List of officers of the New South Wales Marine Corps
The officers of the New South Wales Marine Corps commanded the first European military unit to be stationed on the Australian continent. Commissioned to guard convicts aboard the First Fleet to Botany Bay in 1788, they subsequently enforced discipline at penal colonies in Port Jackson and Norfolk Island. The New South Wales Marines were disbanded from 1791 to 1792 as their enlistment term expired. The majority of officers returned to equivalent roles in the British Marines.
Background
The New South Wales Marine Corps was an ad hoc volunteer unit created by the Royal Navy to guard the convicts aboard the First Fleet to Australia, and to preserve "subordination and regularity" in the penal colony in New South Wales.[1] The Corps was established on 31 August 1786 with assent from King George III for a force of Marines and accompanying officers to enforce "... subordination and obedience in the settlement [at Botany Bay], as well as for defence of that settlement against the incursions of the natives."[2] At full strength the New South Wales Marine Corps numbered 213 men.[3]
Volunteers for the NSW Marine Corps were required to have had a satisfactory prior record of service in the British Marines, to be at least 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) tall and under forty years of age. Both officers and men were entitled to an honourable discharge after three years of colonial service, as an alternative to the British Marine tradition of enlistment for life.[4] Rates of pay were in accordance with equivalent ranks in the British Marines including routine provision of a subsistence allowance worth two-thirds of daily pay. British Marines received the allowance when in the field (i.e., not serving on board a vessel); the New South Wales Marines received the allowance for the duration of their three-year enlistment, relieving the Admiralty or the government of the colony of the responsibility of providing messing facilities.[4]
Officers wore a red long-tailed doublet, white trousers, black shoes with gaiters, and a black headdress. They were authorised to carry swords and sidearms in addition to the Brown Bess musket available to all personnel.[3]
Marine Corps officers
Name | Born | NSW Marine Corps service | NSW rank | NSW duties | Subsequent service | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert Ross | 1740 | October 1786 — November 1792 | brevet Major |
|
| 1794 of natural causes, Brompton, England |
James Campbell | c.1740 | May 1787 — December 1791 | Captain |
|
| 1795 |
John Shea | c.1755 | December 1786 — February 1789 | Captain |
|
| 1789 of tuberculosis, Port Jackson, NSW |
James Meredith | 1753 | May 1787 — December 1791 | Captain-lieutenant |
|
| 1841 of natural causes, Monmouth England |
Watkin Tench | 1758 | December 1786 — December 1791 | Captain-lieutenant |
|
| 1833 of natural causes, Devonport England |
George Johnston | 1764 | November 1786 — June 1791 | First Lieutenant |
|
| 1823 of natural causes, Lake Illawarra, NSW |
John Creswell | unknown | May 1787 — December 1791 | Second Lieutenant | — |
| 1804 |
Thomas Davey | unknown | November 1786 — December 1791 | First Lieutenant | — |
| 1823 of natural causes, London England |
James Furzer | unknown | December 1786 — December 1791 | First Lieutenant |
|
| 1799, West Indies |
James Maxwell | unknown | May 1787 — July 1788 | First Lieutenant |
|
| 1792 of disease, Plymouth England |
Robert Kellow | unknown | May 1787 — December 1791 | First Lieutenant |
|
| unknown |
John Poulden | unknown | December 1786 — December 1791 | First Lieutenant | — |
| unknown |
John Johnson | unknown | November 1786 — December 1791 | First Lieutenant | — |
| unknown |
William Faddy | unknown | December 1786 — December 1791 | Second Lieutenant | — | * Promoted to captain-lieutenant, 1797 | 1798, killed in action aboard HMS Vanguard, Egypt |
John Long | unknown | December 1786 — December 1791 | Second Lieutenant |
|
| unknown |
Thomas Timins | unknown | December 1786 — June 1792 | Second Lieutenant | — |
| 1828 of natural causes, Southsea England |
James Shairp | unknown | December 1786 — December 1791 | First Lieutenant |
|
| 1796 of disease, Chatham England |
Ralph Clark | 1755 | December 1786 — December 1791 | Second Lieutenant |
|
| 1794, killed in action, Haiti |
William Dawes | 1762 | 1787 — December 1791 | Second Lieutenant |
|
| 1836, Antigua |
Alexander Ross | unknown | July 1788 — December 1791 | Second Lieutenant (local rank) |
|
| 1801, Brentford England |
References
- ^ Correspondence from Lord Sydney to the Lords Commissioners of Treasury, 18 August 1786. Cited in Britton 1978, p. 14.
- ^ Correspondence, The Lords of the Admiralty to His Majesty the King, 21 November 1786. Cited in Bladen (ed.) 1978, pp. 372–373
- ^ a b First Fleet Fellowship – Marines,[1] – accessed 1 July 2015.
- ^ a b Moore 1989, p.8
Bibliography
- Bladen, F. M., ed. (1978). Historical records of New South Wales. Vol. 2. Grose and Paterson, 1793–1795. Lansdown Slattery & Co. ISBN 0868330035.
- Britton, Alex R., ed. (1978). Historical records of New South Wales. Vol. 1, part 2. Phillip, 1783–1792. Lansdown Slattery & Co. p. 56. OCLC 219911274.
- Moore, John (1989). The First Fleet Marines. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0702220655.