New Zealand's Armed Constabulary and its Australian context, 1867-72.

Introduction

This is another article designed to explore an aspect of New Zealand's military history, which in turn sheds light on the significance and presence of Australian born or derived personnel within the ranks of this colony's Armed Constabulary (AC). These Australian derived men were especially valuable in the late wars crisis period of 1868-69. (1) This Australian involvement greatly aided the expansion and development of this force, as it had already done for so many other New Zealand colonial units in the conflicts that occurred throughout the earlier 1860s.

Origins and Development of the Armed Constabulary

The New Zealand AC formally came into existence with the proclamation by Governor Sir George Grey on 19 October 1867, `that the said `Act to provide for the Establishment and Maintenance of an Armed Constabulary' shall come into operation on and after the first day of November next.' (2) This newly raised force was New Zealand's first colony-wide police force. The personnel who initially composed this force largely transferred from, or had previous service with other New Zealand colonial forces such as the Forest Rangers, the Taranaki and Waikato Military Settler Regiments, as well as discharged soldiers from Imperial regiments who had served in New Zealand or elsewhere. `For the first two or three years the armed constables' duties more nearly resembled those of soldiers than of civil police.' (3) This was especially true when taking into account the unrest and conflict that occurred in 1868-69 on both the East Coast and West Coast of the North Island of New Zealand; and sporadic fighting did not cease till 1872, though tensions and incidents continued to occur in border regions.

In a comprehensive history of New Zealand policing, Richard Hill described the structure and role of the AC:

   The Armed Constabulary, in conception a combined standing army and
   occupation/pacification police, was designed essentially for North
   Island use. Its brief as a mobile militarised constabulary however
   covered the entire colony, ... Taking over the tasks of several
   military and quasi-military bodies, the Armed Constabulary was
   nevertheless intended to be-in line with a state re-evaluation of
   the situation of socio-racial control-more a constabulary proper
   than a fighting corps per se. This projected state move at fairly
   rapid pace along the coercive continuum away from the repressive
   pole was to be retarded by renewed outbreaks of insurrection on
   both North Island coastlines, but from 1869 Government strategy
   could get back on track again. With the Armed Constabulary
   `demilitarised' under Former [Victorian Police Officer &] Otago
   Commissioner St John Branigan, its evolution from a constabularised
   military operation into a semi-military police force proceeded
   apace. (4)

James Cowan had earlier compared the AC with that of the North-West Mounted Police of Canada, a frontier force which in organization resembled the AC Field Force:

   The Armed Constabulary Field Force remained in existence until 1885,
   and that year saw also the end of the occupation of redoubts on the
   frontier. Officered by a splendid set of frontier soldiers the Force
   had been the mainstay of the colony's defences during the dark years
   of the last war. Its semi-civil foundation did not prevent it
   carrying through regular campaigns with success in wild, almost
   impregnable country. (5)

Contribution of Australian experienced Officers

There are numerous examples of individuals (officers in particular being well documented) who had varied imperial or colonial experiences such as former British regular, and, or, New Zealand colonial forces service, before their employment in the AC. One individual with diverse Australian and New Zealand colonial experience was Smart (also as Stewart) Newall. (6) He was born in Dumfries, Scotland in 1843, and came to New Zealand from Victoria in 1863. After trying his hand at gold mining in Otago he enlisted as a military settler in Dunedin in December 1863 and served in the 3rd Waikato Regiment. Newall saw service with this military settler regiment doing garrison duty at Drury, Papakura, and, Queen's Redoubt, was appointed colour-sergeant in July 1864, `and in 1865 became Regimental Orderly-room Clerk, and so remained till the 9th March 1868, when the regimental records were wound up.' (7) After this service he went on to join the AC as a sergeant in No.4 Division, whereupon he proceeded to Wanganui in February 1869 and took part in the campaign against Titokowaru on the West Coast. Shortly after Newall was appointed 2nd Class Sub-Inspector on 10 June 1869, (8) and thereafter continued to serve in the AC till 1883 when he transferred to the New Zealand Defence Force. This continued role with the New Zealand Army led to his command of the 5th New Zealand Contingent to South Africa in 1900. (9)

Another individual whose family and personal career also had Australian and New Zealand experience was Cholwell Dean Pitt. C.D. Pitt's father was Lieutenant-Colonel George Dean Pitt, an officer of the 80th Regiment, who was especially instrumental over the years 1859-62 in the redevelopment and expansion of the volunteer movement in Victoria. G.D. Pitt had previously served in New Zealand in 1848 as private secretary to his major-general father (also named George Dean Pitt) who was a provincial Lieutenant-Governor and also the first General Officer Commanding in New Zealand (1847-51). In February 1862 G.D. Pitt was ordered by the Horse Guards to return to New Zealand from Victoria. On 10 July 1863 G.D. Pitt was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel `for special service' (commission dated 27 June 1863) in the 1st Battalion Auckland Regiment of Militia. From here he became prominent (especially in Victoria) in the enlistment of military settlers for the New Zealand government in Australia in 1863 and 1864. (10)

Cholwell Dean Pitt was to continue the family's military orientation and followed his father to New Zealand. On 3 July 1863 he was commissioned an ensign in the First Battalion of the Auckland Regiment of Militia, and subsequently served in the initial group of military settlers raised by his father which became commonly known as `Pitt's Militia' and was the nucleus of the 1st Waikato Regiment. (11) Ensign Pitt was then promoted Lieutenant `vice [Lt. T. A.] Norman, killed in action [Mauku, 23 October 1863]', with a commission dated 5 November 1863. (12) Frank Glen noted:

   Posted to St. Brides Church at Mauku a day or so after Perceval [&
   Norman] was killed, Pitt commanded the 4th Company, 1st Waikato
   Regiment. Later he was stationed for some time in Tauranga. On the
   disbanding of his regiment Pitt decided to follow a professional
   soldiers career and enlisted ... in the newly formed Armed
   Constabulary. Pitt's skills lay in his ability to train and organise
   friendly Maoris who were employed against the Hauhaus. (13)

On 27 October 1867 Lieutenant Pitt was commissioned Sub-Inspector in the newly formed AC. (14) On 16 March 1869, Sub-Inspector Pitt was appointed to the rank of Inspector, though this commission was initially cancelled on 8 May of the same year. Pitt's appointment to the rank of Inspector was then reconfirmed with a commission dated 1 December 1869. (15) He later resigned his AC commission on 3 March 1874, after eleven years military service, nine of which were on active field service. Pitt's last appointment had been as commandant at Poverty Bay of the Wairoa Militia District. (16)

Earlier Australian derived New Zealand Police Presence

One should remember that the Australian colonies were also the locale from which personnel were similarly obtained in the 1840s. Amongst the various civil service and other government personnel supplied by New South Wales to assist with the establishment and policing of the new colony of New Zealand in 1840, were `a Serjeant and four Troopers of the Mounted Police' of New South Wales. (17) This small detachment was later placed under the command of Lieutenant Henry Dalton Smart, 28th Regiment, formerly commander of the Mounted Police division stationed at Bathurst, who arrived in New Zealand in March 1840 with additional mounted police personnel and troop horses aboard the storeship Westminster. (18) This detachment was utilised as part of a force including a detachment of the 80th Regiment despatched by Lieutenant-Governor Captain William Hobson R.N. to Port Nicholson to restore the sovereignty of the Queen and to subordinate the New Zealand Company to Hobson's Government in May 1840. (19) Mounted Police troopers were volunteers who were selected from various British regular regiments such as the 80th then garrisoned in New South Wales. (20) So even in this initial period of colonial emergence, New Zealand relied upon Australia for some of its initial police requirements. (21)

Australian Contribution to New Zealand Provincial Police

One aspect of Australian involvement in New Zealand that rarely merits acknowledgement, is the role and influence of former police officers and other ranks. This cross-Tasman migration of police personnel saw individuals come particularly from Victoria, but also from other colonies such as New South Wales, who were sought for the creation and development of the provincial police forces of New Zealand, and particularly in the South Island. These experienced men were of great importance to the emergence and expansion of such Police Forces, especially on the gold fields in locations such as Otago in the early 1860s. What is not then recognised is such individuals also tended to later serve in other New Zealand colonial military forces, or else were absorbed from their provincial police forces into the newly created AC in 1867 onwards. In this manner, some of these men were also to play a role in the wars of the late 1860s. Similarly, the conditions of service and pay of the restructured AC appears to have continued to draw recruits from Australia, and again mainly from the Victorian police force up to the early 1870s at least. (22)

One example of an individual with both Australian and New Zealand extended police and military service was Jackson Keddell. Keddell was a former Victorian Policeman who went to Otago to assist Commissioner St John Branigan, another former Victorian Police Officer colleague and personal friend:

