'The Sacking of Albany'--the image of the Boer War veteran in Australia.

On Saturday morning, 31 May 1902, Australia's acting Minister for Defence, former New South Wales Premier Sir William Lyne, boarded the troopship Aurania in Port Phillip Bay. The Aurania was bringing home the largest contingent of Australian soldiers to return from the war in South Africa--1500 men from New South Wales, Victorian, Queensland and New Zealand contingents, together with demobilised Australian volunteers who had served in South African units. The acting minister was not there to provide a warm welcome to the men, and he was greeted by surly troops--'an air of depression seemed to hang over everyone' reported a journalist from The Age newspaper also on board. Sir William was to investigate 'grave claims' and 'strange complaints' about riot, disorder and property damage, from both Albany, the Western Australian town that had been the vessel's first port of call on the voyage, and Cape Town, the ship's port of embarkation in South Africa.

The complaints had been received while the ship was steaming across the Great Australian Bight. Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported on 29 May that Sir William Lyne had been shocked to receive 'two accounts from South Africa for about 500 [pounds sterling]', claims for compensation resulting from allegations 'that a number of returning soldiers [those on the Aurania], in a wild outbreak by way of celebrating their last night in South Africa, broke windows and generally painted Cape Town "red" '. Sydney's Telegraph had editorialised the previous day under the heading of 'the sacking of Albany' that the returning soldiers had indulged in a 'riotous orgy', resulting in accusations of theft, breaking and entering, and the smashing of windows--so that 'many of the victims furnished the officer commanding with claims for compensation'. The newspaper suggested the officers shared the blame. Through their 'undue relaxation of discipline [they] contributed ... to these proceedings ...', realising 'thus the worst of the evils to be locally expected of militarism, that of forcible domination of citizens by swaggering soldiers ... excesses ... not for a moment to be tolerated'.

A welcome prepared in Sydney was in danger of cancellation. The Commonwealth and New South Wales governments, and the Commonwealth military authorities, wanted to know the truth about the allegations, which also included that a large amount of Government property was thrown overboard ... on the way to Western Australia'.

It has been said that by these actions the soldiers made themselves objects of contempt in Australia, undermining the heroic status they had previously enjoyed. But were they actually guilty of the crimes attributed to them and did their guilt or innocence really alter the attitude of the Australian community towards them? Had the soldiers really become objects of contempt in the eyes of their fellow Australians? With 1200 of the 1500 men aboard from New South Wales it was that State that was going to bear the bulk of any odium that arose from the alleged incidents.

In overall command of the returning soldiers was Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Beauchamp Lassetter, of the 2nd NSW Mounted Rifles. Sydney-born and a prominent businessman in civilian life, his first career had been in the British Army, and he was a Sandhurst-trained veteran of the Nile campaign of 1885. The NSW Premier, John See, had already telegraphed Lassetter by the time Sir William boarded the Aurania, asking for a report on the truth or not of the allegations. Lassetter responded, reported the Sydney Morning Herald on 2 June, that 'the looting at Capetown was not done by the troops under my command. No Government properties were thrown overboard by the troops ... No great excesses were committed at Albany. A few stowaways and men who are not Australians committed a few robberies. The conduct of the Australian troops under my charge aboard the Aurania has been exemplary'.

Lassetter also gave this account to Sir William on board the ship. The troops were resentful about the publication of reports reflecting upon their conduct, and Lassetter indignant. 'The men', he said, 'were as fine a body as he had ever had to deal with':

   he considered it grossly unfair that they should have heaped upon
   them the opprobrium which should have been bestowed on the actual
   offenders ... about the Capetown affair ... there had been
   considerable exaggeration.... After leaving Capetown it was found
   that there were on board some 25 or 30 stowaways... These men were
   put ashore at Albany and immediately began misconducting themselves.
   From the fact that they were in uniform the townspeople concluded
   that they belonged to the regular troops on the transport. A cruel
   injustice had, in consequence, been done to a very fine body of men ...

