 and rivers , as well as naval brigades to man vessels and forts . Victoria became the most powerful of all the colonial navies , with the ironclad HMVS Cerberus in service from 1870 , as well as the steam @-@ sail warship HMS Nelson on loan from the Royal Navy , three small gunboats and five torpedo @-@ boats . New South Wales formed a Naval Brigade in 1863 and by the start of the 20th century had two small torpedo @-@ boats and a corvette . The Queensland Maritime Defence Force was established in 1885 , while South Australia operated a single ship , HMCS Protector . Tasmania had also a small Torpedo Corps , while Western Australia 's only naval defences included the Fremantle Naval Artillery . Naval personnel from New South Wales and Victoria took part in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900 , while HMCS Protector was sent by South Australia but saw no action . The separate colonies maintained control over their military and naval forces until Federation in 1901 , when they were amalgamated and placed under the control of the new Commonwealth of Australia .   = = = Sudan , 1885 = = =   During the early years of the 1880s , an Egyptian regime in the Sudan , backed by the British , came under threat from rebellion under the leadership of native Muhammad Ahmad ( or Ahmed ) , known as Mahdi to his followers . In 1883 , as part of the Mahdist War , the Egyptians sent an army to deal with the revolt , but they were defeated and faced a difficult campaign of extracting their forces . The British instructed the Egyptians to abandon the Sudan , and sent General Charles Gordon to co @-@ ordinate the evacuation , but he was killed in January 1885 . When news of his death arrived in New South Wales in February 1885 , the government offered to send forces and meet the contingent 's expenses . The New South Wales Contingent consisted of an infantry battalion of 522 men and 24 officers , and an artillery battery of 212 men and sailed from Sydney on 3 March 1885 .   The contingent arrived in Suakin on 29 March and were attached to a brigade that consisted of Scots , Grenadier and Coldstream Guards . They subsequently marched for Tamai in a large " square " formation made up of 10 @,@ 000 men . Reaching the village , they burned huts and returned to Suakin : three Australians were wounded in minor fighting . Most of the contingent was then sent to work on a railway line that was being laid across the desert towards Berber , on the Nile . The Australians were then assigned to guard duties , but soon a camel corps was raised and 50 men volunteered . They rode on a reconnaissance to Takdul on 6 May and were heavily involved in a skirmish during which more than 100 Arabs were killed or captured . On 15 May , they made one last sortie to bury the dead from the fighting of the previous March . Meanwhile , the artillery were posted at Handoub and drilled for a month , but they soon rejoined the camp at Suakin .   