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1. Its Formation and Varying Strengths
In the early autumn of 1786 the Government made their final decision to set up a penal colony in New South Wales and, as Governor and commander of the First Fleet that would take the convicts to the new colony Capt. Arthur Phillip R.N. was appointed. Six transports and three storeships were chartered, and these would be escorted by the warships Sirius and Supply, which would then remain to support the colony after the other vessels had landed their differing cargoes. The first convicts selected for transportation to Botany Bay began boarding from the prison hulks at Woolwich on 6th January 1787, others joined them during the ensuing months from Plymouth and Portsmouth, and the combined First Fleet set sail from Portsmouth on 13th May, anchoring in Botany Bay on 20th January 1788.
Royal Marines were the First Convicts' Guards. The convicts would be guarded throughout the voyage and during their initial stay in the new colony by a contingent of four Companies of Royal Marines numbering 212 in all, but they, considering that they had not enlisted to serve as mere prison warders in a primitive country at the far ends of the earth, may possibly have carried out their duties somewhat reluctantly. For their own part, the home authorities were equally reluctant to have well-trained fighting men employed long term on such a task, and they decided that a new army regiment of rather lesser mortals should be formed for a semi-permanent posting in New South Wales.
Formation of the New South Wales Corps. As per a letter dated 10th June 1789 sent by the Secretary at War to the Paymaster-General, the regiment would initially consist of four Companies, each consisting of a Captain, Lieutenant, and an Ensign, 3 Sergeants, 3 Corporals, 2 Drummers and 67 Privates, i.e. 78 men in all, and a Major Francis Grose was appointed to recruit and command this body of men, all aged between 16 and 30 and not less than 5'4" in height.
For a new regiment such as this, with a posting effectively 'to the moon', recruiting was likely to be even more difficult than usual, but very considerable inducements were offered to sweeten the pill. Prospective officers were offered a step up in their existing rank, free of the customary purchase price, plus a share in the recruitment bounty of three guineas for every man enlisted, while delinquent soldiers presently in the Savoy or other military prisons who volunteered would have their sentences quashed. The most valuable inducement for the men, however, was possibly that their notional pay would be paid in full instead of being subject to the normal substantial deductions for rations supplied. (At this particular time this might effectively mean as much as twice the amount normally received.
By September 1789 some 300 men had enlisted, of whom about 100, plus seven or eight officers, were ready to accompany the 1006 convicts on the Neptune, Scarborough and Surprize in the ill-fated Second Fleet, which would sail on 17th January 1790 and arrive in Sydney Cove at the end of June, having lost more than a quarter (267) of the convicts due to the atrocious conditions on board, with many more dying after landing. The troops themselves did not entirely escape, many of them suffering from scurvy, etc.
Subsequent Arrivals. A Third Fleet arrived in the early autumn of 1791 with further reinforcements for the Corps, and the majority of the Royal Marines could now leave for home in H.M.S. Gorgon in December 1791. About 63 Marines preferred to remain in the colony with their own Captain Johnston and transfer to the NSW Corps, though this may not officially have taken place until 1793.
With the arrival of the Pitt on 14th February 1792 with the commanding and seven other officers, plus a further Company of men, the regiment now totalled perhaps 335 in five Companies, of which three were at Sydney, one at Parramatta, and the other on Norfolk Island. Major Grose, the commanding officer, automatically became the Lieutenant Governor of the colony. Further arrivals, plus the local recruitment of convicts of good character - (e.g. 30 by August 1793) - increased the regimental strength to six Companies in 1793 and seven in 1794, at which level it remained probably until late 1797, when there were eight Companies with a total personnel of say 520.
(The above facts and figures are taken largely from the Regimental Returns etc recorded in the Historical Records of Australia and of New South Wales, and it may also be noted that the average strength of the Companies tended to be rather lower than the scheduled 78.)
An additional source of information as from 25th June 1798 is provided by the Regimental Paysheets held in the Public Record Office in London, and as at that date there were eight Companies under the 'Captaincies' of: Rank at Arrived Ship that Time
Francis Grose Feb 1792 Pitt Major Wm. Paterson Oct 1791 ? Captain Joseph Foveaux Feb 1792 Pitt Captain George Johnston Jan 1788 (ex R.M) Lieutenant John Macarthur June 1790 Surprize Lieutenant John Townson June 1790 Scarborough Lieutenant Edward Abbott June 1790 Scarborough Lieutenant Thomas Rowley Feb 1792 Pitt Lieutenant
The above officers are named for the reason that they each were in New South Wales from its very early days and would have been responsible for paying the men of their individual Companies for all or much of that time; prima facie they were likely to have been amongst the largest dealers in rum and other luxuries, and, indeed, as will be shown later, of the 21 officers in the colony between 1792-94, the heaviest traders were Macarthur, Rowley, Paterson, Foveaux and Johnston. Both Townson and Abbott appear to have been non-traders, but this could well be because they were stationed on Norfolk Island, an outpost 1000 miles distant from Sydney.
Subsequently . . . . John Prentice June 1790 Surprize Ensign
would command a 9th Company which arrived in the colony in January 1800 in the MinervaThomas Rowley retired in November 1801, selling his Captaincy to Anthony Fenn Kemp (arrived as an Ensign in June 1795), while John Prentice was sent home in July 1801 and effectively replaced by a Captain Ralph Wilson who arrived with a new detachment of men in June 1802 in the Hercules and Atlas, bringing the total strength of the Corps up to about 680.
However, whilst those two vessels were on the high seas, the war with France ended (temporarily) with the Peace of Amiens in March 1802, whereupon the authorities decided that the equivalent of two Companies of the NSW Corps should be repatriated home, and it is thought that 91 men did so return, while others may have preferred to remain in the colony and be transferred to a local Veterans Battalion. In early 1803 Captain Kemp's Company was axed and the average strength of the eight retained Companies was reduced from say the mid-seventies to the mid-sixties.
As luck would have it, the Peace lasted only until 18th May 1803, but the eight Companies of the NSW Corps remained at about the same strength until July 1808, when some 160 new troops arrived, followed by a smaller detachment in December 1808. These men appear to have been dispersed among the same eight Companies, which now averaged around 100 men in each. Recruiting for this considerable reinforcement of the Corps began at the end of 1806, doubtless to protect the colony from any potential invasion by the French. As many of the men came from Royal Veteran Battalions it is hardly surprising that Lt. Col Paterson, the then resident commanding officer, anticipated that they would be 'old men . . . totally unfit for duty in this colony.'
In January 1808 the officers of the NSW Corps arrested Governor Bligh and usurped power for a couple of years, whereupon the authorities in London decided that the regiment should be recalled and replaced by the 73rd Regiment of Foot (later part of the Black Watch) under Lt. Col. Macquarie, who would take over Governorship of the colony in January 1810.
By the time of their departure in March/April 1810, the NSW Corps numbered 784 officers and men, of whom only 337 returned to England. These included all the officers - (by order, to attend the Enquiry into the insurrection) - and most of the recent arrivals from the Veteran Battalions. 447 of the men chose to stay in the new colony:265 transferring to the 73rd Regiment
111 transferring to the local Veterans Corps
71 taking their discharge 447
The history of the NSW Corps subsequent to their return to England will be dealt with at a later stage.)
