 Australia , the violence moved north with European settlement , reaching the Kimberley region by 1880 , with violent clashes continuing until the 1920s . In the Northern Territory conflict lasted even later still , especially in central Australia , continuing from the 1880s to the 1930s . One estimate of casualties places European deaths at 2 @,@ 500 , while at least 20 @,@ 000 Aborigines are believed to have perished . Far more devastating though was the effect of disease which significantly reduced the Aboriginal population by the beginning of the 20th century ; a fact which may also have limited their ability to resist .   = = = New Zealand Wars , 1861 – 64 = = =   = = = = Taranaki War = = = =   In 1861 , the Victorian ship HMCSS Victoria was dispatched to help the New Zealand colonial government in its war against Māori in Taranaki . Victoria was subsequently used for patrol duties and logistic support , although a number of personnel were involved in actions against Māori fortifications . One sailor died from an accidental gunshot wound during the deployment .   = = = = Invasion of the Waikato = = = =   In late 1863 , the New Zealand government requested troops to assist in the invasion of the Waikato province against the Māori . Promised settlement on confiscated land , more than 2 @,@ 500 Australians ( over half of whom were from Victoria ) were recruited to form four Waikato Regiments . Other Australians became scouts in the Company of Forest Rangers . Despite experiencing arduous conditions the Australians were not heavily involved in battle , and were primarily used for patrolling and garrison duties . Australians were involved in actions at Matarikoriko , Pukekohe East , Titi Hill , Ōrākau and Te Ranga . Fewer than 20 were believed to have been killed in action . The conflict was over by 1864 , and the Waikato Regiments disbanded in 1867 . However , many of the soldiers who had chosen to claim farmland at the cessation of hostilities had drifted to the towns and cities by the end of the decade , while many others had returned to Australia .   = = = Colonial military forces , 1870 – 1901 = = =   From 1870 until 1901 , each of the six colonial governments was responsible for their own defence . The colonies had gained responsible government between 1855 and 1890 , and while the Colonial Office in London retained control of some affairs , the Governor of the each colony was required to raise their own colonial militia . To do this , they were granted the authority from the British crown to raise military and naval forces . Initially these were militias in support of British regulars , but when military support for the colonies ended in 1870 , the colonies assumed their own defence responsibilities . The colonial military forces included unpaid volunteer militia , paid citizen soldiers , and a small permanent component . They were mainly infantry , cavalry and mounted infantry , and were neither housed in barracks nor subject to full military discipline . Even after significant reforms in the 1870s — including the expansion of the permanent forces to include engineer and artillery units — they remained too small and unbalanced to be considered armies in the modern sense . By 1885 , the forces numbered 21 @,@ 000 men . Although they could not be compelled to serve overseas many volunteers subsequently did see action in a number conflicts of the British Empire during the 19th century , with the colonies raising contingents to serve in Sudan , South Africa and China .   