Eventually the British government decided that the campaign in Sudan was not worth the effort required and left a garrison in Suakin . The New South Wales Contingent sailed for home on 17 May , arriving in Sydney on 19 June 1885 . Approximately 770 Australians served in Sudan ; nine subsequently died of disease during the return journey while three had been wounded during the campaign .   = = = Second Boer War , 1899 – 1902 = = =   British encroachment into areas of South Africa already settled by the Afrikaner Boers and the competition for resources and land that developed between them as a result , led to the Second Boer War in 1899 . Pre @-@ empting the deployment of British forces , the Afrikaner Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic under President Paul Kruger declared war on 11 October 1899 , striking deep into the British territories of Natal and the Cape Colony . After the outbreak of war , plans for the dispatch of a combined Australian force were subsequently set aside by the British War Office and each of the six colonial governments sent separate contingents to serve with British formations , with two squadrons each of 125 men from New South Wales and Victoria , and one each from the other colonies . The first troops arrived three weeks later , with the New South Wales Lancers — who had been training in England before the war , hurriedly diverted to South Africa . On 22 November , the Lancers came under fire for the first time near Belmont , and they subsequently forced their attackers to withdraw after inflicting significant casualties on them .   Following a series of minor victories , the British suffered a major setback during Black Week between 10 – 17 December 1899 , although no Australian units were involved . The first contingents of infantry from Victoria , South Australia , Western Australia , and Tasmania arrived in Cape Town on 26 November and were designated the Australian Regiment under the command of Colonel John Charles Hoad . With a need for increased mobility ,
Ġand Ġrivers Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġnaval Ġbrig ades Ġto Ġman Ġvessels Ġand Ġfor ts Ġ. ĠVictoria Ġbecame Ġthe Ġmost Ġpowerful Ġof Ġall Ġthe Ġcolonial Ġnav ies Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġiron clad ĠHM VS ĠCerberus Ġin Ġservice Ġfrom Ġ1870 Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġthe Ġsteam Ġ@ - @ Ġsail Ġwars hip ĠHMS ĠNelson Ġon Ġloan Ġfrom Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠNavy Ġ, Ġthree Ġsmall Ġgun boats Ġand Ġfive Ġtorpedo Ġ@ - @ Ġboats Ġ. ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġformed Ġa ĠNaval ĠBrigade Ġin Ġ1863 Ġand Ġby Ġthe Ġstart Ġof Ġthe Ġ20 th Ġcentury Ġhad Ġtwo Ġsmall Ġtorpedo Ġ@ - @ Ġboats Ġand Ġa Ġcor vette Ġ. ĠThe ĠQueensland ĠMaritime ĠDefence ĠForce Ġwas Ġestablished Ġin Ġ18 85 Ġ, Ġwhile ĠSouth ĠAustralia Ġoperated Ġa Ġsingle Ġship Ġ, ĠHM CS ĠProtector Ġ. ĠTasmania Ġhad Ġalso Ġa Ġsmall ĠTor ped o ĠCorps Ġ, Ġwhile ĠWestern ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġonly Ġnaval Ġdefences Ġincluded Ġthe ĠFrem antle ĠNaval ĠArt illery Ġ. ĠNaval Ġpersonnel Ġfrom ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġand ĠVictoria Ġtook Ġpart Ġin Ġthe Ġsuppression Ġof Ġthe ĠBox er ĠRebellion Ġin ĠChina Ġin Ġ1900 Ġ, Ġwhile ĠHM CS ĠProtector Ġwas Ġsent Ġby ĠSouth ĠAustralia Ġbut Ġsaw Ġno Ġaction Ġ. ĠThe Ġseparate Ġcolonies Ġmaintained Ġcontrol Ġover Ġtheir Ġmilitary Ġand Ġnaval Ġforces Ġuntil ĠFederation Ġin Ġ1901 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthey Ġwere Ġamalg am ated Ġand Ġplaced Ġunder Ġthe Ġcontrol Ġof Ġthe Ġnew ĠCommonwealth Ġof ĠAustralia Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠSudan Ġ, Ġ18 85 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthe Ġearly Ġyears Ġof Ġthe Ġ1880 s Ġ, Ġan ĠEgyptian Ġregime Ġin Ġthe ĠSudan Ġ, Ġbacked Ġby Ġthe ĠBritish Ġ, Ġcame Ġunder Ġthreat Ġfrom Ġrebellion Ġunder Ġthe Ġleadership Ġof Ġnative ĠMuhammad ĠAhmad Ġ( Ġor ĠAhmed Ġ) Ġ, Ġknown Ġas ĠMah di Ġto Ġhis Ġfollowers Ġ. ĠIn Ġ18 83 Ġ, Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠMah dist ĠWar Ġ, Ġthe ĠEgyptians Ġsent Ġan Ġarmy Ġto Ġdeal Ġwith Ġthe Ġrevolt Ġ, Ġbut Ġthey Ġwere Ġdefeated Ġand Ġfaced Ġa Ġdifficult Ġcampaign Ġof Ġextracting Ġtheir Ġforces Ġ. ĠThe ĠBritish Ġinstructed Ġthe ĠEgyptians Ġto Ġabandon Ġthe ĠSudan Ġ, Ġand Ġsent ĠGeneral ĠCharles ĠGordon Ġto Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġord inate Ġthe Ġevacuation Ġ, Ġbut Ġhe Ġwas Ġkilled Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ18 85 Ġ. ĠWhen Ġnews Ġof Ġhis Ġdeath Ġarrived Ġin ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġin ĠFebruary Ġ18 85 Ġ, Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġoffered Ġto Ġsend Ġforces Ġand Ġmeet Ġthe Ġcontingent Ġ' s Ġexpenses Ġ. ĠThe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠCont ing ent Ġconsisted Ġof Ġan Ġinfantry Ġbattalion Ġof Ġ5 22 Ġmen Ġand Ġ24 Ġofficers Ġ, Ġand Ġan Ġartillery Ġbattery Ġof Ġ212 Ġmen Ġand Ġsailed Ġfrom ĠSydney Ġon Ġ3 ĠMarch Ġ18 85 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcontingent Ġarrived Ġin ĠSu akin Ġon Ġ29 ĠMarch Ġand Ġwere Ġattached Ġto Ġa Ġbrigade Ġthat Ġconsisted Ġof ĠScots Ġ, ĠGren adier Ġand ĠCold stream ĠGuards Ġ. ĠThey Ġsubsequently Ġmarched Ġfor ĠT ama i Ġin Ġa Ġlarge Ġ" Ġsquare Ġ" Ġformation Ġmade Ġup Ġof Ġ10 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġmen Ġ. ĠRe aching Ġthe Ġvillage Ġ, Ġthey Ġburned Ġh uts Ġand Ġreturned Ġto ĠSu akin Ġ: Ġthree ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġwounded Ġin Ġminor Ġfighting Ġ. ĠMost Ġof Ġthe Ġcontingent Ġwas Ġthen Ġsent Ġto Ġwork Ġon Ġa Ġrailway Ġline Ġthat Ġwas Ġbeing Ġlaid Ġacross Ġthe Ġdesert Ġtowards ĠBer ber Ġ, Ġon Ġthe ĠNile Ġ. ĠThe ĠAustralians Ġwere Ġthen Ġassigned Ġto Ġguard Ġduties Ġ, Ġbut Ġsoon Ġa Ġcamel Ġcorps Ġwas Ġraised Ġand Ġ50 Ġmen Ġvolunteered Ġ. ĠThey Ġrode Ġon Ġa Ġreconnaissance Ġto ĠTak d ul Ġon Ġ6 ĠMay Ġand Ġwere Ġheavily Ġinvolved Ġin Ġa Ġskirm ish Ġduring Ġwhich Ġmore Ġthan Ġ100 ĠArabs Ġwere Ġkilled Ġor Ġcaptured Ġ. ĠOn Ġ15 ĠMay Ġ, Ġthey Ġmade Ġone Ġlast Ġsort ie Ġto Ġbury Ġthe Ġdead Ġfrom Ġthe Ġfighting Ġof Ġthe Ġprevious ĠMarch Ġ. ĠMeanwhile Ġ, Ġthe Ġartillery Ġwere Ġposted