With all the ardour of its young, strong nationality New Zealand had thrown itself headlong into the mêlée of old-world turmoil. We had selected from our young men those of the very finest physique and we had sent them across the Tasman Sea and the Indian Ocean to slay boys of 16 and old men of 70, or be slain in the attempt…our poor British boys were led through the black night that they might bayonet to death Boers slumbering within their tents, and the horror was justified. When the Boers committed any special atrocity, our language failed to express enough reprobation.
Wilhelmina Sherriff Bain
Otago Daily Times, 11 May 1900
NEW ZEALAND REGIMENTS INVOLVED
|
CONTINGENT
|
OFFICERS
|
MEN
|
ARRIVED IN S.A.
|
LEFT S.A. |
| 1st Contingent N.Z. M. Rifles + Hotchkiss Gun Detachment |
9 | 206 | Nov. 1899 | Nov. 1900 |
| 2nd do. | 11 | 247 | Feb. 1900 | 31 Mar. 1901 |
| 3rd do. | 12 | 252 | Mar. 1900 | do. |
| 4th do. | 20 | 446 | Apr. 1900 | May 1901 |
| 5th do. (Imp. Bushmen) Reserves |
24 3 |
500 68 |
do. do. |
do. do. |
| 6th Contingent | 27 | 551 | Feb. 1901 | 22 May 1902 (larger part) July 1902 (part) |
| 7th do. | 28 | 572 | May 1901 | 22 May 1902 (larger part) July 1902 (part) |
| 8th do. (Details) |
45 8 |
951 192 |
March 1902 do. |
July 1902 |
| 9th Contingent | 48 | 1, 028 | April 1902 (beg. May 1902) |
do. |
| 10th do. (Details) |
45 7 |
961 155 |
April 1902 do. (beg. May 1902) |
do. do. |
| New Zealand Battery | No. inc. in total |
no. inc. in total |
||
| Total | 287 | 6, 129 |
SOURCE:
Field, L.M. The Forgotten War: Australian Involvement in the South African Conflict of 1899-1902. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1979.