Despite a reputation of colonial inferiority , many of the locally raised units were highly organised , disciplined , professional , and well trained . During this period , defences in Australia mainly revolved around static defence by combined infantry and artillery , based on garrisoned coastal forts . However , by the 1890s , improved railway communications between the mainland eastern colonies led Major General James Edwards — who had recently completed a survey of colonial military forces — to the belief that the colonies could be defended by the rapid mobilisation of brigades of infantry . As a consequence he called for a restructure of defences , and defensive agreements to be made between the colonies . Edwards argued for the colonial forces to be federated and for professional units — obliged to serve anywhere in the South Pacific — to replace the volunteer forces . These views found support in the influential New South Wales Commandant , Major General Edward Hutton , however suspicions held by the smaller colonies towards New South Wales and Victoria stifled the proposal . These reforms remaining unresolved however , and defence issues were generally given little attention in the debate on the political federation of the colonies .   With the exception of Western Australia , the colonies also operated their own navies . In 1856 , Victoria received its own naval vessel , HMCSS Victoria , and its deployment to New Zealand in 1860 during the First Taranaki War marked the first occasion that an Australian warship had been deployed overseas . The colonial navies were expanded greatly in the mid @-@ 1880s and consisted of a number of gunboats and torpedo @-@ boats for the defence of harbours
ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġthe Ġviolence Ġmoved Ġnorth Ġwith ĠEuropean Ġsettlement Ġ, Ġreaching Ġthe ĠKimber ley Ġregion Ġby Ġ1880 Ġ, Ġwith Ġviolent Ġclashes Ġcontinuing Ġuntil Ġthe Ġ1920 s Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe ĠNorthern ĠTerritory Ġconflict Ġlasted Ġeven Ġlater Ġstill Ġ, Ġespecially Ġin Ġcentral ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġcontinuing Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ1880 s Ġto Ġthe Ġ1930 s Ġ. ĠOne Ġestimate Ġof Ġcasualties Ġplaces ĠEuropean Ġdeaths Ġat Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ500 Ġ, Ġwhile Ġat Ġleast Ġ20 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAb orig ines Ġare Ġbelieved Ġto Ġhave Ġperished Ġ. ĠFar Ġmore Ġdevastating Ġthough Ġwas Ġthe Ġeffect Ġof Ġdisease Ġwhich Ġsignificantly Ġreduced Ġthe ĠAboriginal Ġpopulation Ġby Ġthe Ġbeginning Ġof Ġthe Ġ20 th Ġcentury Ġ; Ġa Ġfact Ġwhich Ġmay Ġalso Ġhave Ġlimited Ġtheir Ġability Ġto Ġresist Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠNew ĠZealand ĠWars Ġ, Ġ1861 ĠâĢĵ Ġ64 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠTar an aki