Although English and Anglican rather than Irish and Catholic, Keddell's career was similar to that of his superior: army service, Victorian police, rapid rise to commissioned officer rank. On leave of absence from the Victorian force, he had come privately with Branigan to the province to sound out prospects. The Commissioner secured a backdating of Keddell's appointment as Sub-Inspector in Otago to 20 August [1861], the date the pair had left Melbourne along with two policemen who had been originally sanctioned, Peter Sheridan and Hugh Bracken (whose terms of employment also applied from the day they had left Victoria). (23)

In November 1863 Keddell was appointed Captain in the 4th Waikato Military Settler Regiment, later becoming second-in-command to Colonel William Moule. (24) In January 1864 Captain Keddell accompanied Colonel G.D. Pitt to Victoria to assist in the second military settler recruiting mission. (25) After his return in early 1864, and now a Major, Keddell commanded and cared for some seventy families at Otahuhu who were without their men-folk currently serving in the field in the 4th Waikato Regiment. In October 1864, Major Keddell took over at Onehunga, and Colonel Moule was able to depart for Hamilton. (26) H.C.M. Norris surmised:

   Jackson Keddell, the second in command of the Fourths [4th Waikato
   Regiment], was appointed paymaster to the Waikato Forces. Although
   his name has not appeared very often ... his special qualities and
   ability no doubt were useful in the early days of the [establishment
   of the military settlement] town [of Hamilton]. He had served as an
   officer in the Victorian Police from 1853 to 1861. He then became an
   assistant to Commissioner Brannigan who he helped organise the
   mounted police for escort duty in the Otago gold rush. In Otago also
   he had acted as Resident Magistrate and Mining Warden. W. Seed,
   Under Secretary for Defence, confirmed his reputation as an
   efficient and zealous officer. His previous history, however,
   does not suggest that he would have been likely to adopt farming as
   a livelihood. (27)

In 1867, Major Keddell sold out of the lands he acquired in and around the military settlement of Hamilton, and not long after this ceased to act as paymaster to the Waikato forces. He was thereafter appointed Resident Magistrate and Warden at Thames, another gold producing region, where he also became interested in business as a mining agent. The rest of Keddell's career was as Resident Magistrate and Warden, largely in the South Island from whence he had first come from Victoria, and where he died in 1910. (28)

Armed Constabulary Recruitment in Melbourne 1868-69

Into the make up of New Zealand's AC must also be included the 205 men recruited and embarked by Captain William Griffin Stack in Melbourne in December 1868 and January 1869. This particular Australian contribution to New Zealand's military forces has not been effectively acknowledged nor detailed; a somewhat strange situation when once again these recruits show the importance of the Australian colonies as a locale from which to obtain military personnel in times of New Zealand crisis. Although considerably smaller in number to the thousands obtained during the military settler recruiting in 1863 and 1864, these men were a vital contribution to a government scrambling to outfit and deploy adequate forces to contend with events taking place on the West and East Coasts of the North Island. (29)

On Saturday 28 November 1868, Captain Stack arrived in Hobson's Bay, Melbourne, aboard the steamship Omeo which had departed Wellington with stops at Greymouth, then Hokitika, before sailing from that latter port on 20 November. (30) Stack's arrival in Victoria marked the commencement of a fresh recruitment drive by the New Zealand government to obtain 200 men for the AC, a move not seen in the Australian colonies since the military settler recruiting missions in 1863 and 1864.

Stack had been appointed captain in the First Battalion of the Auckland Regiment of Militia, with a commission dated 22 June 1863. (31) Following this appointment he served in command of a company of the 1st Waikato Military Settler Regiment, 1863-67. (32) During the Waikato Campaign, his company initially moved from headquarters at Otahuhu to Drury, and from there was recorded as departing for the front on 28 October 1863. (33) Later after seeing active service in the Tauranga Bush Campaign (January-February 1867), he was appointed paymaster for Colonial Defence Services at Tauranga and Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty on 26 December 1867. (34) It was in this region that the establishment of military settlements for many of the members of the 1 st Waikato Regiment took place. From review of the military service of Captain Stack it can be seen that he was not only an experienced military officer but also had significant involvement with the Australian volunteer component associated with the 1 st Waikato Regiment. This experience would no doubt have placed him in good position when ordered to recruit personnel for the AC in Victoria in 1868. Following his recruiting services in Melbourne, he continued to have connections with this force into the 1870s. (35)

The Melbourne Argus provided a very lengthy commentary on the events associated with Captain Stack and his recruiting mission to Victoria:

   Another attempt is being made to obtain Victorian recruits for
   military service in New Zealand. This is the third effort of the
   kind. In the two previous instances Colonel Pitt ...
   came here to enrol men to serve as a species of military
   settlers.... The present recruiting officer is Captain Stack,
   district adjutant of the Western District of the Middle Island,
   including the districts of Hokitika, Greymouth, West Port, and
   Ross.... He arrived in Melbourne ... under the following
   circumstances. While at Hokitika he received a telegram from the
   Central Government at Wellington, directing him to proceed to
   Melbourne to raise a force of 200 men to join the armed constabulary
   force now engaged in coping with the rebellious Maories. We are not
   allowed to know the terms of this telegram, which at present is
   Captain Stack's sole credential, further that that it was dated
   November 18, directed him to start at once, and expressly stated
   that the attempt to raise recruits was to be made `with the sanction
   of the Victorian Government.' As might be expected, Captain Stack
   lost no time, and waited upon Mr. M'Culloch on Monday last. Upon the
   whole, his proposition was very unfavourably received. He got no
   decided answer, however, nor did he ask for one, being eager that
   time should be allowed for the arrival of despatches from the New
   Zealand Government ... which is expected shortly. Mr. M'Culloch said
   that, at all events, the matter must stand over for a day, as a
   Cabinet Council would meet in the afternoon, when the question would
   be duly considered. Yesterday Captain Stack waited on Mr. M'Culloch
   again, when that gentleman said that the Government had decided upon
   adopting a memorandum setting forth their willingness that the 400
   men of the 14th Regiment stationed here should go to the seat of war
   at once, supposing the Governor and the Commander-in-Chief gave
   their consent. This was a view of the case which Captain Stack was
   not authorised to act upon, and so the second interview terminated,
   leaving matters in status quo.... We may state, according to the
   information we have received, that the New Zealand armed
   constabulary ... the conditions of which are, it is said, more
   liberal that those allowed by the Imperial Government. We believe
   that though nothing has been done save the publication in the
   Government newspaper of a very partial account of Captain Stack's
   errand and reception, no hope of being allowed to set to work
   recruiting has been held out to him. (36)

Medical and Private Detective assistance

To assist Captain Stack in his recruiting mission, a Doctor Dermott was also despatched from Hokitika to provide medical inspections of prospective AC recruits. Dermott arrived in Melbourne aboard the Otago on 4 December 1868. (37) Despite this provision of a medical practitioner, it was revealed via New Zealand papers in January 1869, that some Melbourne recruits were not truly medical fit for service and were promptly discharged in Wanganui:

   The doctors have been making a raid among the newly enrolled men of
   the force-men chiefly from Melbourne and the West Coast. About fifty
   of them have been discharged on account of permanent and organic
   disease of one kind or another. It was too bad of the officers
   entrusted with the enrolling of constabulary to have exercised so
   little pains in selection. No doubt, a few unhealthy subjects might
   pass, even after strict scrutiny, but this percentage is much too
   large, and the result of conveying men here and then turning them
   adrift is both expensive to Government and unpleasant to the
   settlers of their district. (38)

Unfortunately the reportage of this situation provided no analysis of how many of the fifty discharged men were actually Melbourne recruits as opposed to those from those obtained from the various recruiting missions around New Zealand's North and South Islands.

One other individual was to be involved in the process of selection from amongst the men who offered their services to Captain Stack. Joseph Tuckwell was formerly a detective in the Victorian Police in the late 1850s until 1861. In November 1861 he departed for Otago, New Zealand, where he had been sought to `organize a detective force' for the Otago district. (39) Tuckwell is another example of former Victorian Police officers and men who departed Australian shores to assist with the development of the various New Zealand provincial police forces. Richard Hill, in his massive history of New Zealand policing, directed attention to this significant Victorian contribution:

   The outbreak of interracial warfare in 1860 reconfirmed ... the need
   for a strategic policing approach of harsh coercion. Secondly, the
   burgeoning of social turbulence with the opening of the goldfields
   in 1861 led to the creation of a number of paramilitarised police
   forces, mostly in the South Island. These were not only modelled on
   that of Victoria, but also utilised the services of many men trained
   in the Victorian force. (40)

Tuckwell in December 1868 was reported as a private investigator engaged by Captain Stack `to aid him in selecting the fight men' for the New Zealand AC force. (41) This requirement was especially necessary as the Victorian government denied Stack any formal recognition or assistance from its own detective force in weeding out any criminal elements who might try to engage for New Zealand. Tuckwell as both a former Victorian and Otago detective, and more recently Gaoler at Auckland's Mount Eden Prison, was to prove an important component in the procurement of the `fight type' of personnel in Melbourne. (42)

Terms and Conditions of Service

On Saturday 5 December 1868, the Argus directed attention that it would publish in its Supplement the terms and conditions of the AC for `the service of the New Zealand Government in their present strait'. The location for this recruiting was to be Meagher's Hotel on the corner of Lonsdale and Swanston Streets, Melbourne. It was noted that recruits so enlisted would then embark on Wednesday next for New Zealand. (43) Later on this same day the Argus Supplement became available in which a very detailed, near full page government advertisement, was taken out by Captain Stack:

   NEW ZEALAND ARMED CONSTABULARY.

