A Report on His Majesties Forces
in the Antipodes!
Napoleonic Re-enactment
by John Potter, 42nd Royal Highland Regiment (Australia)
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Some of you will already be aware (largely thanks to email and the net!) that yes, there really are Georgian and Napoleonic Re-enactors in Australia and New Zealand! The aim of this article is to bring our British, European and North American colleagues up to date with Napoleonic Re-enacting in the southern colonies. There are currently six British and one French unit represented in Australia, with one French unit listed in New Zealand and whilst it is still early days, interest is definitely growing in re-enacting this exciting period. British Infantry
The 40th (2nd Somerset) Regiment: The 40th fought throughout the Peninsula campaign and earned a number of battle honours including Rolica, Talavera, Albuera, Badajoz and Vittoria. The Historical Re-enactment Co-operative Limited in Melbourne represents this famous regiment at large Napoleonic events with a small contingent, however their primary focus is on the colonial era 40th which put down the Eureka Stockade rebellion in the Victorian gold fields in 1854. The Napoleonic element of this unit wear Belgic shakos and white pantaloons with grey half gaiters. Their senior NCO is Colour Sergeant Terry Young. Large 42nd Highlander/2nd Somerset Photo (slow: 237K) The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment: The famous Black Watch earned it's reputation for steadiness in many Napoleonic actions through the Peninsula campaign and at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. The 42nd has members all over the world as part of the World-wide Highland Brigade and in Australia is the largest Napoleonic unit with over 50 members nationally. Unfortunately, the size of the country makes it impossible to get the whole unit together in one place at one time, so each local squad is headed by an NCO who organises drill days and events. Larger gatherings occur twice a year at national events as detailed below. Our Commanding Officer (and current President) is Lieutenant Dick Stein in Perth, Western Australia whom some of you may have met (along with other Australian 42nders) at the 1995 Waterloo event. Our East Coast officer is Ensign Gregg Meyland who also makes many of our uniforms in his alter ego as the 'Taminick Tailor'. The 42nd is also represented by another group in Brisbane which portray the Regiment as it was during the French and Indian War.
They wear the full post 1812 uniform with Belgic shakos, grey pantaloons, grey half gaiters and Talavera medals in memory of their Regimental nickname as the 'Heroes of Talavera' earned in their stubborn defence of the plains in that action. The 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment: The 73rd arrived in Australia in 1810 under the command of Lt. Col. Lachlan MacQuarie to relieve the somewhat tarnished NSW Corps. They served as the NSW garrison until 1814.
French Infantry
The 30eme Regiment de Ligne: The 30eme Regt. (as portrayed by the members of the Victorian Re-enactment Society) are currently the only French force in Australia and are Melbourne based. The British units in Melbourne feel privileged to have these stirling fellows as our enemies and look forward to every encounter! They are commanded by Colin Robertson. I also hear that a number of individuals in Brisbane are forming a unit of Revolutionary French infantry however I don't know which unit will be represented or what stage of development they have reached. Cavalry and ArtilleryThere are currently no full time Napoleonic cavalry or artillery groups in Australia however in Melbourne, the Historical Re-enactment Society of Australia (HRSA) (Neville Scantlebury President) operates as a French artillery crew when required. Another Melbourne group, the Rupertwood Battery of Horse Artillery (normally to be seen in their 1885 Colonial era uniforms) approximate British Napoleonic horse artillery at larger events also. A number of other groups including the 48th Regiment and the Australian Colonial Marine Enactments own and operate field and naval cannon and/or carronades. A number of individuals in Melbourne have expressed interest in forming a French cavalry unit. Needless to say, British infantry units across the country are keen to see this eventuate! Royal Navy and MarinesAustralian Colonial Marine Enactments (ACME) in Sydney and the HRSA and VRS in Melbourne also portray Marines, Naval officers and sailors of the First Fleet which founded Australia in 1788. In the future it is hoped to conduct more Naval re-enacting in concert with replicas of historic tall-ships. In Melbourne it is hoped to work onboard the topsail schooner 'Enterprise' (a replica of Melbourne's founding ship) with great potential for sea battles against other vessels! Royal Marines (post 1805) have also been seen in Adelaide and Perth on occasion, however I am unfamiliar with the status of these units. Other sailing historic replica tall ships in Australia include 'HMS Bounty' on Sydney Harbour, 'HMS Endeavour' (currently returning to the National Maritime Museum in Sydney following her 2 year world tour), the 'Lady Nelson' in Hobart, and the 'Dufken', a replica of the first European (Dutch) ship known to have made