ĠWar Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1861 Ġ, Ġthe ĠVictorian Ġship ĠH MC SS ĠVictoria Ġwas Ġdispatched Ġto Ġhelp Ġthe ĠNew ĠZealand Ġcolonial Ġgovernment Ġin Ġits Ġwar Ġagainst ĠM Äģ ori Ġin ĠTar an aki Ġ. ĠVictoria Ġwas Ġsubsequently Ġused Ġfor Ġpatrol Ġduties Ġand Ġlog istic Ġsupport Ġ, Ġalthough Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġpersonnel Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġin Ġactions Ġagainst ĠM Äģ ori Ġfort ifications Ġ. ĠOne Ġsailor Ġdied Ġfrom Ġan Ġaccidental Ġgunshot Ġwound Ġduring Ġthe Ġdeployment Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠInvasion Ġof Ġthe ĠWa ik ato Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġlate Ġ1863 Ġ, Ġthe ĠNew ĠZealand Ġgovernment Ġrequested Ġtroops Ġto Ġassist Ġin Ġthe Ġinvasion Ġof Ġthe ĠWa ik ato Ġprovince Ġagainst Ġthe ĠM Äģ ori Ġ. ĠProm ised Ġsettlement Ġon Ġconfiscated Ġland Ġ, Ġmore Ġthan Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ500 ĠAustralians Ġ( Ġover Ġhalf Ġof Ġwhom Ġwere Ġfrom ĠVictoria Ġ) Ġwere Ġrecruited Ġto Ġform Ġfour ĠWa ik ato ĠReg iments Ġ. ĠOther ĠAustralians Ġbecame Ġscouts Ġin Ġthe ĠCompany Ġof ĠForest ĠRangers Ġ. ĠDespite Ġexperiencing Ġardu ous Ġconditions Ġthe ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġnot Ġheavily Ġinvolved Ġin Ġbattle Ġ, Ġand Ġwere Ġprimarily Ġused Ġfor Ġpatrolling Ġand Ġgarrison Ġduties Ġ. ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġin Ġactions Ġat ĠMat ar ik or iko Ġ, ĠP uke ko he ĠEast Ġ, ĠTit i ĠHill Ġ, ĠÅ Į r Äģ k au Ġand ĠTe ĠR anga Ġ. ĠFew er Ġthan Ġ20 Ġwere Ġbelieved Ġto Ġhave Ġbeen Ġkilled Ġin Ġaction Ġ. ĠThe Ġconflict Ġwas Ġover Ġby Ġ18 64 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠWa ik ato ĠReg iments Ġdisbanded Ġin Ġ18 67 Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġmany Ġof Ġthe Ġsoldiers Ġwho Ġhad Ġchosen Ġto Ġclaim Ġfarmland Ġat Ġthe Ġcessation Ġof Ġhostilities Ġhad Ġdrifted Ġto Ġthe Ġtowns Ġand Ġcities Ġby Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġdecade Ġ, Ġwhile Ġmany Ġothers Ġhad Ġreturned Ġto ĠAustralia Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠColonial Ġmilitary Ġforces Ġ, Ġ1870 ĠâĢĵ Ġ1901 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠFrom Ġ1870 Ġuntil Ġ1901 Ġ, Ġeach Ġof Ġthe Ġsix Ġcolonial Ġgovernments Ġwas Ġresponsible Ġfor Ġtheir Ġown Ġdefence Ġ. ĠThe Ġcolonies Ġhad Ġgained Ġresponsible Ġgovernment Ġbetween Ġ18 55 Ġand Ġ1890 Ġ, Ġand Ġwhile Ġthe ĠColonial ĠOffice Ġin ĠLondon Ġretained Ġcontrol Ġof Ġsome Ġaffairs Ġ, Ġthe ĠGovernor Ġof Ġthe Ġeach Ġcolony Ġwas Ġrequired Ġto Ġraise Ġtheir Ġown Ġcolonial Ġmilitia Ġ. ĠTo Ġdo Ġthis Ġ, Ġthey Ġwere Ġgranted Ġthe Ġauthority Ġfrom Ġthe ĠBritish Ġcrown Ġto Ġraise Ġmilitary Ġand Ġnaval Ġforces Ġ. ĠInitially Ġthese Ġwere Ġmilitias Ġin Ġsupport Ġof ĠBritish Ġregulars Ġ, Ġbut Ġwhen Ġmilitary Ġsupport Ġfor Ġthe Ġcolonies Ġended Ġin Ġ1870 Ġ, Ġthe Ġcolonies Ġassumed Ġtheir Ġown Ġdefence Ġresponsibilities Ġ. ĠThe Ġcolonial Ġmilitary Ġforces Ġincluded Ġunpaid Ġvolunteer Ġmilitia Ġ, Ġpaid Ġcitizen Ġsoldiers Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġsmall Ġpermanent Ġcomponent Ġ. ĠThey Ġwere Ġmainly Ġinfantry Ġ, Ġcavalry Ġand Ġmounted Ġinfantry Ġ, Ġand Ġwere Ġneither Ġhoused Ġin Ġbarracks