   Office-Meagher's Hotel, corner of Lonsdale and Swanston streets.

   200 unmarried MEN, of good character, under 40 years of age, and of
   sound health, are REQUIRED, for the above force, to serve for three
   years, subject to discharge at the option of the Government. Any men
   discharged within 12 months with good conduct certificate, to
   receive a bonus of 15 [pounds sterling]. When on service in the
   field they will be subject to the Mutiny Act and Articles of War.
   They will serve generally under the provisions of the Armed
   Constabulary Act, 1867, and the regulations made under its
   authority. They will be entitled, when, used as a military force, to
   the benefits of the Military Pensions Act-pay, 5s. a day without
   rations, or 3s. 6d. a day when rations are supplied. The Armed
   Constabulary Act and Regulations, with an extract from the Military
   Pensions Act, are herewith published for general information.

   I propose enrolling men for the above service on Tuesday, the 8th
   instant, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and all men
   enrolled on that day will embark for New Zealand on the 9th instant.

   Men desirous of joining the force will call at this office on the
   5th and 7th instant, between the above-named hours, with
   testimonials as to character, and for medical inspection.

   In the event of the required number not being obtained on the 8th
   instant, a subsequent day for enrolling will be advertised.

   W.G. STACK, Captain,
   Agent for the New Zealand Government,
   Melbourne, Dec. 4, 1868. (44)

This lengthy advertisement went on to outline in full the `Act to Provide for the Establishment and Maintenance of an Armed Constabulary' (10 October 1867), the associated `Governor's Order' (issued by Governor Bowen, Auckland, 7 May 1868), the `Regulations for the Armed Constabulary', as well as the `Military Pensions Act, 1866'. Therefore there were no grounds left for any doubts as the nature, benefits, and conditions associated with this New Zealand force. (45)

The commencement of recruiting in Melbourne did not escape the attention of the Melbourne Punch that provided its readership with its own interpretation of New Zealand requirements:

   Wanted.

   Wanted immediately, for New Zealand, some men able to take their own
   part, none of the white inhabitants being troubled with this
   complaint. (46)

The Melbourne Punch also alluded to the lack of direct Imperial involvement at this late stage of conflict and parodied the Victorian recruiting for New Zealand service:

   Manly Independence.

   Snubbing the Imperial Government, and then whining for Victorian
   immigrants to fight New Zealand battles. (47)

Stack on 5 December began to immediately receive applications for the AC at Meagher's Royal Hotel. The Argus, despite initially reporting that his recruiting mission was probably going to be `a fruitless one', pointed out that almost one hundred men presented themselves for enrolment in this force. Of these, fifty-eight passed the medical examination, with five only being rejected, the others remained to be examined. Those men who received their medical certification were then reported as formally enrolled on Monday 7 December, when further applications continued to be received. (48) On the class and quality of persons seeking to enrol in this New Zealand force, the Argus passed judgement:

   Captain Stack will no doubt take away a few who can well be spared;
   but the class of applicants is generally better than it is desirable
   to see leaving the colony. Some will go probably from mere love of
   change; yet is clear that many of those who, on Saturday, besieged
   Captain Stack's rooms found the 5s. a day, without rations, a strong
   inducement. There were some fine young fellows in the crowd, and not
   more than about ten loafers. Not a few of the better sort were
   stockriders and station-hands, thrown out of employment by the
   cutting up of the squatter's runs, and who, not having money enough
   to settle themselves on the land, are unable to find anything to do.
   (49)

On 7 December an Argus editorial confidently predicted that `[w]ithin a week he will probably be able to despatch two hundred men to the seat of war from this city-active, enterprising, hardy fellows, the most of them, who will find a brush with the Maories a pleasant relief from the prosperous dullness of Victorian life.' (50)

On the 9 December the Argus in review of Stack's recruiting efforts to enrol a total of 200 men, detailed:

   Captain Stack first endeavoured to get his enterprise countenanced
   by the Victorian Government, shaping his request so as to ask for
   moral encouragement and the help of the detective force in avoiding
   the selection of members of the criminal class. Mr. M'Culloch felt
   compelled to refuse both solicitations, and in consequence Captain
   Stack began recruiting on his own responsibility. Up to yesterday he
   had succeeded in enrolling 107 men ... and there seems no doubt that
   the men engaged are a loss to us, being desirable colonists. Many of
   those who applied ... in the first instance have thought better of
   it, and have not presented themselves a second time, but there seems
   little doubt that the full number will be made up. (51)

In a memo for the New Zealand authorities dated 9 December, Stack announced the men he had appointed as acting non-commissioned officers in the AC from this date. These men were Patrick Morrow, John Blaney, John Bodean, and Henry Collingwood who were appointed acting corporals. The detachment of men per the Alhambra this same day, were to be placed under the charge of John Scott Bestic, who was appointed sergeant. (52) In a subsequent report (also dated 9 December) to the Under Secretary Defence, Wellington, he relayed that Bestic was replaced at the last minute by Patrick Morrow as acting sergeant in command of the Alhambra detachment; Henry Edwards also replaced Collingwood as an acting corporal. (53)

On Wednesday 9 December 1868 the Alhambra left Hobson's Bay for Wellington with the first contingent of ninety-nine Melbourne AC recruits. (54) The Argus on this departure reporting:

   It is said that some of them took the opportunity of `bolting' at
   the last minute, but if so the defaulters were very few in number,
   for only eight out of the 107 men who had enlisted were missing, and
   several of them were detained by circumstances which had nothing to
   do with an unwillingness to go. The exit of one of the men through
   the window of the railway carriage created much laughter. Some of
   them were likely-looking fellows, and would have probably made
   useful colonists; but others-and they were a decided minority-were
   men of whom the colony is well rid. (55)

Melbourne recruit `Agreement'

Accompanying this Alhambra contingent was Stack's report which included `a descriptive return of the men, and an agreement signed by them, as I was advised by Council that the Oath prescribed by the Constabulary Act could not be legally administered in this Country'. (56) Because of problems associated with the legality of this New Zealand oath, he sought the intermediate option of getting all the selected applicants to sign an agreement whereby,

   Each of us the undersigned having applied and been selected to serve
   in New Zealand in the Armed Constabulary ... hereby agrees with
   William Griffin Stack as Agent for the New Zealand Govt. that he the
   party entering into and subscribing this agreement will immediately
   on arrival in New Zealand take the `Oath' ... set forth. And that in
   the meantime he will be subject to all the Provisions contained in
   the said `Act' as if he had taken the said `Oath'?

Stack was to carry out this procedure with all the men of the five contingents selected for New Zealand service. Presumably the recruits shortly after arrival in New Zealand were compelled to take the formal Oath of service.