Ġat ĠHand oub Ġand Ġdrilled Ġfor Ġa Ġmonth Ġ, Ġbut Ġthey Ġsoon Ġrejo ined Ġthe Ġcamp Ġat ĠSu akin Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠEventually Ġthe ĠBritish Ġgovernment Ġdecided Ġthat Ġthe Ġcampaign Ġin ĠSudan Ġwas Ġnot Ġworth Ġthe Ġeffort Ġrequired Ġand Ġleft Ġa Ġgarrison Ġin ĠSu akin Ġ. ĠThe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠCont ing ent Ġsailed Ġfor Ġhome Ġon Ġ17 ĠMay Ġ, Ġarriving Ġin ĠSydney Ġon Ġ19 ĠJune Ġ18 85 Ġ. ĠApproximately Ġ770 ĠAustralians Ġserved Ġin ĠSudan Ġ; Ġnine Ġsubsequently Ġdied Ġof Ġdisease Ġduring Ġthe Ġreturn Ġjourney Ġwhile Ġthree Ġhad Ġbeen Ġwounded Ġduring Ġthe Ġcampaign Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠSecond ĠBo er ĠWar Ġ, Ġ1899 ĠâĢĵ Ġ1902 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠBritish Ġencro achment Ġinto Ġareas Ġof ĠSouth ĠAfrica Ġalready Ġsettled Ġby Ġthe ĠAf rik an er ĠBo ers Ġand Ġthe Ġcompetition Ġfor Ġresources Ġand Ġland Ġthat Ġdeveloped Ġbetween Ġthem Ġas Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġled Ġto Ġthe ĠSecond ĠBo er ĠWar Ġin Ġ1899 Ġ. ĠPre Ġ@ - @ Ġempt ing Ġthe Ġdeployment Ġof ĠBritish Ġforces Ġ, Ġthe ĠAf rik an er ĠRepublic s Ġof Ġthe ĠOrange ĠFree ĠState Ġand Ġthe ĠTrans va al ĠRepublic Ġunder ĠPresident ĠPaul ĠKru ger Ġdeclared Ġwar Ġon Ġ11 ĠOctober Ġ1899 Ġ, Ġstriking Ġdeep Ġinto Ġthe ĠBritish Ġterritories Ġof ĠN atal Ġand Ġthe ĠCape ĠColony Ġ. ĠAfter Ġthe Ġoutbreak Ġof Ġwar Ġ, Ġplans Ġfor Ġthe Ġdispatch Ġof Ġa Ġcombined ĠAustralian Ġforce Ġwere Ġsubsequently Ġset Ġaside Ġby Ġthe ĠBritish ĠWar ĠOffice Ġand Ġeach Ġof Ġthe Ġsix Ġcolonial Ġgovernments Ġsent Ġseparate Ġconting ents Ġto Ġserve Ġwith ĠBritish Ġformations Ġ, Ġwith Ġtwo Ġsquad rons Ġeach Ġof Ġ125 Ġmen Ġfrom ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġand ĠVictoria Ġ, Ġand Ġone Ġeach Ġfrom Ġthe Ġother Ġcolonies Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġtroops Ġarrived Ġthree Ġweeks Ġlater Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales ĠL ancers ĠâĢĶ Ġwho Ġhad Ġbeen Ġtraining Ġin ĠEngland Ġbefore Ġthe Ġwar Ġ, Ġhurried ly Ġdiverted Ġto ĠSouth ĠAfrica Ġ. ĠOn Ġ22 ĠNovember Ġ, Ġthe ĠL ancers Ġcame Ġunder Ġfire Ġfor Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtime Ġnear ĠBel mont Ġ, Ġand Ġthey Ġsubsequently Ġforced Ġtheir Ġattackers Ġto Ġwithdraw Ġafter Ġinflicting Ġsignificant Ġcasualties Ġon Ġthem Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFollowing Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġminor Ġvictories Ġ, Ġthe ĠBritish Ġsuffered Ġa Ġmajor Ġsetback Ġduring ĠBlack ĠWeek Ġbetween Ġ10 ĠâĢĵ Ġ17 ĠDecember Ġ1899 Ġ, Ġalthough Ġno ĠAustralian Ġunits Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġconting ents Ġof Ġinfantry Ġfrom ĠVictoria Ġ, ĠSouth ĠAustralia Ġ, ĠWestern ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġand ĠTasmania Ġarrived Ġin ĠCape ĠTown Ġon Ġ26 ĠNovember Ġand Ġwere Ġdesignated Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠRegiment Ġunder Ġthe Ġcommand Ġof ĠColonel ĠJohn ĠCharles ĠH oad Ġ. ĠWith Ġa Ġneed Ġfor Ġincreased Ġmobility Ġ,