Formation of The Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Australia came into existence on 1 January 1901 as a result of the federation of the Australian colonies, and defence was made a responsibility of the new centralised, federal government. This brought about the creation of the Department of Defence, and two months later on 1 March 1901, the formation of the Australian Army.
All existing military units of each of the six colonies were transferred into the Australian Army, which at the time of formation consisted of 28,923 colonial soldiers, including 1,457 professional soldiers, 18,603 paid militia and 8,863 unpaid volunteers, including those on active service in South Africa. For practical reasons, and so as not to disrupt the ongoing war effort in South Africa, individual units continued to be administered under the various colonial Acts until the Defence Act 1903 brought all of the units under one piece of legislation.
In reality the only clear indication of the Australian men’s new allegiance to the Commonwealth, was in the form of hat-badge changing ceremonies that took place in the field. The colonial troop’s original badges of their home colony were replaced with Rising Sun Badges, the symbol of the newly formed Australian Army. It was also not practical or economical for the men to adopt a single uniform, or standardise equipment, and so each colonial unit continued to utilise their original uniforms and equipment.
After Federation in 1901, eight Australian Commonwealth Horse battalions of the newly created Australian Army were also sent to South Africa, although they saw little fighting before the war ended. Some Australians later joined local South African irregular units, instead of returning home after discharge. These soldiers were part of the British Army, and were subject to British military discipline. Such units included the Bushveldt Carbineers which gained notoriety as the unit in which Harry "Breaker" Morant and Peter Handcock served in before their court martial and execution for war crimes.
Read more about this topic: Military History Of Australia During The Second Boer War
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