Significant prior Military and Police Service

An aspect to consider when looking at the men who volunteered for the AC in Melbourne was the large number who had prior military service. Referral to the rolls of the five contingents indicate many individuals who had prior service in the British army of navy, various police forces, as well as British and Australian volunteer or militia units. Similarly, attention should be addressed to the significant number of Melbourne AC recruits who had already served in New Zealand as either Taranaki or Waikato military settlers. From review of the contingent rolls at least seventeen per cent of those recruits actually embarked were former Taranaki or Waikato military settlers. At least twenty per cent indicated prior service in the British army or navy, Honourable East India Company army or navy, or other Indian military forces. Apart from these, six percent recorded service with British, Australian or Indian police forces, and approximately thirteen per cent had prior service in various volunteer or militia units from throughout the British Empire. In respect to these approximate statistics it must be acknowledged that `previous service' details were not recorded with every enlistee, so these figures may in fact be somewhat higher in all such categories. From information recorded in the original rolls of the five Melbourne AC contingent there were:

* 33 former military settlers (& of these at least 19 were former Waikato Military Settlers, & 14 Taranaki Military Settlers)

* 13 men acknowledged prior service with British, Australian or Indian police forces

* 28 individuals can be confirmed having prior service in the British army (including artillery cadets)

* 9 with prior service in the Royal Navy (& Naval Brigade)

* 4 with prior service in the Honourable East India Company army or navy (including other Indian military forces)

* 26 men are recorded with prior British Empire volunteer or militia service (& of these 13 indicated service in Victorian volunteer units, 1 with NSW volunteers, 1 with Tasmanian volunteers, & 2 from the South Australian volunteers)

The presence, significance and contributions of these former military and police personnel within New Zealand colonial forces has not yet fully been appreciated nor explored. In both Australia and New Zealand most volunteer units had a small cadre of retired or discharged military personnel who provided the experience, enthusiasm, and military structure around which colonial units were formed, trained, and operated. In the Australian context one of the few historians to draw attention to this phenomenon has been Peter Stanley in his 'Heritage of Strangers'. (58) The AC is another corps that gained invaluable knowledge, experience, and leadership from personnel within its ranks who had such prior military, as well as police experience, especially crucial during the years of renewed and bitter conflict during 1868 to 1872. Examples of such men evident within the ranks of the Melbourne AC recruits are:

Acting Corporal John T. Bodean, 64th Regiment
Acting Sergeant Patrick Morrow, Irish Constabulary
Constable James Kennedy, 107th Bengal Infantry & 87th Regiment, 1857-68
Acting Sergeant W. Little, East India Company & Queen's Service,
  1855-65
Constable John Robinson, 77th Regiment, 10 years 14 days
Constable William Stewart, 42nd Regiment, 1858-67
Constable Benjamin Downer, H.M. Navy & H.M. Army
Constable William Guthrie, Taranaki Military Settlers & Patea Rangers
Acting Sergeant Peter McDonald, Scots Fusilier Guards 1861-64 &
  Abyssinian War service

Societal ills and Soldier escapism 

The recruiting in Melbourne again revealed some societal ills following the departure of the first contingent of AC recruits aboard the Alhambra. As with the earlier military settlers recruits in 1863-64, some men appear to have enlisted for New Zealand service to avoid family responsibilities:

   It has transpired that one of the men shipped ... on Wednesday left
   a wife and family behind him, and yesterday the Chief Secretary sent
   a message to Captain Stack drawing attention to the fact. The
   officer's reply was that the first question he put to every
   applicant was, whether he was married or not, if married, he would
   be refused, however eligible. In one case a man who declared himself
   unmarried, but who was afterwards found to have a wife, was refused,
   although he had been previously enrolled. In cases too, where the
   applicant was a minor, the consent of his parents or relatives has
   been made a condition of his enrolment. (59)

By the time of the departure of the third contingent the Argus warned its readership of the dangers of men absconding to New Zealand under the guise of being AC recruits. No doubt this was influenced by memory of the public burden and concerns raised by the number of wives and families of military settlers in 1863-64, who were either abandoned or else temporarily left destitute until transport could be arranged for them to rejoin their husbands in New Zealand. With further contingents being prepared for departure for Wellington, the Argus suggested that wives or families who were apprehensive at being deserted by `undutiful' husbands and fathers should forestall such eventualities by calling at the Collins Street East office of Mr Lyttleton, the Superintendent of the Melbourne Police. (60)

Upon arrival in Wellington the recruits from Melbourne (per the Alhambra) and others from the South Island showed themselves demons of alcohol, like so many soldiers before them on the eve of departure for the front. The Argus published a not-so-glowing account of their behaviour taken from Wellington papers:

   The constabulary recruits who arrived here by the Alhambra and
   Airedale left for Wanganui on Saturday. They looked a very fine body
   of men as they marched up to the militia-office in the forenoon, but
   they gave ample proof of their rowdy character before they left in
   the evening.... and apparently aware that there are no grog rations
   at the front, they were determined to have a good `drunk' before
   leaving. This laudable intention they fully carried out, and when
   the hour of embarkation approached very few of them were in a
   condition to traverse unaided the short distance between the Empire
   [Hotel] and the wharf. The scene in the vicinity of the hotel was
   extraordinary. There must have been at least 110 men in various
   stages of intoxication. Some were perfectly helpless, some inclined
   to maudlin sentimentality, but the majority inclined to be
   combative. (61)

Continued Recruiting in Melbourne

Following the brief stoppage in recruiting associated with the departure of the initial group of recruits aboard the Alhambra, Stack recommenced enrolments on 10 December. Men continued to come forward to apply on this day, of which `it appears that a better class of men have become candidates. One of the men who enlisted had seen service, having been engaged in the construction of the military engineering works required at Zoulla during the late Abyssinian war.' (62) Editorial comment in the Argus on 10 December confirmed a degree of Victorian public support for New Zealand at this time of renewed crisis, as had taken place in 1860 and 1863. This extended to countenance of Stack's recruiting activities, though tempering this support with concern about their employment and the apparent lack of effective training these prospective Victorian recruits would receive before despatch into the field:

   Among the recruits who are being shipped from Melbourne for the New
   Zealand war are plenty of fine young fellows, tolerably sure to do
   their duty if they get a chance. But will they get a chance? They
   will be sent to the front at once, devoid of that training without
   which bodies of men, no matter how brave individually, are simply
   useless against an enemy who is not a novice in his business. It is
   soldiers ready made that New Zealand wants, not the raw material,
   ever so excellent; for she has not time to discipline it. Most
   assuredly we do not use grudge to Captain STACK the liberty to enrol
   men in Victoria to assist in removing the danger which is once more
   experienced by a sister colony. We sent volunteers before, and we
   sent our only warship when a Maori insurrection pressed our friends;
   and, of course, we are willing to do it again, and more than that,
   if necessary. But we do not like to see the expectations of the
   recruits and of their friends disappointed, and men picked up in
   Melbourne have no brighter prospects of distinguishing themselves
   under the present system of New Zealand campaigning than those who
   have been raised in Wellington, Auckland, or Nelson. (63)

The Melbourne Punch once again provided its own vision of what the Victorian recruits would face across the Tasman:

   Aut Jones, aut Nullus.

   The military tactics hitherto followed in New Zealand have
   lamentably failed. Each step taken since the more recent
   disturbances have occurred has proved a faux pas, and the Government
   recognise with alarm that it is not `le premier pah qui coutes.'

   One man alone, possessing experience in the peculiar warfare of the
   country, would render greater service than a whole regiment of
   well-trained soldiers, and in Victoria that one man is to be found!
   The incorruptible patriot, the man of many parts, the true COLOSSUS
   of roads, the pride of Melbourne, our own JONES!

   In former times JONES had much practice in the breeching of Pa(h)s,
   a fact which many respectable Victorians affirm with considerable
   satisfaction. The fame of his skill has been noised abroad. Our
   sister colony, in her dire extremity, calls JONES to her rescue,
   giving him cannes blanche to take any measures he thinks needful
   towards facilitating the breaching the pahs of the Maories. A
   needle-breech-loader will be placed at his service, as being more
   especially adapted for this work, having been invented by a
   SCHNEIDER.

   `Veni, vidi, vici,' wrote CAESAR from the sense of his triumphs.
   JONES has but to go, and see, and conquer (`twas ever thus with
   JONES), and in the capital of Victoria will be repeated the triumphs
   of ancient Rome, where the goose is even now held in the highest
   veneration. (64)

By 12 December, the Argus stated that some forty additional men had been enrolled who would be immediately despatched. (65) On the afternoon of Saturday 12 December, the steamship Otago cleared from Hobson's Bay with the second contingent of forty-one AC recruits. (66) An unnamed member (possibly Alexander McDonald) of this second Melbourne contingent was later reported as having become so severely scalded by `the upsetting of a kettle containing boiling water' whilst aboard the Otago that on arrival in Wellington was admitted to hospital. (67) One known member from this second contingent was Benjamin Carter who was attested in Melbourne on 11 December 1868, aged 26 years. Carter was recorded as born in Ireland, his trade or calling was painter, and on enrolment indicated prior service in the Kyneton Volunteers (3 years)--a Victorian volunteer unit. In New Zealand he served in Nos.3 and 4 Divisions AC, until 11 September 1869 when he was discharged as medically unfit for further service while stationed at Cambridge. He applied for the New Zealand War Medal in 1912, and this was approved for coming under fire twice in January and February 1869 (68), thus becoming a very late-issue recipient in 1913. (69)

After several days' intermission following the departure of the second contingent of recruits, Stack recommenced upon his mission to enrol further men. Starting on Wednesday 16 December, he placed a further advertisement in the Melbourne papers and again began to receive additional applications:

   NEW ZEALAND ARMED CONSTABULARY.--

   Office-Royal Hotel, corner of Lonsdale and Swanston streets.
   APPLICATIONS by persons wishing to enrol in the above force, under
   the conditions published in `The Argus' newspaper of the 4th inst.,
   will be RECEIVED at the office between the hours of 10 and 4 this
   day and tomorrow. Copies of the publication may be held at this
   office.

