Boer War records – Fact sheet 67

Towards the end of the nineteenth century elements within the South African colonies had become disgruntled with increasing interference in local affairs by the British, who had established a presence in the region from 1806. In 1899 the Boer farmers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State, descendants of Dutch settlers, declared war on the British by invading the colonies of Natal and Cape Colony. The war continued for three years, but by 1902 the British had defeated Boer resistance. The 1902 Peace of Vereeniging installed a pro-British civil administration.

Australian involvement in the Boer War

When war broke out the British government called for support from across the Empire. The Australian colonies – with initial hesitation – offered support. Contingents were raised from all colonies and after Federation in 1901 a joint Commonwealth contingent was raised.

There is no agreed figure for the number of Australians who served. Craig Wilcox in Australia’s Boer War: The War in South Africa, 1899–1902 (Oxford University Press, 2002, p. xiii) suggests figures of ‘around 20,000 men and 80 women’, but adds ‘we will probably never know the precise number as many enlisted more than once and those with irregular regiments have never been counted and may not be countable’.

The Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour lists 598 casualties. Six Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross for their Boer War service.

Record holdings

The National Archives holds many records relating to Australian participation in the Boer War. The majority of these are held by our Canberra and Melbourne offices. Series marked with an ‘*’ are available on microfilm in all National Archives reading rooms, with the exception of the Melbourne reading room.

Defence, Army and returned soldiers records

	Title or description of record	Date range	Series number
	Department of Defence general correspondence files relating to the Australian Contingent in the South African (Boer) War	1899–1911	A6443
	Submissions on the Boer War from the Department of Defence to the Federal Executive Council	1901–03	A9298
	Army Orders issued by Army Headquarters Pretoria, South Africa*	1901–02	B5169
	Regimental correspondence – 1st Australian Infantry Regiment	1899–1900	C3167
	Registers of returned soldiers of the Queensland Defence Force*	1901–03	B5163
	Boer War veterans' case files	1938–48	J1773
	Insurance benefits for Boer War veterans*	1900–01	B5159
	Boer War funeral benefit sub-files, BW prefix	1901–61	B5517
	Boer War veterans' funeral benefit files, BW prefix	1939–60	D4549
	South Africa Contingents Pay Office, general correspondence – Queensland contingents	1901–03	MP744/1
	General correspondence of the Headquarters Brigade Office, Queensland Defence Force	1900–01	MP744/3
	Confidential telegrams and correspondence, Headquarters Office, Queensland Defence Force	1899–1900	MP744/6
	Registered papers of the Staff Officer for Mounted Infantry, Queensland Defence Force	1901	MP744/7
	Chief Secretary's Office (Queensland), general correspondence	1899–1907	MP744/11
	Papers of the Fifth Queensland (Imperial Bushmen) contingent	1901–02	MP744/39
	Photographs of Queensland contingents	1892–1906	A1715

Records documenting service in the Boer War

	Title or description of record	Date range	Series number
	Enrolment forms of Victorian contingents*	1899–1900	B5177
	Attestation papers – Commonwealth forces	1901–02	B4418
	Attestation declarations for the Fifth South Australian contingent	1901	AP613/7
	Nominal rolls of Victorian contingents*	1899–1901	B5179
	Service rolls of Queensland contingents	1901	A6615
	Nominal rolls of the Queensland Defence Force*	1901	B5172
	Returns of Queensland contingents*	1899–1902	B5175
	Roll of the Fourth Queensland Imperial Bushmen*	1901	B5181
	Service rolls of contingents of the Queensland Defence Force*	1899–1901	B5199
	Alphabetical roll of Western Australian contingents*	1900–01	B5165
	Nominal rolls of the Third New South Wales Imperial Bushmen contingent and the Third New South Wales Mounted Rifles contingent*	1901–02	B5198
	Nominal roll of Bethune's Mounted Infantry*	1899–1901	B5203
	Nominal rolls of battalions for service in South Africa*	1902	B5207
	Nominal rolls of Australian Commonwealth Horse	1902	P2443
	Medical history sheets of members of the Sixth Queensland contingent returning by TSS Devon*	1901–02	B5155
	Medical records of Queensland Defence Force members returned from South Africa*	1899–1902	B5166
	Register of medical examinations for First Queensland (Mounted Infantry) contingent*	1899	B5174
	Unregistered nominal rolls, pay lists, and associated accounting correspondence, relating to Queensland contingents	1899–1902	A6588
	Camp and ordinary pay sheets for Queensland contingents	1899–1901	A6590
	Pay lists and pay instruction rolls for Queensland Defence Force members*	1901–02	B5161
	Pay list for H Company Fourth Contingent, Queensland Defence Force*	1900–01	B5164
	Pay sheets of the Fifth and Sixth Queensland (Imperial Bushmen) contingents*	1901–02	B5180
	Contingent pay ledgers for New South Wales Forces*	1899–1908	B5200
	Registers of pay for New South Wales Forces*	1900–03	B5201
	Pay ledger for Military Forces, New South Wales*	1899–1902	B5202
	Pay ledgers for New South Wales Military Forces*	1899–1902	B5205
	Index to pay ledgers for the New South Wales Military Forces*	1899–1902	B5206
	Medal roll – Fifth Contingent, Queensland Imperial Bushman	1901	A6614
	Medal rolls and clasps of the Queensland Defence Force*	1899–1903	B5167
	Index to register of issue of Boer War medals and clasps – New South Wales Defence Force*	1903–11	B5183
	Register of issue of Boer War medals and clasps – New South Wales Defence Force*	1903–11	B5184
	Lists of Boer War medals and clasps issued to New South Wales and Imperial units*	1899–1901	B5197
	Nominal rolls and lists of medals and clasps for New South Wales Military Forces*	1899–1907	B5204
	Lists of medals and clasps	1900–02	MP744/50
	Register of issue of medals and clasps	1903–08	MP744/51
	Returns of Queensland Defence Force personnel who died in South Africa*	1902	B5178
	Personal case files, BW prefix	1904–	A2799

For more information

See the National Archives' research guide, The Boer War: Australians and the War in South Africa, 1899–1902 by Craig Wilcox.

Additional Boer War records are held by the Australian War Memorial and State government archives.

The Official Record of the Australian Military Contingents to the War in South Africa, by PL Murray (AJ Mullett, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1911) includes lists of persons who served in the Boer War. You can also search the website of the Australian War Memorial for details of Boer War service.