regimental Colours, Guidons, and Royal Banners

Overview

Royal blue with gold and red fringes. In the centre the main device from the regimental badge consisting of a black swan upon a pair of crossed rifles on a red background, within a circle inscribed "THE ROYAL WESTERN AUSTRALIA REGIMENT". The whole enclosed within a wreath of Australian wattle and surmounted by the Crown. Across the lower portion of the wreath a scroll inscribed with the regimental motto "VIGILANT". In the upper canton the Roman numeral "XVI" (Originally this was the numeral "I" - changed to "XVI" in 1966 - see Historical Background details below)
Battle honours emblazoned on the colour :
SOUTH AFRICA 1899-1902, SOMME 1916-18, POZIERES, BULLECOURT, MESSINES 1917, YPRES 1917, PASSCHENDAELE, AMIENS, MONT ST QUENTIN, HINDENBURG LINE, LANDING AT ANZAC

Historical information

Presented to 1st Battalion, The Royal Western Australia Regiment by Field Marshall HRH The Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh at a parade held at the Western Australian Cricket Association Ground, East Perth on 25 November 1962.

The Royal Western Australia Regiment was formed on 1 July 1960 from the amalgamation of the following existing infantry battalions in the State at the time :-
• 11th/44th Infantry Battalion (The City of Perth Regiment)
• 16th Infantry Battalion (The Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia)
• 28th Infantry Battalion (The Swan Regiment)

At the above presentation of colours to the new battalion, the Colours of the former battalions (four sets of Queen's and Regimental colours) were trooped through the ranks of the battalion and marched off the parade for the last time. These former colours were subsequently laid up in the undercroft at the State War Memorial, King's Park on 29 November 1964. These were transferred to the Army Museum of WA in 1988 as part of the Bicentenary Colours Project.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-AAMWA0014

Item type

Textiles

Material

Silk (Textile)

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance

Social or spiritual significance

Comparative significance criteria

Object’s condition or completeness