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Boer War Transvaal Contingent (1899)

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Boer War Transvaal contingent education content clip 1

This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

This actuality footage was taken by the official photographer of the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Frederick Charles Wills, and his assistant, Henry William Mobsby in 1899. Crowds line the streets to watch the First Queensland Cavalry Contingent parade just before it departs for the Boer War in South Africa.

Curator’s notes

by Elizabeth Taggart-Speers

Wills and Mobsby used a Lumière Cinematographe to capture the action from a static viewpoint above Queen Street in Brisbane.

Over 16,000 Australian troops volunteered and served in the Boer War which began in 1899. Australia’s contribution not only showed allegiance to the British Empire but also helped to build and promote a new national identity only two years before Federation.

The legend of Lieutenant ‘Breaker’ Morant, Lieutenant Handcock and Lieutenant George Witton, made famous from Bruce Beresford’s Breaker Morant (1979) occurred during the Boer War. They were arrested and tried in a court martial for shooting Boer prisoners.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows the Queensland Mounted Infantry parading through Brisbane before departing to serve in the Boer War. The soldiers are shown on horseback riding past Post Office Square in Queen Street, where crowds of people line the route and walk alongside the parade, giving the soldiers a rousing farewell. Flags, including the Queensland ensign, are strung across the street. The footage, which is silent and black and white, was shot on 28 October 1899.

Educational value points

  • The Boer War (1899–1902) was fought between Britain and Dutch–Afrikaner settlers, known as Boers. Both wanted control of resources in southern Africa, which at the time was divided into British colonies and independent Boer republics. The discovery of diamond and gold deposits in the Boer-held Transvaal and Orange Free State in the 1880s fuelled British imperial ambition, but the Boers fought to keep their independence and control of the new-found riches. Britain fought the War on the pretext of protecting its citizens within the Boer republics.
  • Australia, as part of the British Empire, sent about 12,000 troops to serve in the War, and Australian men already in South Africa also joined British and South African colonial units. Australians were concentrated in the mounted units, which were active in the final drawn-out phase of the conflict, when guerrilla fighting replaced conventional warfare. At least 600 Australians died in the War, either in action or from disease.
  • In 1899 Australia comprised six colonies, each of which sent separate troop contingents to the Boer War. The clip shows the Queensland contingent. In July 1899, when war in South Africa seemed imminent, Queensland was the first colony to offer troops to help Britain against the Boers. In the same month the British Government requested participation from New South Wales and Victoria. The first contingent actually to be sent when war broke out in October 1899 included troops from Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.
  • The first contingent of troops from Queensland sent to the Boer War is shown in the clip. After Britain accepted Queensland’s offer of troops, the 2nd\14th Queensland Mounted Infantry was detailed for duty, leaving Brisbane on 1 November 1899 and arriving in Capetown, South Africa, in December. The following month the 2nd\14th distinguished itself in an engagement at Sunnyside, which saw the Boers retreat. Thirty Boer soldiers were killed, 41 Boer soldiers taken prisoner, and a large supply of weapons and food was captured. Two members of the 2nd\14th were killed, becoming the first Australians to die in the War.
  • The clip suggests that the public supported Australian involvement in the Boer War. When war broke out the Australian public was generally in favour of sending troops. Australia was on the verge of federation and involvement in the conflict was seen as a chance to demonstrate allegiance to Britain. However, as the War dragged on and details of the suffering endured by Boer civilians began to emerge, the public became disillusioned. The court-martial and execution of two Australians, Lieutenants Morant and Handcock, also affected public opinion.
  • This excerpt is from a film made for the Queensland Department of Agriculture. In 1899, the Department’s photographer, Frederick Wills, and his assistant, Henry Mobsby, produced about thirty 1-min films for the Department. The first Australian government films, they centred on agricultural production, but also included historical events, such as the parade shown in this clip and the opening of Queensland Parliament. The films were made to accompany lectures in Britain promoting migration to Queensland and were never shown publicly in Australia.
  • The footage was shot on a Lumière Cinématographe, a portable three-in-one camera, projector and film developer, invented by French film pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière in 1895. Wills convinced the Queensland Department of Agriculture that film could be a useful tool for the Department and in 1898 he was sent to Sydney to purchase a Lumière Cinématographe and to learn how to use it. This is the final film he shot for the Department.
  • At the time the footage was taken, films were silent and black and white. The size and weight of the camera meant filmmakers tended to use long static takes, as in this clip where the camera remains fixed. Short actuality films recording daily life in Australia were made as early as 1896, and provided a staple income for early Australian filmmakers. Film was first projected onto a screen for public exhibition in 1895, and Australians quickly embraced the new technology. The first Australian feature-length film was made in 1906.