   Written applications cannot be entertained.
   All persons applying are required to bring testimonials of
   character, and must pass a medical examination.

   The enrolment of those approved of will take place between the
   abovenamed hours of Friday, the 18th inst., and they will embark for
   New Zealand the following day.

   W.G. STACK, Captain,
   Agent for the New Zealand Government.

December 16, 1868. (70)

In the first two days he was reported to have received some thirty-six additional applications for the AC. Those men selected would be formally enrolled and then depart aboard the Rangitoto for Wellington. (71) The steamship Rangitoto subsequently cleared from Hobson's Bay on Saturday 19 December with a third contingent totalling thirty recruits. (72) The Argus relayed the information that `it is probable that the recruiting-officer will attempt to complete his tale of 200 men elsewhere than in Melbourne, where ... applications ... have altogether subsided. It is probable that Captain Stack will proceed to Ballarat for this purpose.' (73)

One member of this third contingent was William Guthrie, a recruit with prior extensive service in the Taranaki Military Settlers and Patea Rangers. Guthrie was born in Monikie, Forfarshire, Scotland in 1842. Evidence suggests the Guthrie family had prior, or continuing association with Victoria in the period of the 1860s-70s. His father Robert is recorded as living in Melbourne, and it is possible that William travelled from Victoria to Otago, most likely to try his hand on the goldfields. Whilst in this province he enrolled at Dunedin in the `Otago Contingent' of the Taranaki Military Settlers on 25 August 1863. He later discharged from the Taranaki Military Settlers on 31 August 1864 by providing a substitute, but then enrolled in the Patea Rangers in New Plymouth in 1865, and saw action during the siege at Pipiriki (upper reaches of Wanganui River, West Coast) in July 1865. He then served on the East Coast as part of the Opotiki Expeditionary Force in late 1865-1866, during which he was in action at `Kiorekino' in October 1865, before returning to the West Coast in 1866 where at `Ketemarae' in September he received a severe bullet wound in the left thigh. Guthrie served in the Patea Rangers up till 23 November 1866, and some time after this returned to Victoria, where in December 1868 he again enlisted for New Zealand. He attested into the AC in Melbourne on 18 December 1868, aged 26, and his trade or calling was recorded as clerk. He was to serve in No. 1 Division AC and saw action at `Otauto' on 13 March 1869. Here he was part of a detachment of six volunteers who assisted Sergeant Richard Shepherd who was tasked with holding a narrow path close to Titokowaru's camp, thus `enabling a close reconnaissance to be made by Major Kepa and the Colonel Commanding'. It was in this action that the bravery of Sergeant Shepherd was later recognised by the award of the New Zealand Cross on 8 May 1876. (74) Of the six volunteers involved in this action, three were killed, and the other three like Shepherd were all variously wounded. `Corporal Guthrie was struck in the mouth by a spent bullet, knocking out two of his teeth, and he coolly put his fingers into his mouth and pulled out the bullet.' (75) Guthrie also took part in actions at `Nukumaru' on 1 and 2 February 1869 and at `Karaka Flat' in February 1869. Records indicate he last served with the AC at Tarawera Station, Taupo District in the early 1870s. (76)

On Wednesday 23 December it was announced that Stack's recruiting mission would cease on the following Tuesday. The recruiting office at the Royal Hotel was to therefore remain open daily, except on the Friday, as men were still urgently needed by the New Zealand government in light of the current military crisis, and Stack was anxious to obtain the requisite number of 200 men originally sought. (77) On the types of recruits still applying for New Zealand service the Melbourne Punch humorously contended, 'That as we have an abundance of majors in the volunteer service, we can better spare for New Zealand our majors than our miners'. (78)

The continual trickle of applicants allowed for a fourth contingent of nineteen recruits to embark for New Zealand aboard the steamship Gothenburg, which cleared outwards on Saturday 26 December. (79) On the overall success of Captain Stack',s recruiting mission during December the Argus reported that he had obtained 189 men out of the 200 required, 'while applications in excess of the vacancies remaining have already been received'. Captain Stack was said to be `perfectly satisfied as to the character of the recruits he has obtained' so far, and 'considers them altogether to be a very fine body of men'. (80)

The fifth and final contingent of AC recruits, numbering sixteen men, departed Melbourne aboard the steamship Omeo on 5 January 1869, thus bringing `[t]he total number of men who have been sent down to Wellington on this service is 205.' (81) The Argus pointed out that Captain Stack was `as successful as he could have wished in his mission. The full compliment has been obtained, and [he] ... considers them a very fine body of men.' (82) This fifth contingent therefore marked the end of the recruiting being carried out in Melbourne, though Stack temporarily remained in Melbourne on related military business: `Though he has accomplished the immediate and most pressing object of his visit, [he] ... remains ... pending further instructions. The only additional commands he has yet received are to procure a quantity of ammunition for the breach-loading rifles, of which the New Zealand Government possess at present a very small supply.' (83)

Captain Stack finally departed Melbourne for New Zealand (via Sydney) aboard the steamship Hero on 9 January 1869. (84) His departure coincided with that of the military party of Major-General Sir Trevor Chute, the Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's forces in Australia and New Zealand, and Colonel Hyde Page. Despite the fact that Major-General Chute's visit was stated as merely a routine inspection of the British regular troops then stationed in New Zealand, it would seem more than mere coincidence that Stack was aboard and returning to New Zealand with this party at this time. Stack as the official New Zealand government agent, not only recruiting for the AC, but reportedly also seeking arms and ammunitions, would no doubt have held discussions with Imperial officers whilst in Melbourne and en route to New Zealand. Apart from this there was considerable public awareness of the military crisis that New Zealand authorities were facing at this time. This crisis was covered in depth by the Australian press; and this was the very reason why an official of the New Zealand government was recruiting in Victoria in the first place. (85) Similarly at this time the Victorian Government had even proposed the need for despatching 400 men of the 14th Regiment currently garrisoned in Victoria to bolster the available forces in New Zealand if so needed. (86)

Australian Armed Constabulary Casualties, 1868-69

The Australian context to the New Zealand AC can also be gauged from analysis of personnel who were killed in action or died of wounds during this crisis period of 1868-69. Research here indicates a figure of fourteen men who can be confirmed as either Australian born, former Australian recruited Waikato or Taranaki Military Settlers, or 1868-69 Melbourne recruited AC personnel. (87) It is especially important to note those individuals who though members of the AC, had arrived in New Zealand initially by way of enlistment as military settlers in the Australian colonies in 1863-64. The Australian origins of such men are often ignored or passed over as irrelevant, but their very reason for being in New Zealand, and familiar with events and experiences is due to their earlier Australian recruitment as military settlers. Many military settlers went on to serve in the AC from 1867 following the disbandment of the military settler regiments and the large-scale failure of them military settlement scheme. Some also enlisted in the AC for the adventure or to continue military careers for which they had become accustomed, and then there are those who merely sought to ensure a form of future employment in the uncertain social and economic times of late 1860s Australasia.

Conclusion

This article has sought to introduce a historical framework around which to show the existence and importance of the Australian context to the New Zealand AC, in the late wars period of 1868 to 1872. This force had significant elements of its personnel who derived from the Australian colonies, either born, or else the locale from which they departed for New Zealand shores either via the military settlers volunteers of 1863-64, or as 1868-69 Melbourne recruits. This analysis is another attempt to rectify the general historiographical myopia that exists when assessing the New Zealand wars and the role of Australia in the overall process of imperial and colonial conquest. This research shows that Australia yet again played an important role in the New Zealand, even in this late 1860s wars period.

Australian Enlisted (or derived) AC Casualties 1868-18697

Name                 Served in              Enlistment Details
                                            (&/or prior service)

Fennessy, Richard.   No.3 Division          Formerly `Melbourne
Constable.           Armed Constabulary     Contingent', Taranaki
                                            Military Settlers, Regt.
                                            No.632. Enrolled 19 January
                                            1864, Melbourne, Victoria,
                                            & departed per Gresham.

O'Connor, John.      No.2 Division          Formerly `Melbourne
Constable.           Armed Constabulary     Contingent', Taranaki
                                            Military Settlers, Regt.
Born 1844, Hobart,                          No.780, [where bom listed
Tasmania                                    as `not known'], Enrolled
                                            19 January 1864, Melbourne,
                                            Victoria, & departed per
                                            Gresham.

Walsh, Richard.      Nos.5 & 6 Divisions,   Formerly Regt. No.609, 2nd
                     Armed Constabulary     Waikato Military Settler
Constable.                                  Regiment. Enrolled 10
                                            October 1863, Sydney, NSW,
                                            & departed aboard the Kate.
                                            Trade or calling: as
                                            Policeman.