Other officers pointed out that while the men were said to have behaved outrageously at Albany none was subsequently imprisoned on the ship. The stowaways were 'scallywags', and it was they and two Aurania firemen who caused the trouble.

The Aurania's Captain King supported Lassetter's opinion of the men during the voyage, saying their 'conduct ... throughout the voyage, considering the very large body on board, had been really exemplary. ... He was sure no one could find fault with their general conduct'. Afterwards Sir William addressed the troops. 'They had been sent out in the name of Australia to fight the battles of the Empire', he said, 'and ... they had fulfilled that duty nobly and well.'

   When a large body of fighting men are returning after an arduous
   campaign, 1 should be surprised if one did not find some committing
   some slight indiscretions. But we got cables which put the matter in
   a very serious light. I am pleased to find ... that there is very
   little truth in these exaggerated rumours--(loud cheers) ... I have
   heard ... the statement of the facts of the case, and when that
   statement ... is known, the people will see that it was only a
   semblance of truth on which the cable was based, but nothing of a
   serious character. (Loud and prolonged cheering.) ...

The men cheered 'vociferously' as the Minister's launch steamed off for shore, their Sydney welcome assured.

The Aurania continued her voyage to Sydney shortly after 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. A 'fairly large' crowd gathered at Watson's Bay to see it pass through Sydney Heads at 4:30 pm on Monday 2 June. Major-General Sir Edward Hutton, since December 1901 the first General Officer Commanding, Commonwealth Military Forces and a former Commandant of the New South Wales Forces, was cordially received by Lieutenant-Colonel Lassetter aboard ship, but a Daily Telegraph reporter got shorter shrift. Lassetter had given orders the Daily Telegraph was not to be allowed aboard, and when one reporter attempted it just as Major-General Hutton arrived, Lassetter had the journalist 'conducted "down below"'. 'I'll teach your Daily Telegraph to libel my men!', 'thundered' Lassetter. However, the Major-General told the reporter he was satisfied with the explanation of the Cape Town and Albany incidents, and, probably with reference to the Daily Telegraph's editorial of 28 May, indignant about the 'statements' made about Albany in particular.

Although publicly satisfied with Lassetter's explanation, General Hutton continued the investigation into the incidents in both Cape Town and Albany. As 'Picquet', the West Australian's military correspondent, noted on 7 June, 'the last has not been heard of this unpleasant business' at Albany.

Reputedly what had happened in Cape Town involved both disorderly conduct in the town itself and the ransacking and robbing of a Sikh camp adjacent to where returning colonial soldiers were bivouacked before their departure from South Africa. The 3rd New South Wales Bushmen's contingent were also accused of stealing a large quantity of beer and brandy while entrained for Cape Town from the South African hinterland.

A formal report dated 27 May sent from South Africa by Major-General Sir Henry Settle, KCB, DSO, said although some payments had been made made already, still outstanding was a sum of 544/14/5 [pounds sterling]. But even Settle agreed it had been 'impossible to bring charges home to either corps or individuals', after a 'complete failure to identify' the culprits. Nevertheless, Settle had paid 500 [pounds sterling] himself and was seeking reimbursement from the Australian government.

Lassetter and the officer commanding the Bushmen, Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon Rupert Carington, formerly a Guards officer and member of the House of Commons, responded with denials.

In a letter from 'Widgiewa', his property near Narrandera, New South Wales, Carington wrote on 28 August 1902 that while he could say nothing about the voyage home as he had remained in South Africa for further service, the Bushmen were completely innocent of looting on the train journey. Most passengers, he said, had been from British or local units, and the officer in command of the train had been a militia captain (as if this was sufficient explanation). No Bushmen had been present when the Sikh camp had been looted, and, as for Capetown, he said, 'I consider the behaviour of the men under the circumstances excellent'. He had patrolled the town personally on the night before the Aurania sailed and 'saw no disturbance of any kind'. There had been only one claim against the Bushmen, for 4/10/0 [pounds sterling], which he paid.