Ġnor Ġsubject Ġto Ġfull Ġmilitary Ġdiscipline Ġ. ĠEven Ġafter Ġsignificant Ġreforms Ġin Ġthe Ġ1870 s ĠâĢĶ Ġincluding Ġthe Ġexpansion Ġof Ġthe Ġpermanent Ġforces Ġto Ġinclude Ġengineer Ġand Ġartillery Ġunits ĠâĢĶ Ġthey Ġremained Ġtoo Ġsmall Ġand Ġun balanced Ġto Ġbe Ġconsidered Ġarmies Ġin Ġthe Ġmodern Ġsense Ġ. ĠBy Ġ18 85 Ġ, Ġthe Ġforces Ġnumbered Ġ21 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġmen Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthey Ġcould Ġnot Ġbe Ġcompelled Ġto Ġserve Ġoverseas Ġmany Ġvolunteers Ġsubsequently Ġdid Ġsee Ġaction Ġin Ġa Ġnumber Ġconflicts Ġof Ġthe ĠBritish ĠEmpire Ġduring Ġthe Ġ19 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġcolonies Ġraising Ġconting ents Ġto Ġserve Ġin ĠSudan Ġ, ĠSouth ĠAfrica Ġand ĠChina Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDespite Ġa Ġreputation Ġof Ġcolonial Ġinferior ity Ġ, Ġmany Ġof Ġthe Ġlocally Ġraised Ġunits Ġwere Ġhighly Ġorganised Ġ, Ġdisciplined Ġ, Ġprofessional Ġ, Ġand Ġwell Ġtrained Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthis Ġperiod Ġ, Ġdefences Ġin ĠAustralia Ġmainly Ġrev olved Ġaround Ġstatic Ġdefence Ġby Ġcombined Ġinfantry Ġand Ġartillery Ġ, Ġbased Ġon Ġgarrison ed Ġcoastal Ġfor ts Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġby Ġthe Ġ1890 s Ġ, Ġimproved Ġrailway Ġcommunications Ġbetween Ġthe Ġmainland Ġeastern Ġcolonies Ġled ĠMajor ĠGeneral ĠJames ĠEdwards ĠâĢĶ Ġwho Ġhad Ġrecently Ġcompleted Ġa Ġsurvey Ġof Ġcolonial Ġmilitary Ġforces ĠâĢĶ Ġto Ġthe Ġbelief Ġthat Ġthe Ġcolonies Ġcould Ġbe Ġdefended Ġby Ġthe Ġrapid Ġmobil isation Ġof Ġbrig ades Ġof Ġinfantry Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġconsequence Ġhe Ġcalled Ġfor Ġa Ġrest ructure Ġof Ġdefences Ġ, Ġand Ġdefensive Ġagreements Ġto Ġbe Ġmade Ġbetween Ġthe Ġcolonies Ġ. ĠEdwards Ġargued Ġfor Ġthe Ġcolonial Ġforces Ġto Ġbe Ġfeder ated Ġand Ġfor Ġprofessional Ġunits ĠâĢĶ Ġobliged Ġto Ġserve Ġanywhere Ġin Ġthe ĠSouth ĠPacific ĠâĢĶ Ġto Ġreplace Ġthe Ġvolunteer Ġforces Ġ. ĠThese Ġviews Ġfound Ġsupport Ġin Ġthe Ġinfluential ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠCommand ant Ġ, ĠMajor ĠGeneral ĠEdward ĠH utton Ġ, Ġhowever Ġsuspicions Ġheld Ġby Ġthe Ġsmaller Ġcolonies Ġtowards ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġand ĠVictoria Ġst ifled Ġthe Ġproposal Ġ. ĠThese Ġreforms Ġremaining Ġunresolved Ġhowever Ġ, Ġand Ġdefence Ġissues Ġwere Ġgenerally Ġgiven Ġlittle Ġattention Ġin Ġthe Ġdebate Ġon Ġthe Ġpolitical Ġfederation Ġof Ġthe Ġcolonies Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWith Ġthe Ġexception Ġof ĠWestern ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġthe Ġcolonies Ġalso Ġoperated Ġtheir Ġown Ġnav ies Ġ. ĠIn Ġ18 56 Ġ, ĠVictoria Ġreceived Ġits Ġown Ġnaval Ġvessel Ġ, ĠH MC SS ĠVictoria Ġ, Ġand Ġits Ġdeployment Ġto ĠNew ĠZealand Ġin Ġ1860 Ġduring Ġthe ĠFirst ĠTar an aki ĠWar Ġmarked Ġthe Ġfirst Ġoccasion Ġthat Ġan ĠAustralian Ġwars hip Ġhad Ġbeen Ġdeployed Ġoverseas Ġ. ĠThe Ġcolonial Ġnav ies Ġwere Ġexpanded Ġgreatly Ġin Ġthe Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ1880 s Ġand Ġconsisted Ġof Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġgun boats Ġand Ġtorpedo Ġ@ - @ Ġboats Ġfor Ġthe Ġdefence Ġof Ġharb ours