landfall in Australia in 1606. There are also a number of later period operational tall ships, land locked replicas such as the frigate HMS Buffalo which founded the city of Adelaide, and the brig Amity which explored parts of WA and can be seen in Bunbury and original museum ships such as the Melbourne Maritime Museum clipper Polly Woodside. Membership of all units is open with no restrictions on age, race or gender. Ladies and children usually attend all our events as camp followers and the 42nd and 48th have also had women join the line as soldiers or drummers! There are two major gatherings for Napoleonic re-enactors in Australia, the first being the annual multi-period military encampment at Taminick in north east Victoria in early October. This event is conducted as a training weekend for military re-enactment groups rather than as a public show. In recent years the time period has ranged from the French and Indian wars to Australian Light Horse of WW1. The various shooting and drill competitions are hotly contested and the Saturday night regimental dinner and following entertainment give everyone a chance to socialise and let their hair down into the wee hours! Napoleonic units usually attend this event in good numbers. The other major Napoleonic encampment takes place every Easter at the historical theme park "Old Sydney Town" approximately one hour north of Sydney. Old Sydney Town represents Sydney as it was in 1810 just 22 years after settlement. The Marines of the First Fleet had returned to England by this time and the garrison was the infamous NSW Corps (later to become the 102nd). This event is only two years old and has been hosted by the 73rd Regiment and the management at Old Sydney Town who welcome re-enactors and put up a trophy for the fastest shot from a standing start. Both times to date this competition has been won by men of the 42nd however the 95th in particular are expected to challenge this monopoly next year! All units conduct regular drill days at historic houses and the like and conduct a variety of dinners and social activities. Other recent events have also included a Regency Ball and a 'Bastille Day' battle against the combined French forces (both in Melbourne). The vast distances separating us from the rest of the world (and even from each other!) are sometimes keenly felt by those of us conducting Napoleonic re-enacting, particularly when this leads to greater expense in making or buying equipment and difficulties in obtaining accurate information and so on. We therefore offer our heartfelt thanks to our many friends in the UK, Europe and USA for your assistance, information and friendship over the last few years and into the future! I have included a listing of web site addresses for those units who have them and snail mail addresses for those who don't. The excellent Australian Register of Living History Organisations (run by Tony Cryan in Brisbane) is a must visit site for anyone with an interest in any period of re-enacting in Australia and New Zealand. By the way, can someone in the UK and US write a similar article about local units for future editions?! The information would be greatly appreciated! Quite a number of us are intending to come to Europe for the Waterloo 2001 event (by the way many thanks to Tim Pickles for letting us know about the date change!) so we look forward to meeting you all then and having a yarn over a pint or two!! Till then, come visit our web sites and say G'day!
Listing of Web Addresses for Australian units Australian Register of Living History Organisations (ARLHO)
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~adjutant/arlho/arlho.html
List of Physical Addresses for units not covered above
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The 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment: The 48th also served throughout the Peninsula campaign and saw a great deal of action. The Australian re-enactment unit is based in Port Macquarie in Northern NSW which men of the 48th founded during their service in Australia between 1817 and 1824. 
MacQuarie became the first Army Officer appointed as Governor of NSW following the line of Naval Captains – Phillip, Hunter, King and Bligh. The 73rd was originally a highland unit, however they discontinued highland dress in 1809 as it was considered an impediment to recruiting. The re-enactment unit is based in Sydney and wears the 1806 – 12 pattern felt stovepipe shakos, white trousers and the post 1811 grey half gaiters. The 73rd is commanded by Sergeant Greg Butt.
The 95th (Rifle) Regiment: The 95th is represented by two groups in Australia, both based in Victoria. The 2nd Company, 1st Battalion is based in Eastern Victoria and is commanded by Captain John Couzens. The larger 1st Company, 2nd Battalion although largely based in Melbourne also recruits nationally and has members in NSW, QLD and the ACT. It is commanded by Captain Lewis Evans.
The 21eme Regiment de Ligne: This unit is listed as existing in Auckland, New Zealand, however I'm unaware of it's current status. In Australia, it is intended to form the 2nd company of the 21eme as a dedicated French Napoleonic unit. The 21eme in the UK and North America have been instrumental in advising and sponsoring this unit and recruiting has already begun on a national basis.