Lassetter also denied any involvement of his men in the looting and destruction of property. In a letter dated 8 September 1902 he accepted that the looting on the Sikh camp had taken place, but other units than those from New South Wales were present. Nevertheless, he had paid 110 [pounds sterling] restitution, more than the Australians fair share. Earlier, in June and August, Lassetter had said that at the time the camp was attacked, he had mustered the 2nd and 3rd NSW Mounted Rifles and the Bushmen--not all of whom had yet arrived in the camp--and all had been accounted for. He believed, consequently, that no New South Wales troops had taken part in the looting, or the trouble in the remount lines that had started it, but that these had been the fault of the militia and irregular corps soldiers waiting to be returned to England or demobilised locally. Although denying responsibility he had given the local commandant 110 [pounds sterling] to help with compensation and considered the matter ended. At Cape Town, Lassetter claimed, the conduct of the troops under his command had been 'uniformly good', and that apart from some drunkenness and absence without leave there had been 'no crime whatsoever in my Regiment'. 'I did not see', he assured the Australian authorities, 'a single one of the New South Wales men who misbehaved himself or whose conduct was in any way reprehensible'. Rather, Lassetter said, it was the fault of the British and local authorities 'filling up the ranks with deserters from the mercantile marine and the scum of the earth, who are found at Cape Town, and carting them to the front as Australians'. This gave the Australians a bad name. Lassetter had refused to accept such reinforcements, though some had been offered to him.

Major Granville Burnage of the 3rd NSW Mounted Rifles also described the conduct of his regiment in Cape Town as 'extremely good'. No damage was done the night they were in the town, and the British Army embarkation officer had congratulated the men on their conduct while going aboard the Aurania.

A claim against three unidentified Australian non-commissioned officers that they had stolen a bicycle valued at 3 [pounds sterling] while drunk in Cape Town, the property of the British Army, and had taken it aboard the Aurania was never substantiated, and the bicycle never recovered.

In Albany it was reported by the Officer Commanding Albany garrison, Major V L Beer, that the conduct of the troops from the Aurania during the two days from the afternoon of 21 May had prompted the local magistrate to write to Lassetter asking that leave be stopped and a picket be sent ashore to keep order, the Police being inadequate for the task. Leave was stopped on 23 May. Major Beer wrote that 'the large majority of the men were well-behaved, but little control appears to have been exercised over the rowdy element'. He accused this 'rowdy element' of a great deal of drunkenness, disgusting language, urinating in the street in broad daylight, 'considerable wanton destruction of property', and, at the Royal George Hotel, the use of mirrors and glass doors for 'revolver practice'. Troops were accused of assaulting and robbing Ah Box, a local Chinese man, and the theft of over 20 [pounds sterling] worth of cash and jewellery from Miss Bertha Weiss, barmaid at the 'Royal George', 150 [pounds sterling] worth of jewellery belonging to Mrs Stonell, the wife of the proprietor of the White Hart Hotel, billiard balls, a mackintosh, a pair of mounted deer horns and miscellaneous items from Duffner's Jewellers. Troops were suspected also of several other robberies, including the theft of a boat and two dinghies, valued at 100 [pounds sterling].

Despite the apparent detail of Major Beer's report, he had been in town only once during the time the Aurania men were ashore (his barracks being a mile and a half from the Albany Post Office). He had seen no disturbances and had heard about it only after shore leave had been cancelled and the soldiers were back on board ship. But Beer himself was criticised for taking no steps to prevent the disturbances, given that the majority of the soldiers were not involved, for not communicating with the Aurania, and for failing to detail a picket to assist the Police. Major Beer, concluded a minute on the Department's file, 'would seem to have completely overlooked the responsibility of himself as OC Troops Albany'. Beer responded that he had a strength of only two officers and 16 other ranks to face more than 1,000 men on shore leave and had felt it was the responsibility of the officers aboard the Aurania to do something.

