05/05/2026
Boer War Day
May 31
The Boer War Day commemorates the first war in which Australia fought as a nation. In 1899 NSW troops were the first to join in this war followed by all of the other colonies after Federation on 1st January 1901. The Boer War was also the first war in which Australians fought alongside New Zealanders.
The 31st May is the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging that ended the South African War in 1902. Boer War Day itself is always held on the Sunday before 31st May.
GRIFFITH WAR MEMORIAL MUSEUM’S BOER WAR REGISTER
Are you a descendant or relative of a WW1 Serviceman who came as a soldier settler to the NSW Griffith region after WW1 finished and who had served in the South African Boer War between 1899 and 1902?
If "yes" then we kindly invite you to provide us with information about this person. Details such as name, service number, regiment, where deployed in South Africa, and maybe a copy of a photo... will then be added to our Boer War Register. At the moment we have 27 confirmed names on our register and another 19 are being researched for possible inclusion. If you have information that you would like to share, then please send an email to [email protected] ,visit our webpage for more contact details. http://www.gwmm.org.au or come to see us at the museum in Banna Avenue. Visit Griffith
Prologue of the South African Boer Wars 1899-1902
Portuguese sailors became the first Europeans to see South Africa. They sighted it in 1488, rounding the Cape of Good Hope in their search for a water route to India. In 1652 the first European settlers arrived. They worked for the Dutch East India Company, stationed at the East Indies (current Indonesia). A half-way station was set up in South Africa. In 1657 the Company began to allow some employees to leave the firm and start their own farms. These people became known as “Boers”, (Dutch for “farmers”). From 1679 more Dutch farmers as well as French and German settlers joined the Cape Colony. By 1795 the whites had spread about 500km north and 8km east of Cape Town. The total population was about 60000. Of those 20000 were whites, the rest natives of which some were killed, others died of Small Pox and most survivors became servants of the whites.
By 1795 France conquered the Netherlands, British troops then occupied the Cape Colony to keep it out of French hands. They gave it back to the Dutch in 1803, but reoccupied it in 1806. In 1814 the Netherlands formally gave the Cape to Britain.
Many Boers decided to leave the Cape Colony to get away from British rule and settled in what is now Natal, the Orange Free State and Transvaal. Britain annexed Natal, but recognised the independence of the other two.
The discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer Republics in the 1880s intensified the rivalry between the British subjects and the Boers. This led to the Anglo- Boer Wars in 1899-1902. This conflict was generally divided in three phases:
Phase 1; October-December 1899. The British armies, mainly infantry,
were defeated or besieged by highly mobile Boer mounted troops.
Phase 2; December 1899-September 1900. A British counter-offensive resulted in the capture of most of the major towns and cities of South Africa.
Phase 3: September 1900-May 1902.This was mainly a guerrilla conflict between British mounted troops and Boer irregulars.
The Australian Colonies, as part of the British Empire, offered troops for the war in South Africa.
(Internet sources)
