Volunteer Troops of the Early 1860s - Victoria and New South Wales

Victorian Yeomanry, Cavalry 1861

Originally Published in The Australasian (Melbourne)

20 July 1912

We had volunteers in the fifties - a troop of yeomanry cavalry, and a company of rifles, in a hideous green uniform, at Melbourne, and another at Geelong. In Sydney, indeed, the movement practically died out in '56. But the great volunteer revival, from which the local forces in Australia trace their origin, virtually dates from '59 60. 

France and England, after having fought side by side in the Crimea, and sworn eternal friendship only four years previously seemed at the point of trying conclusions with one another again; and in Great Britain the sudden menace of invasion created an army of Volunteers, who trilled and rattled the Poet Laureate's "Riflemen Form!" upon their drums and fifes from the Land's End to John o' Groats. Mr. Punch (who on most occasions relentlessly ridiculed the movement) had one cartoon at this period, which represented himself and the Emperor Napoleon III observing the march of a smart citizen battalion. The Emperor, says, "But I thought you were a nation of shopkeepers?" Mr. Punch replies, "So we are, monsieur; and these are the young men who look after the shop."

The example thus set in England was rapidly followed in Australia. An extra ordinary degree of enthusiasm was manifested. Old Volunteer organisations were resuscitated, and new ones sprang up in all directions. The spirit of patriotism, the exhilaration of military exercise, the stimulus of soldierly display, the beatifying exchange of civilian garb for a gleam of the primary colours - these were all potent factors in the attractions presented by the new service. All grades and qualities of mankind pressed eagerly to fill the ranks.

In come cases class distinctions were sustained in different corps. At a suburb not far from St. Kilda, for instance, there were two companies, which were known respectively as "the Nobs" and "the Snobs" the former representing local exclusiveness, and the latter the shopkeeping and artisan element. But this was the exception, not the rule. 

The Volunteer Encampment at Sunbury, 20 May 1867

Professional folk, mercantile and commercial magnates, men of capital, as well as their clerks and servitors, submitted in common to the "goose-step" and "extension motions," the manual and platoon (as it was then termed) "by numbers," trailed the puissant rifle, became "gentlemen of companies;" and in the course of their noviciate endured the brusque sarcasm of truculent drill-instructors and the supercilious pleasantries of jauncing adjutants.  Their aptitude naturally varied' with circumstances but of their zeal there could be no possible doubt. They neither received nor expected any pay, and in many instances went to considerable expense in improving their outfit, and for corps' subscriptions, &c. 

The early morning ushered in drills and parades, which furnished a stimulating tonic before breakfast. Several evenings each week were snatched from rest and recreation, and Saturday, afternoons were given over gladly to the service of the country. As for absence - a Volunteer of those palmy days would no more contemplate such a thing than a prospective Labour member would dream of absenting himself from a meeting of malcontents.

The measurless energy which impelled sweating gunners to haul heavy pieces of ordnance for miles along dusty roads was only to be equalled by the cheeriness with which the infantry marched, skirmished, manoeuvred, and otherwise did their devoir. On the ranges rifles cracked merrily. The associations were initiated, and on the last day of the annual matches jaunty men and bravely apparelled dames and damsels assembled in thousands to approve the marksmen, visit the tents, and rejoice in the strident strains of the band, refreshments the while being lavishly dispensed.

Selected champions from New South Wales and Victoria gallantly contested the Challenge Shield in alternate years at Sydney and Melbourne, until, being ultimately won by New South Wales in 1867, it was borne away in triumph to the harbour city. A handsome bronze trophy this, ornamented in bas-relief with groups of riflemen at exercise; but from its dimensions it would have served only a Titan.

1st NSW Rifle Volunteers: Two old photographs dated in the 1860s or 70s.
The family name of the men could be Appledore or Stone. They lived at Penrith at the time.

Troops of gaudily caparisoned hussars, dragoons, and mounted riflemen blossomed forth in Melbourne. There was also a battery of Horse Artillery; but this rapidly disappeared when it was discovered that there were not any guns available, beyond those already in possession of the field batteries.

Subsequently, owing chiefly to the patriotism of the late Sir William Clarke and Mr. Chirnside, who supplied the horses, a very creditable battery was put into the service, and lasted for many years.

By about 62 all the cavalry had merged into one regiment of "Prince of Wales' Victorian Volunteer Light Horse," whereof there were six troops, respectively at Melbourne, Bacchus Marsh, Geelong, Ballarat, Kyneton, and Castlemaine. They wore a remarkable and rather dashing uniform, which included a scarlet "Garibaldi jacket," and this was also, from the popularity it gained, adopted in the other arms, but it did not adapt itself well to foot-soldiers. 