To the specific accusations Lassetter replied that only one man had returned to the Aurania drunk, that the disturbances were the responsibility of discharged South African irregulars who still wore their khaki uniforms, deserting ship's firemen and stowaways. These last included 'American gamblers' who, Lassetter said, came on board with the express purpose of swindling the troops. Several were landed at Albany and others escaped custody during the stopover.

As had been the case in South Africa, no individuals or units could be specifically charged with any of the alleged crimes. Major Beer also admitted that in a number of cases the damage done was paid for, and that a subscription was taken up among the men to repay Miss Weiss for her losses (she nevertheless continued to pursue her claim). The investigation finally recognised eight claims for damages amounting to 211/0/6 [pounds sterling], Major-General Hutton having concluded as early as 5 August that 'there is in my opinion no doubt that various irregularities were committed, and some indiscipline shown by the Troops and others who landed in Albany from the troopship Aurania '.

Attempting to make the best of the situation, and believing the New South Wales troops had had their pay withheld pending the outcome of the inquiry, Hutton recommended that they be charged with the full amount owing, including from the officers. Lassetter objected, but the matter was moot, New South Wales having either not received or ignored Hutton's instruction about withholding pay. In the end Hutton could only recommend the whole matter be referred to the New South Wales Government to see if it would make good the claims. Miss Weiss was still attempting to obtain some compensation in July 1903.

So it seems there was some substance to the accusations that disorderly behaviour did take place, at least in Albany. However, despite the incriminating circumstances, no concrete evidence was ever proferred that connected any individual member of the units aboard the Aurania to these incidents. Nor could any certain accusations ever be laid against a particular unit. General Hutton was convinced wrong-doing had occurred, but was stymied in his attempt to arrange some restitution by the fact that the units had been paid out and disbanded. His hands were also tied by the divided military and political responsibility for the soldiers, who had volunteered, served and returned as members of New South Wales, not Commonwealth, military forces. Neither General Settle in Capetown nor the citizens of Albany appear to have received any payment, from either the Commonwealth or the State of New South Wales.

In the short term, the outcome of the investigation was less relevant than the reception the men received when they arrived in Sydney. State authorities, satisfied with the explanations Colonel Lassetter had given, went ahead with the planned reception. 'An enormous number of people' greeted the Aurania when it berthed early on Tuesday morning, 3 June, reported the Sydney Morning Herald, 'and formed a dense mass in Macquarie-street between Circular Quay and the gates of the Federal Government House, it being along that street the troops would have to march to reach the Inner Domain'. The Aurania and other ships in the harbour were decorated with bunting, and a guard of honour and the band of the Permanent Artillery force were on the dock to receive the men, who were escorted on their march through Sydney by mounted police, an escort of lancers, a troop of mounted cadets, and the artillery, Police and Civil Service Bands. At the Inner Domain when the troops arrived were Lady Rawson and her daughter, Rear-Admiral Beaumont, the Premier, former Premier and Federal politician George Reid, the Archbishop of Sydney, Colonel Lassetter's father, Frederick Lassetter, the New South Wales Minister for Public Instruction and the Inspector-General of Police. Among the many senior military officers present was Major-General Hutton, wearing the uniform of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles, of which he was honorary colonel. Hutton 'made a cursory inspection of the men' before the New South Wales Governor, Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, KCB, who had only recently taken up his post, arrived to address the returned soldiers.

The Governor welcomed the men home, saying 'we are all proud of you and what you have done'. Then Premier See spoke, saying significantly that 'not a tittle of truth' had been found in the 'unfortunate comments' about their conduct in Capetown and Albany. He 'heartily congratulated the officers and men on their return, and on the magnificent deeds they had performed in South Africa in the cause of the Empire'. More strongly, Major-General Hutton said:

   I congratulate you on having so well vindicated the trust reposed in
   you when you left these shores as representatives of New South Wales.
   I share to the full the indignation felt by you all at the publicity
   given to the rumours of irregularity on the part of the
   troops ... Those rumours have been given a credit entirely
   undeserved.... it was at least to be hoped that the irregularities
   so detrimental to the honour of us soldiers should have been
   substantiated in some form before being given the publicity which
   was accorded them. The statements caused a thrill of indignation
   and shame throughout the whole of Australia, and no one felt them
   more than myself, not only as the General Officer Commanding the
   military forces of the Commonwealth, but as honorary Colonel of
   the distinguished regiment whose uniform I wear.