Eastwood, Charles.   No.6 Division          Formerly Regt. No. 135, 1st
                     Armed Constabulary     Waikato Military Settler
Constable.                                  Regiment. Enrolled 11
                                            September 1863, Melbourne,
                                            Victoria, & departed aboard
                                            the Star of India.

Kerwin, Edwin M.     No.6 Division          Formerly Regt. No.38, 1st
                     Armed Constabulary     Waikato Military Settler
(also as `Edward                            Regiment. Enrolled 1
Kerwan')                                    September 1863, Melbourne,
                                            Victoria, & departed aboard
Sergeant.                                   the Golden Age.

Lees, William        No.6 Division          Formerly Regt. No. 656, 1st
James.               Armed Constabulary     Waikato Military Settler
                                            Regiment. Enrolled 7
Constable.                                  September 1863, Melbourne,
                                            Victoria, & departed aboard
                                            the Caduseus.

Savage, Joseph       No.2 Division          Formerly Regt. No. 198, 2nd
Evans.               Armed Constabulary     Waikato Military Settler
                                            Regiment. Enrolled 21
Constable.                                  August 1863, Sydney, NSW, &
                                            departed aboard the Kate.
                                            Trade or calling: Barber.

Brown, Duncan        Nos.4, 5, & 7          Believed to be the `Ensign
Michie.              Divisions              Brown' (& later Lt., 2nd
                     Armed Constabulary     Waikato Regt., commission
(also as `David                             dated 20 Oct. 1863) who
Michie Brown')                              departed with James Holt
                                            (later Capt., 2nd Waikato
Sub-Inspector.                              Regt., commission dated 20
                                            Oct. 1863) in command of
                                            contingent of NSW Military
                                            Settlers Volunteers which
                                            departed Sydney aboard the
                                            Kate on 10 October 1863.
                                            Lt. D.M. Brown served in
                                            both the 2nd & 4th Waikato
                                            Military Settler Regiments,
                                            was appointed Captain in
                                            1865, before again
                                            undertaking service in the
                                            newly raised Armed
                                            Constabulary 1867-69.

McEwen, John.        No.1 Division Armed    Formerly Regt. No. 105,
                     Constabulary           No.8 Company, 1st Waikato
(also as McEwan)                            Regiment.Enrolled 28 August
                                            1863, Melbourne, Victoria,
Constable.                                  & departed aboard the Star
                                            of India.

Banks, James.        No.2 Division Armed    Melbourne, Victoria, 8
                     Constabulary           December 1868. Departed for
Constable.                                  Wellington aboard the
                                            Alhambra on 9 December
                                            1868.

Banks, James.        No.2 Division Armed    Melbourne, Victoria, 8
                     Constabulary           December 1868. Departed for
Constable.                                  Wellington aboard the

Boyle, Connell.      No.2 Division Armed    Formerly Regt. No. 179, 4th
                     Constabulary           Company, 4th Waikato
Constable.                                  Military Settler Regiment.
                                            Enrolled 3 February 1864,
                                            Sydney, NSW

Horspool, George     No.2 Division Armed    Melbourne, Victoria, on 8
Richard.             Constabulary           December 1868. Departed for
                                            Wellington aboard the
(also as                                    Alhambra on 9 December 1868
`Horspoil')                                 (Had previously served in
                                            the Taranaki Volunteers
Lance-Corporal.                             1864-1866.)

Watt, Charles.       No.2 Division Armed    Melbourne, Victoria, 11
                     Constabulary           December 1868. Departed for
Corporal.                                   Wellington aboard the Otago
                                            on 12 December 1868

Davis, Robert.       No.1 Division Armed    Melbourne, Victoria, 8
                     Constabulary           December 1868. Departed for
Constable.                                  Wellington aboard the
                                            Alhambra on 9 December
                                            1868.

                                            (Formerly Regt. No.47, 3rd
                                            Waikato Military Settler
                                            Regiment. Enrolled 16
                                            September 1863, Melbourne,
                                            Victoria.)

Name                 Details of Casualty

Fennessy, Richard.   Killed in action at
Constable.           Te Ngutu ote Manu
                     on 7 September
                     1868

O'Connor, John.      Killed in action at
Constable.           Te Ngutu ote Manu
                     on 7 September
Born 1844, Hobart,   1868
Tasmania

Walsh, Richard.      Killed in action at
                     Te Ngutu o te Manu,
Constable.           on 7 September
                     1868

Eastwood, Charles.   Died of wounds at
                     Moturoa
Constable.           on 7 November
                     1868

Kerwin, Edwin M.     Killed in action at
                     Moturoa on 7
(also as `Edward     November 1868
Kerwan')

Sergeant.

Lees, William        Killed in action at
James.               Moturoa on 7
                     November 1868
Constable.

Savage, Joseph       Killed in action at
Evans.               Moturoa on 7
                     November 1868
Constable.

Brown, Duncan        Killed in action at
Michie.              Ngatapa in January
                     1869
(also as `David
Michie Brown')

Sub-Inspector.

McEwen, John.        Killed in action at
                     Ngatapa on 3 January
(also as McEwan)     1869

Constable.

Banks, James.        Killed in action in
                     `ambuscade' at
Constable.           Karaka on 18
                     February 1869

Banks, James.        Killed in action in
                     `ambuscade' at
Constable.           Karaka on 18
                     February 1869

Boyle, Connell.      Killed in action in
                     `ambuscade' at
Constable.           Karaka on 18
                     February 1869

Horspool, George     Killed in action in
Richard.             `ambuscade' at
                     Karaka on 18
(also as             February 1869
`Horspoil')

Lance-Corporal.

Watt, Charles.       Died of wounds at
                     Otautu on 13 March
Corporal.            1869

Davis, Robert.       Died of wounds at
                     Ruatahuna
Constable.           (Orangikawa pa) on
                     8 [also as 7] May
                     1869

(1) This author's article is an edited version of the original published in New Zealand. This original article also contains complete nominal rolls of the five contingents of Melboune Armed Constabulary recruits, refer to: Jeff Hopkins-Weise, `The Armed Constabulary of New Zealand: and the Australian Context', The Volunteers: the Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, Vol.27, (July 2001), No.1, pp.5-42.

(2) New Zealand Gazette [hereafter abbreviated as NZG], No.55, 22 October 1867, p.405. For a detailed history of the establishment & development of the AC in the period 1867-68, see section, `The Establishment of the Armed Constabulary', in R.S. Hill, The Colonial Frontier Tamed: New Zealand Policing in Transition 1867-1886 ([NZ]: Historical Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, GP Books, 1989), pp.10-17.

(3) J. Rorke, Policing Two Peoples: A History of Police in the Bay of Plenty 1867-1992 ([Tauranga, NZ]: Jinty Rorke & the New Zealand Police, 1993), pp.1 & 2; see also, H.W. Salmon, `The Armed Constabulary in the Waikato', Journal of the Auckland-Waikato Historical Societies, No.22, (April 1973), p.32.

(4) R.S. Hill, Policing the Colonial Frontier: The Theory and Practice of Coercive Social and Racial Control in New Zealand, 1767-1867: Part Two (Wellington, NZ: Historical Publications Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1986), p.940.

(5) J. Cowan, The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Vol.II: The Hauhau Wars, 1864-1872 (Wellington, NZ: W.A.G. Skinner, Government Printer, 1923), p.481.

(6) Another example of an individual with both Australian & New Zealand police & military experience was Arthur Tuke. He had Australian gold escort service in the late 1850s, then in New Zealand saw service in the Hawke's Bay Militia, & later the AC. G.H. Scholefield, ed., A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Vol.II: M--Addenda (Wellington, NZ: Department of Internal Affairs, 1940), pp.400-401.

(7) T.W. Gudgeon, The Defenders of New Zealand: Being a Short Biography of Colonists who Distinguished Themselves in Upholding Her Majesty's Supremacy in these Islands (Auckland, NZ: H. Brett, 1887), p.189 (& also see photo of Newall on p.188, & full section entitled `Major Newall', pp.189-190).

(8) The New Zealand Army List: Corrected to 29th February, 1872 (Wellington: George Didsbury, Government Printer, 1872), p.15.

(9) Ibid.; Scholefield (Volume II: M--Addenda, 1940), op.cit., pp.118-119; & The Earl of Ranfurly, Roll of Honour, 1840 to 1902: Defenders of the Empire Resident in New Zealand (Wellington, NZ: `The New Zealand Times' Company, 1902), p.36.