In New South Wales for many years the cavalry was a failure. A troop of Mounted Rifles in Sydney expired about '61, and there were no more "plungers" until '84, when the movement revived and "boomed." 

There is no space to describe the glories of the early camps at the Werribee and Sunbury - their parades, their sham fights, their reviews, their casualties, and their jollifications.

Volunteer Review and Sham Fight Werribee 1861;
Artist: Thomas Clark (c.1814-1883)

Unfortunately, the community at large could not be induced to take the Volunteers seriously. The time was not to arrive for many years when the citizen force should be regarded as an essential factor in defence, or otherwise than with indulgence tempered by epigrams. In England Mr. Punch (though, as has been seen, he could take their part on occasion) allowed his artist, John Leech, to assail the possible defenders of the country in sketches, making them food for mirth in a thousand ways. All this was more or less echoed by Australian journals. 

The Volunteers' appearance on parade (cruelly alluded to as "the line of beauty and grace"), their peculiar opinions on a variety of military subjects, the vagaries of their officers, and so forth, were ridiculed mercilessly; and, it must be added, in many instances very unfairly. The populace also were hard to endure. The appearance of Volunteers in the street, whether singly, or in parties, or companies marching, was the signal for the shafts of badinage, vulgar, but none the less barbed. Impertinent queries or clown like affectations of extreme respect and abject deference, irritated them. Socially also they were, subjected to raillery, in which the gentler sex was wont to join.

It is possible, also, that the Volunteers were not at that time altogether inclined to take themselves seriously. They had not then arrogated the title of "soldiers" - a term properly only applicable to "regulars" - in other words, to men constantly subject to military law and discipline. The men of the sixties neither termed themselves nor pretended to be anything more than citizen-troops; in fact, they rather gloried in being volunteers and not mercenaries.

There may have been something of this sentiment traceable in the circumstance that their uniform in no way suggested Imperial pattern, but was quite unique in its character.  

Amongst the many interesting photographs which adorn the walls of the Victorian Naval and Military Club are two or three groups of officers of this period They are arrayed in quaint, and, it must be convessed, sometimes unbecoming costume; but that which  strikes one chiefly about them is their good subconscious air of consciousness, as of amateurs playing unaccustomed parts to a critical, rather than an indulgent, audience. 

It must be admitted that the Volunteers  themselves occasionally gave a handle to those who jeered. There was in Sydney a field-officer who became quite renowned for  the bumptious manner in which he and his horse parted company on parade, and his serenity when gathered up uninjured, only to repeat this instance of ground and lofty tumbling on another occasion. 

These were the days of the muzzle-loaders; and it was not unusual for ramods to remain unwithdrawn, to be fired away in the fervid fluster of a mimic skirmish. On a certain field-day a ram-rod thus sent upon the wing, transfixed one of the spectators (who happened to be an old soldier) through the fleshy part of the hip. As they were bearing him away to the hospital, he was overheard to observe mournfully, "Well, this is a pretty job! Here am I, an old soldier that has fought for the Queen and served all over the globe - and I've lived to be shot through the back with a ramrod by a blighted Volunteer!"

On another occasion, a battalion commander, having "rowed" one of his captains on parade for not having carried out his share of a certain movement accurately, the latter, calmly left his post, placed his sword under his arm, and, drawing forth a "manual," Turned up the movement in question, and begged his commanding officer to read for himself, and observe that he (the captain) had been perfectly correct, and that the error was the other way. 

Royal Victorian Volunteer Artillery Melbourne Company, c. 1866

Social precedence, reversed, occasionally caused trouble. It happened that the colour sergeant of a certain company was a worthy solicitor, and that, by Fortune's frolic, his captain was a lawyer's clerk. Possibly the seamy experiences of an attorney's office begot in the commander's mind a morbid delight in harassing other people; or possibly he was impelled by a desire to retaliate the ill-considered snubs which unfeeling principals occasionally inflict upon subordinates. He did, however, so haze and worry his senior sergeant that life became to the latter a burden, for which even the drafting of bills of costs furnished an inadequate solatium. His clients' interests suffered; he mixed mortgages with musketry, titles with tactics, pleadings with parades, and schedules with skirmishes. Ultimately, perceiving that either his mind or his business  must collapse, he resigned, and watched his opportunity for revenge. 