Rawson, See and Hutton were all cheered for their speeches. George Reid managed also to elicit laughter before also saying to loud cheers:

   You came out from the ranks of your fellow-countrymen as volunteers.
   We were proud of you then. We watched your hardships, your
   conspicuous gallantry and success, and now that you have com back
   we are proud of you still.... I join with the Premier in thanking
   you, on behalf of the people of this country and all Australia, for
   the noble record which you have put up for this grand new land.

Large and enthusiastic crowds cheered the returned soldiers as they then marched up Macquarie, William, Bourke and Oxford Streets to Victoria Barracks. There the troops were provided with lunch and paid out. This done, the men who could joined their families and friends who were waiting, and 'there were more welcomes home and other signs of affection everywhere in evidence'. Later, said the Sydney Morning Herald, Hutton indicated he 'was very pleased at the successful manner in which the general arrangements had been carried out. The men behaved themselves extremely well, and caused no trouble'. The Daily Telegraph quoted Hutton as saying that 'it was a day on which all Australia could be proud'.

On the following Wednesday evening the returned soldiers were the guests of the Government at a 'half smoke concert' at Sydney Town Hall. Again the main political leaders of New South Wales were present--the Governor, the Premier, the Leader of the Opposition--as were other politicians, senior public servants, and military figures. The Daily Telegraph contradicted its 28 May opinion, recording that 'in the speeches ... a note was smack which could leave no doubt in the mind of the returned troops' the appreciation of the people of New South Wales 'of the hardships they have endured and the part they have played in making a name for Australia prouder than in days not long gone'.

Reports over the following days recorded similar receptions for the Aurania soldiers returning to their homes in country New South Wales--particularly at Newcastle, Forbes, Hay, Orange, Tumut and West Maitland. At West Maitland 'the health of the returned soldiers'--Captain Robert Scobie and Lieutenant Malbon Thompson, of the 3rd Mounted Rifles, prominent among them--'was enthusiastically honored' by the Mayor, several local military officers, and 'a large gathering' at the Military Hall. Tumut's nine returning soldiers were met on the road by horsemen and vehicles, and were escorted into the be-flagged and decorated town by the Tumut Brass Band. Each soldier was mounted on a grey horse supplied by the townspeople before they were welcomed by the Mayor in front of a crowd of about 400. In Sydney, Colonel Lassetter was given a banquet by staff of his family firm, F Lassetter and Co. Ltd, on Saturday, 7 June.

The events of 3 June and subsequent days suggest that whatever the truth about the incidents in Cape Town and Albany, it was never the case that the men were viewed by the community to which they returned in anything but the highest regard. Despite what the Daily Telegraph had thought on 28 May, the Aurania troops from New South Wales were welcomed home enthusiastically. There was no mistaking the overwhelming public and official approbation with which they were greeted, in Sydney and in regional centres. Publicly at least, this never changed. The Daily Telegraph itself, on 16 June, quoted a letter from Major-General Fetherstonhaugh in South Africa, under whom Lassetter's 2nd Mounted Rifles and Carington's 3rd Imperial Bushmen had served. Fetherstonhaugh wrote that 'I appreciate their good and gallant service during the past year ... I hope that if you get an opportunity you will convey to all ranks the very high esteem I have of them ... I cannot say enough in praise of their conduct under fire and elsewhere'. And that seems also to have been the final assessment of the people of Australia.

MHSA History Prize

Officer Cadet Andrew Hastie was awarded the Military Historical Society of Australia History Prize at the Awards Ceremony, held at the Australian Defence Force Academy on Wednesday, 10 December 2003. The prize was presented to Officer Cadet Hastie by the Federal President, Major Robert Morrison.