(10) Illustrated Melbourne Post, 22 March 1862, p. 19; Argus, 9 January 1863, p.4 (editorial); NZG, No.28, 11 July 1863, p.271; J. Bryant Haigh, `The 80th Foot in New Zealand', Bulletin of the Military Historical Society (Great Britain), Vol.26, (1976), pp.82 & 83; Scholefield (Vol.II: M--Addenda, 1940), op.cit., p.170; & G.F. Ward, Victorian Land Forces: 1853-1883 (Croydon, Victoria: G.F. Ward, 1989), p.24.

(11) NZG, No.26, 4 July 1863, p.258; Frank Glen, For Glory and a Farm: The Story of Australia's Involvement in the New Zealand Wars of 1860-66 (Whakatane, NZ: Whakatane & District Historical Society, 1985), p.84; & Gudgeon, op.cit., p.211 (& also see photo on p.210).

(12) NZG, No.58, 7 November 1863, p.487; The New Zealand Army List [1863], p.2; & The New Zealand Army List: 30 November 1864, p.4.

(13) Glen, op.cit., p.95.

(14) NZG, No.17, 25 March 1868, pp.159-160.

(15) NZG, No.22, 17 April 1869, p.192; No.25, 13 May 1869, p.219; & No.71, 18 December 1869, p.667.

(16) NZG, No.15, 12 March 1874, p.195; The New Zealand Army List: Corrected to 29th February, 1872 (Wellington: George Didsbury, Government Printer, 1872), pp.2 & 15; Glen, op.cit., pp.84 & 95; Gudgeon, op.cit., pp.210-211; & also refer to, The Earl of Ranfurly, op.cit., p.39.

(17) Historical Records of Australia: Series 1. Governor's Despatches To and From England: Volume XX. February, 1839-September, 1840 (Sydney: The Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament, 1924), pp.493-494; & T.L. Buick, New Zealand's First War, or the Rebellion of Hone Heke (Wellington: W.A.G. Skinner, Government Printer, 1926), pp.13-14.

(18) R.S. Hill, Policing the Colonial Frontier: The Theory and Practice of Coercive Social and Racial Control in New Zealand, 1767-1867: Part One (The History of Policing in New Zealand, Volume One. Wellington, NZ: Historical Publications Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1986), p.127.

(19) Ian Wards, The Shadow of the Land: A Study of British Policy and Racial Conflict in New Zealand 1832-1852 (Wellington, NZ: Historical Publications Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1968), pp.41 & 47.

(20) H. King, `Some Aspects of Police Administration in New South Wales, 1825-1851 ', Royal Australian Historical Society Journal and Proceedings, Vol.42, Part 5, (1956), pp.224-225. A regimental history of the 80th Regiment states: `The Mounted Police, formed by selecting the most active and well conducted men from the Regiments serving in the Colony, although a useful and very necessary body of men, was not regarded with favour by regiments which lost the services of good men who had so enlisted. These men might for misconduct be returned to their Corps, otherwise their appointment was permanent. The 80th furnished fifty-six men for this service.' J.P. Jones, A History of the South Staffordshire Regiment: (1705-1923). (Wolverhampton: Whitehead Brothers Ltd., 1923), p.55. See also, W.L. Vale, History of the South Staffordshire Regiment (Aldershot, Great Britain: Gale & Polden, 1969), p.111.

(21) For additional information on the NSW Mounted Police Detachment in New Zealand, refer to, Hill (Part One, 1986), op.cit., pp.237-239.

(22) Hill (1989), op.cit., see especially pp.13, 24-25, 54, & 308-309.

(23) Hill (Part Two, 1986), op.cit., p.555.

(24) Jackson Keddell was initially appointed captain in the 3rd Regiment Waikato Regiment with a commission dated 28 August 1863, before later service in the 4th Waikato Regiment, where he was subsequently appointed major on 25 February 1864. The New Zealand Army List [1863], p.3; The New Zealand Army List: 30 November 1864, p.8; & NZG, No.8, 3 March 1864, p.94.

(25) On 14 January 1864 the steamship Hero brought Colonel G.D. Pitt to Melbourne, accompanied by Captains William Magee Hunter, Jackson Keddell & William Fraser (former Geelong Volunteer officer & 1863 recruiting officer), as well as Lieutenants William Percival & Cholwell Dean Pitt. These officers arrived from New Zealand (via Otago) to undertake a second mission to enlist military settlers & each was to be `allotted certain districts for the purpose of recruiting'. The Argus, 15 January 1864, p.4; & Illustrated Melbourne Post, 25 January 1864, p.13.

(26) H.C.M. Norris, Armed Settlers: The Story of the Founding of Hamilton. New Zealand, 1864-1874 (Hamilton, NZ: Paul's Book Arcade, 1956), pp.20-21,27, & 53.

(27) Ibid., pp.126-127.

(28) Ibid., pp.157-158.

(29) Limited references to the AC recruiting in Victoria can be found in: A. Bairstow, `Constable Thomas Kelly, A Hero of the Colonial Frontier', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, Vol.23, No.2, (Nov. 1997), pp.126-127; N. Bartlett: ` `Their Promised Land Australians and the Mat)ri Wars 1840-1870': A Study of Australia's Involvement in the Maori Wars, also an Examination of British Colonial Policies during the 19th Century.', pp.430431: MSS1048, Australian War Memorial; J. Belich, `I Shall Not Die': Titokowaru's War New Zealand, 1868-9 (Wellington, NZ: Allen & Unwin New Zealand Limited in association with the Port Nicholson Press, 1989), pp.181 & 255; J. Belich, The New Zealand Wars: and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict (Auckland, NZ: Penguin Books, 1988), p.253; B.J. Dalton, War and Politics in New Zealand: 1855-1870 (Sydney: Sydney University Press, 1967), pp.268-269; T. Gibson, The Maori Wars: The British Army in New Zealand 1840-1872 (London: Leo Cooper, 1974), p.219; Gudgeon, op.cit., p.251; Hill (1989), op.cit., p.25; & E. Holt, The Strangest War: The Story of the Maori Wars 1860-1872 (London: Putnam & Company Ltd, 1962), p.254.

(30) Argus, 30 November 1868, p.4.

(31) NZG, No.24, 25 June 1863, p.241.

(32) The New Zealand Army List [1863], p.2; & The New Zealand Army List: 30 November 1864, p.3. Stowers cites Stack's company as No.3 Company, 1st Waikato Regiment. R. Stowers, The New Zealand Medal To Colonials: Detailed medal rolls of officers and men in colonial units who received the New Zealand Medal for service in the New Zealand Wars 1845-1872. (Hamilton, NZ: Richard Stowers, 1998), p.91.

(33) N. Morris, ed., The Journal of William Morgan: Pioneer Settler and Maori War Correspondent (Auckland, NZ: Libraries Department, Auckland City Council, 1963), pp.106-107; & Gudgeon, op.cit., p.211. Stack's application for the New Zealand War Medal was approved for services with the 1st Waikato Regiment prior to the 31 December 1866. J.E. Hopkins [now Hopkins-Weise], Selected New Zealand War Medal Rolls of Entitlements, Rejections, and Applications Granted up to 1900 (Brisbane, Qld: J.E. Hopkins, & the Victoria Barracks Historical Society, Brisbane, 1997), p.59; also refer, Stowers, op.cit., p.91.

(34) NZG, No.2, 11 January 1868, pp.17-18.

(35) This followed his appointment as `Instructor of Musketry' to the AC with the rank of Inspector. This appointment was backdated to commence from 1 February 1871. NZG, No.19, 18 March 1871, p.141; & The New Zealand Army List: Corrected to 29th February, 1872 (Wellington: George Didsbury, Government Printer, 1872), p.15.

(36) Argus, 2 December 1868, p.4; also refer to, 11 December 1868, p.4. The Argus' commentary from 2 December was also reprinted in the Sydney Morning Herald [hereafter abbreviated as SMH], 7 December 1868, p.5.

(37) Argus, 5 December 1868, p.4.

(38) SMH, 1 February 1869, p.5; & also reported in, Gympie Times, 18 February 1869.

(39) Argus, 16 November 1861, p.5.

(40) Hill (1989), op.cit., p.xi. For other information dealing with the personnel, material & policing methods derived from Victoria to New Zealand in the 1860s-70s, see Hill (1989), op.cit., pp.40, 42-43, 47-48, 54, 137-138, & 309; & Hill (Part Two, 1986), op.cit., pp.536-549 & 554-556; Scholefield (Vol. l: A-L, 1940), op.cit., pp.90 & 96-97; & The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Volume One: 1769-1869 (Wellington, NZ: Jointly Published by Allen & Unwin & the Department of Internal Affairs, 1990), pp.36-38, 41-42, 393-394, 536-537, & 581-582.

(41) Argus, 9 December 1868, p.5.

(42) Hill (1989), op.cit., p.25.

(43) Argus, 5 December 1868, p.5.

