‘FIGHTING FOR THE UNITY OF THE EMPIRE’1 AUSTRALIAN SUPPORT FOR THE SECOND ANGLO-SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 1899-1902 GUY MURFEY A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy, The University of New South Wales Australian Defence Force Academy 2017 1 From the inscription of the South African War memorial on St. Kilda Rd, Melbourne. http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/boer/display/33452-south-african-soldiers-memorial TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS page ii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS page iii ABBREVIATIONS page v INTRODUCTION page 1 1. THE POLITICAL ELITE’S SUPPORT FOR THE WAR page 21 2. THE ROLE OF NEWSPAPERS page 49 3. POPULAR SUPPORT page 76 4. DISSENT page 110 5. HISTORIOGRAPHY page 142 CONCLUSION page 169 APPENDIX A: Statistical analysis of voting outcomes during the Second Anglo South African war page 172 APPENDIX B: Details of party affiliation, religion, country of origin and profession of colonial politicians voting on the motion as to whether troops should be sent to South Africa (October 1899) page 176 APPENDIX C: Parliamentary dissenters’ statements of loyalty during the South African War page 189 APPENDIX D: Labor voting in regards the sending of a contingent to the South African War (10 October 1899) page 197 APPENDIX E: Persons cited as critics of the war by Henry Reynolds in Unnecessary Wars and their statements of loyalty during the South African War page 200 APPENDIX F: Extract of transcript of Reynold’s interview 28 April 2016 page 206 BIBLIOGRAPHY page 207 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to my supervisors Associate Professor Eleanor Hancock and Professor Craig Stockings for their patience, guidance and professionalism. In particular I have very much appreciated the skills they have given me over the past three years to understand and execute a project of this nature. I would also like to thank the Administrators of the Andrew Denis Research Travel Award 2015 for their generous grant that greatly assisted accessing Libraries and Archives around the country. I have very much appreciated all the support I have been given by the administrative staff of the School of History and Social Sciences at Australian Defence Force Academy, Bernadette McDermott. I have also been fortunate to be assisted by the librarians and archivists across the country including the ADFA Library, the State Library of Victorian, Monash University Library, Melbourne University Library (Special collections), Latrobe University Library, NSW State Library, the Australian War Memorial, the National Library, the National Archives, Public Records Office of Victoria, NSW Government State Records and the Library of the Tasmanian Parliament. Nancy Wallace deserves special mention for her excellent proofreading. I cannot thank my wife Josephine enough for her unstinting emotional and practical support (there is no doubt having a librarian for a wife gives a significant advantage to research.) My sister Judith Murfey and my friends Tim Dunlevie and Peter Antonenko deserve special mention for the extended hours of conversations about issues and regular checks on my progress. My children Nathan and Julia as well as my other friends and family (Jack and Gail Chatziyakoumis, Imogen Dunlevie, Chris Sommer, Jessica Chatziyakoumis, Kyle Hamer, Brendan Myers, Heli Simpson, Annabel Crawford, Julia Antonenko, Ian and Joan James, Peter and Helen Norman) deserve a mention for their good humoured willingness to listen to a rather esoteric topic. ii ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Combined voting outcomes for Australian politicians deciding for or against the dispatch of contingents to the Second Anglo-South African War graphed as percentages. page 26 Fig. 2 ‘The War’ headlines. (Sydney Morning Herald, 5 January 1900 p. 5) page 54 Fig. 3 ‘The Colenso Battle’ headlines. (Argus, 20 December 1899, p. 7.) page 63 Fig. 4 ‘Departure of the New South Wales Lancer detachment.’ (Departure of the New South Wales Lancer detachment and other troops for the South African War, with crowds lining the streets to bid farewell,’ AWM A05228). Page 80 Fig. 5 ‘The Victorian Contingent Procession’ [‘The Victorian Contingent Procession’ – farewelling the first Victorian contingent’ (Stereoscopic image) - AWM P01700.001]. page 80 Fig. 6 ‘Boer War troop parades, 1899-1901.’ Second Contingent departing Sydney [17 January 1900] ‘Boer War troop parades, 1899-1901.’ State Library of NSW, [online photograph] page 84 Fig. 7 ‘Second Victorian Contingent Procession (ca 1900)’ [14 January 1900] [(online photograph) - AWM P01700.006.] page 85 Fig. 8 ‘Relative sizes of things in Australia just now,’ (The Bulletin, 27 January 1900, p. 17) Page 87 iii Fig. 9 ‘The New South Wales Patriotic Fund,’ (Sydney Morning Herald, 29 January 1900, p. 8) Page 92 Fig. 10 ‘‘The ‘Abit’. (Bulletin 14 October 1899) Page 127 Fig. 11 ‘Turing over a new leaf,’ (The Bulletin, 30 December 1899 p. 5) Page 130 iv ABBREVIATIONS Parliamentary debates CPD(HR) Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates – House of Representatives CPD(S) Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates – Senate NSWPD(LA) New South Wales Parliamentary Debates – Legislative Assembly NSWPD(LC) New South Wales Parliamentary Debates – Legislative Council QPD(LA) Queensland Parliamentary Debates – Legislative Assembly QPD(LC) Queensland Parliamentary Debates – Legislative Council VPD(LA) Victorian Parliamentary Debates – Legislative Assembly VPD(LC) Victorian Parliamentary Debates – Legislative Council WAPD(LA) West Australian Parliamentary Debates – Legislative Assembly WAPD(LC) West Australian Parliamentary Debates – Legislative Council. **South Australia is not included because its records are not electronic and require a more detailed citation. OTHER AWM Australian War Memorial CoE Church of England NAA National Archives of Australia NLA National Library of Australia MHR Member of the House of representatives MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly MLC Member of the Legislative Council PROV Public Records of Victoria SLNSW State Library of NSW SLV State Library of Victoria v 1 INTRODUCTION The Second Anglo-South African War (1899–1902), commonly referred to as the Boer War or the South African War, was a conflict between the British Empire and two small Afrikaner republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The overt reason for the war was the denial of voting rights in the republics to foreigners, who were mainly British or of British descent. The Boer War was significant for Australia for a number of reasons. It was the first time large numbers of troops from Australia had been committed to a conflict. It was also important that these forces were imperial in nature. While there had been other instances of colonial troops being sent to support British troops in other parts of the empire, the Boer War, with the deployment of New Zealanders, Canadians and Australians alongside British soldiers, can be said to be the first time that a truly imperial force was deployed. The war occurred in the lead up to Federation, a crucial point in Australia’s history when the six separate colonies, after a long and difficult journey, were finally unified. Further, the war raised important questions as to what Australia’s involvement in imperial defence should be. In what circumstances should it go to war in the interests of the empire? Should there be formal arrangements or were the current ad hoc measures sufficient?1 In turn, particularly given colonial sensitivity towards its political prerogatives, questions of defence raised broader issues about imperial relations generally. The tension that eventually resulted in the conflict commenced with the discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer Republics in 1885, which brought in large numbers of immigrants looking to make their fortune. A significant proportion of these immigrants were from English-speaking democracies and increasingly resented paying what they viewed as high 1 C. Wilcox, Australia's Boer War: The War in South Africa 1899-1902, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, 2002, pp. xii-xiv. 2 taxes to the republics without having any political representation.2 The Boers of the Transvaal, on the other hand, were Calvinists of Dutch and German origin who had left Europe centuries before. The harsh climate and competition with warlike tribes encouraged resilience, resourcefulness, and a society fiercely concerned for its independence. The Transvaal Boers, particularly the leadership, viewed the granting of franchise to the huge numbers of foreigners, referred to as Uitlanders, as a serious threat to their sovereignty.3 There were, however, a number of other factors pushing Britain to war with the Boer republics. Prior to the discovery of the precious gems and metal in the region, South Africa had attracted little interest. A military expedition in 1881 had sought to restore the Transvaal to British control but early failure and the disagreeable prospect of a protracted and unwanted war discouraged the then British government from continuing. They resolved the conflict by allowing the Boers self-government in the Transvaal under nominal British rule.4 The defeat, however, was a lingering source of discomfit to imperial and military pride.5 The discovery of gold in 1885, however, changed the dynamic substantially. There were potentially significant benefits both for the empire and for wealthy individuals, such as Cecil Rhodes, if the republics could be absorbed into a greater British union in South Africa.6 Rhodes, using the ‘franchise issue’ as a pretext, continually agitated for annexation. He went so far as to sponsor a small force that was supposed to act as a catalyst for an uprising of disaffected Uitlanders in the republics. Embarrassingly, the incident in 1895–1896, referred to as the Jameson raid, did not 2 ibid, pp. 12-13. 3 I.R. Smith, The Origins of the South African War 1899-1902, Longman, London, 1996, pp. 14-69; B. Nasson, The South African War 1899-1902, Arnold, London, 1999, pp. 1-6, 21-29; D. Judd and K.T. Surridge, The Boer War: A History, Palgrave MacMillan, New York, 2013, pp.