There was only one road to a commission in those days, namely, through the ranks, all first appointments being subject to election by the men. The sole conditions were enrolled membership, approval by the authorities, and capability to pass an examination. Social and even sectarian conditions occasionally influenced these elections, much more than any particular fitness; nor was the question of age taken into account. Thus, it was nothing unusual to find a brisk young captain hectoring two elderly, sedate subalterns. Even the appointment of non-commissioned officers required approval by the men. 

One inevitable result of this system was that all ranks were brought into much closer contiguity. Although it frequently happened (as has been seen) that the subordinate was socially the equal, or superior, of his officer, yet discipline was, as a whole, well maintained: possibly on the principle that "noblesse oblige." On the other hand, officers were careful to address the ranks as "gentlemen," and not to put too much force into their exhortations. 

Whimsical infractions of discipline did, however, occasionally occur. It is hardly to be credited that a full private threatened to raise his officer's rent if that martinet did not desist from girding at him. It is a fact, however, that on a cavalry muster a trooper found that his weapon resisted his utmost efforts to comply with the order, "Draw swords," it having somehow become wedged in the scabbard. The officer, not understanding this, called upon him sharply to draw his sword at once; to which the heated and irritated ranker retorted, "See you jammed first!" and cantered away home. 

The cavalry, by the way, were very bad shots. They were equipped with Westley-Richards breeching-loading carbines of primitive pattern and assembled periodically at the butts, Heidelberg, for practice.  He was a good man that hit the target at all; but some of them continued to throw their bullets over the crest of a hill in rear. 

In those days officers considered the matter of hospitality as one of the first duties devolving upon them with their commissions. Consequently they periodically entertained their men, a compliment which the latter returned by entertaining the former. Most frequently, however, the cost of such symposia was shared by all ranks. There were dinners, and in "swagger" corps sometimes dances. 

Staff Officers of the Victorian Volunteer Force, 25 March 1865
From left to right: Captain Snee, Major Pitt, Colonel Anderson, Captain Payne and Captain Burton

A very popular entertainment was called "A March Out." The men assembled on an appointed evening (sometimes on a Saturday afternoon) attired in full dress, without arms. They marched 2 or 3 miles to some cosy suburban hostelry, and there regaled themselves with a savoury meal. After the usual loyal demonstrations, the captain proposed "The Non-coms.," and then "The Men." These toasts, having been honoured, and responded to,a chosen ranker proposed Captain Siffins and the Officers!" and they returned thanks. 

"Then there was the road home. The company feeling by that time inclined for conviviality, marched "at ease' - very much so - and beguiled the way with roistering song and chorus. They "hanged Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree, whilst his soul went marching on."' They proclaimed boisterous adherence to the sentiment - "The Army and Navy forever - three cheers for the Red, White, and Blue!" They demanded "Three cheers for old Britannia and the  British Grenadiers, and three for Young Australia and her gallant volunteers!" It was stated that in more than one instance an officer had owed his preferment entirely to his variety and versatility as a "chantey man" - to use a sailor term.

Ehen fugaces! During the years that have rolled away, the early force (showing serious symptoms of declension) was converted into militia.  We became more scientific, more systematic, perhaps better disciplined; and now, under our universal compulsory training, every vestige of the old citizen service is to vanish.  Yet there are much worse men then the jovial enthusiasts of the "sixties"; their little peculiarities notwithstanding.

Sources:

1. Old Time Memories (1912, July 20). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 53 (TOWN EDITION). 
2. Victorian Yeomanry, Cavalry 1861; Photographer: Batchelder & O'Neill; Courtesy State Library of Victoria
3. The Volunteer Encampment at Sunbury, 20 May 1867; Publisher: Ebenezer and David Syme; Australian News for Home Readers; Courtesy State Library of Victoria
4. 1st NSW Rifle Volunteers: Two old photographs dated in the 1860s or 70s.  The family name of the men could be Appledore or Stone.  They lived at Penrith at the time. (Personal Collection: Kathy Luck) Courtesy: Digger History
5. Volunteer Review and Sham Fight Werribee 1861; Artist: Thomas Clark (c.1814-1883); Courtesy State Library of Victoria
6. Royal Victorian Volunteer Artillery Melbourne Company, c. 1866; Courtesy State Library of Victoria
7. Staff Officers of the Victorian Volunteer Force, 25 March 1865; Engraver: Samuel Calvert (1828-1913); Publisher: Ebenezer and David Syme, Melbourne; Australian News for Home Readers; Courtesy State Library of Victoria