(44) Argus Supplement, 5 December 1868, p.2.

(45) Ibid..

(46) Melbourne Punch, 10 December 1868, p. 187.

(47) Ibid., p. 192.

(48) Argus, 7 December 1868, p.3.

(49) Ibid..

(50) Ibid., p.4.

(51) Argus, 9 December 1868, p.5.

(52) Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21 D: 9 December 1868, Capt. Stack, Melbourne, Memo regarding appointments of Acting NCOs and departure of 99 Men per `Alhambra' for Wellington. National Archives of New Zealand.

(53) Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21 C: 9 December 1868, Capt. Stack, Melbourne, to Under Secretary Defence, Wellington. National Archives of New Zealand. Also refer to amendments cited in: Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21 D: 9 December 1868, Capt. Stack, Melbourne, Memo regarding appointments of Acting NCOs and departure of 99 Men per `Alhambra' for Wellington. National Archives of New Zealand.

(54) Argus, 10 December 1868, p.4.

(55) Argus, 10 December 1868, p.5.

(56) Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21 C: 9 December 1868, Capt. Stack, Melbourne, to Under Secretary Defence, Wellington. National Archives of New Zealand.

(57) Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/19: Record of Agreement to take Oath of in A.C. made at Melbourne, 29 December 1868-5 January 1869; & also, Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21 E: Nominal Return of Men enrolled at Melbourne and arrived at Wellington per `Otago', `Rangitoto', `Gothenburg', and `Omeo'. National Archives of New Zealand.

(58) Peter Stanley, `Heritage of Strangers: the Australian Army's British Legacy', Australian Defence Force Journal, No. 87, (March/April 1991), p.24.

(59) Argus, 12 December 1868, p.5.

(60) Argus, 19 December 1868, p.4.

(61) Argus, 7 January 1869, p.5.

(62) Argus, 11 December 1868, p.4.

(63) Argus, 10 December 1868, p.4.

(64) Melbourne Punch, 10 December 1868, p.191.

(65) Argus, 12 December 1868, p.5.

(66) Argus, 14 December 1868, pp.4 & 5. Stack in a report dated 12 December 1868, to the Under Secretary Defence, Wellington, confirmed the shipment of 41 men for the AC on the Otago. Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21 A: 12 December 1868, Capt. Stack, Melbourne, to Under Secretary Defence, Wellington. Reports shipment of 41 men for A.C. on board s.s. `Otago' for Wellington. National Archives of New Zealand.

(67) Argus, 7 January 1869, p.5. In the original roll for this second contingent, the following additional remarks were added to Constable Alexander. McDonald's entry: `Sick in [?] Hosp[ital] Well[ington] Dec. 30/68'. `Discharged 15 [pounds sterling] paid here in Wellington on 23/8/69 as per agreement' Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21: Men enrolled at Melbourne by Capt. Stack, Descriptive Roll, draft, full return, dates of Attestation 1868-1869; & cross-referenced with, P8/21 E: Nominal Return of Men enrolled at Melbourne and arrived at Wellington per `Otago', `Rangitoto', `Gothenburg', and `Omeo'. National Archives of New Zealand.

(68) First, when Maori fired on position at Fort Lyon & Colonel Lyon called out camp in response; & second, coming under fire whilst one of fifty men of No.3 Division who were detailed to rescue a mob of cattle being driven off by the Maori at Nukumaru. Another former member of the AC, John Cadell, 7th Division, corroborated Carter's claims for coming under fire.

(69) Carter's medal is in the collection of this author & is engraved: `BENJn. CARTER No.3 DIVn. A.C. FORCE'. AD32/291: Carter, Benjamin. National Archives of New Zealand; & also refer to, Stowers, op. cit., p.8.

(70) Argus, 16 December 1868, p. i; see also p.4.

(71) Argus, 18 December 1868, p.5.

(72) Argus, 21 December 1868, p.4. Stack in a report dated 18 December 1868, to the Under Secretary Defence, Wellington, confirmed that he embarked 30 men for the AC on this day per the Rangitoto. Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21 B: 18 December 1868, Capt. Stack, Melbourne, to Under Secretary Defence, Wellington. Forwards Descriptive Return of 30 Men embarked per `Rangitoto' for Wellington. National Archives of New Zealand.

(73) Argus, 21 December 1868, p.5.

(74) NZG, No.27, 11 May 1876, p.335.

(75) Gudgeon, op. cit., p.82.

(76) Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21: Men enrolled at Melbourne by Capt. Stack, Descriptive Roll, draft, full return, dates of Attestation 1868-1869. Cross-referenced with, P8/21 B: 18 December 1868, Capt. Stack, Melbourne, to Under Secretary Defence, Wellington. Forwards Descriptive Return of 30 Men embarked per `Rangitoto' for Wellington; & P8/21 E: Nominal Return of Men enrolled at Melbourne and arrived at Wellington per `Otago', `Rangitoto', `Gothenburg', and `Omeo'. National Archives of New Zealand. Other information here was kindly provided to this author by Michael Murrie-Jones & James Jones, New Zealand Colonial Wars Collection (of Queensland) & their ongoing research on William Guthrie & the history of the Patea Rangers. Also refer to, J.E. Hopkins [now Hopkins-Weise], Further Selected New Zealand War Medal Rolls of Applications Granted up to 1900: Volume 2 (Brisbane, Qld: J.E. Hopkins, 1998), p.70.

(77) Argus, 23 December 1868, p.5.

(78) Melbourne Punch, 24 December 1868, p.207.

(79) Argus, 28 December 1868, p.4; & 31 December 1868, p.5.

(80) Argus, 31 December 1868, 5. Another summary of Stack's recruiting efforts & the response from the Victorian government can be viewed in, Illustrated Australian News, 1 January 1869, pp. 1-2 & 3. Also refer to related Melbourne AC recruiting press coverage: Brisbane Courier, 14 Dec. 1868, p.3; Illustrated Sydney News, 21 January 1869, p. 122; & Perth Gazette and West Australian Times, I January 1869, & 22 January 1869.

(81) Argus, 6 January 1869, pp. 4 & 5.

(82) Argus Supplement, 4 January 1869, p. 1.

(83) Argus, 4 January 1869, p.5; see also, 6 January 1869, p.5.

(84) Major-General Chute & Captain Stack arrived in Sydney on 12 January, & thereafter departed for Auckland on 14 January. SMH, 13 January 1869, p.4; & 15 January 1869, p.4.

(85) Argus, 9 January 1869, p.4; 11 January 1869, p.4; & 14 January 1869, p.5.

(86) National Library of Australia: MS4064: (George S.) Whitmore's Campaigns in New Zealand (1868-1869): [notes kept by Whitmore regarding recruiting for AC in Melbourne, extracted from London Daily News, 26 January 1869]. Also refer to: Argus, 2 December 1868, p.4, & 11 December 1868, p.4; SMH, 7 December 1868, p.5; & Perth Gazette and West Australian Times, I January 1869.

(87) This list is not meant to represent a comprehensive list of all Australian born, former Australian recruited Waikato & Taranaki Military Settlers, or 1868-69 Melbourne recruited casualties within the AC. This list merely comprises those discernible from available published & archival materials cited by this author & compiled so as to shed greater light on this rarely acknowledged Australian context to the New Zealand wars.

(88) This list of 14 fatal casualties was compiled from the following sources: AD 31/8: Army Department, Taranaki Military Settlers Nominal & Descriptive Roll Book, 1863-69, pp.44 & 61; Armed Constabulary Lists: P8/21: Men enrolled at Melbourne by Capt. Stack, Descriptive Roll, draft, full return, dates of Attestation 1868-1869. National Archives of New Zealand. Also from: `G.-No. 1' ... Roll D: Nominal Roll of Officers and Men of the Colonial Forces who have been Killed in Action or who have Died of Wounds subsequent to the 11th of July, 1868', Appendix to the Journals of the House Representatives of New Zealand: 1871: Vol:II (Wellington, NZ: George Didsbury, Government Printer), pp.8-10 of G.-No.1; NZG, No.31, 31 May 1871, pp.246-247; Gudgeon, op.cit., pp.34-36 of Addenda; I. Coates, On Record: Being the Reminiscences of Isaac Coates: 1840-1932 (Hamilton, NZ: Paul's Book Arcade, 1962), p.71; L.L. Barton, Australians in the Waikato War: 1863-1864 (North Sydney, NSW: Library of Australian History, 1979), pp.53, 54, 61, 69, 71, 83, & 91; Belich (1989), op.cit., pp.232 & 254-255; John E. Binsley, `Australians in N.Z. Land Wars 1863-1870'. Roll of Australian born individuals courtesy of Mr John E. Binsley, of Auckland, New Zealand, to this author in October 1994; & Stowers, op.cit., pp.5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 20, & 114.