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1 Daniel Tizzard-Close September 2020
2 Daniel Tizzard-Close September 2020
New Zealand and the Boer War
This introductory booklet covers New Zealand’s participation in the Second Anglo-
Boer War. We will explore the reasons for this war and for New Zealand’s
involvement in it.
We will cover the following:
History of the conflict:
• economic
• political
• build-up of troops
• initial contact
• public reaction at home
New Zealand’s involvement:
• troops
• domestic results
• nurses/teachers
• Māori reaction to the conflict
• politics
• racism
• support
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Daniel Tizzard-Close September 2020History of the Conflict
The second Anglo-Boer War broke out in 1899 and had a wide variety of causes.
Most of these were economic and political in nature, particularly the discovery of gold
in the Transvaal.
The Transvaal was one of the two independent Boer republics which had been
formed following Britain’s capture of Cape Colony (modern day South Africa). It was
not just the discovery of gold: it was the sheer volume of it, enough to make the Boer
Republics the number one gold producing nation on the planet. This in turn, caused
the Boer presence in the banking industry to skyrocket to the point of causing the
British to rely on South African gold to ensure its economic and financial dominance.
While this was not a major issue on the surface, underlying tensions caused the
South African and British governments to be nervous about relying on a potentially
hostile nation.
The use of gold to back up the value of a currency was standard practice for nations
around the world at this time, with certain coins (such as guineas) still being made in
gold. This ensured that the currency retained its value, with one pound sterling in
1900 equal to 156 NZD in 2020. Given the size of Britain’s empire, and the limited
amount of gold available, it meant that Britain had to stockpile gold to ensure that
their currency remained affordable for the working classes, and so that internal and
external imperial trade was still affordable. The need for large companies and
equipment to mine the gold caused the Transvaal to become the dominant economic
power in sub-Saharan Africa rather than the British controlled Cape Colony.
Tensions officially began with political disagreements between the government of
South Africa and the Transvaal, with the South Africans wanting to prevent the
Transvaal from expanding and the Transvaal wanting to remain as an independent
nation state. Cecil Rhodes, premier of South Africa, attempted to out-manoeuvre the
Boers by forcing them to use South African railways to transport gold and supplies.
The Boers then created their own railway and charged the South Africans and British
to use it, ensuring that any attempts to circumvent the railway were prevented.
Finally Cecil Rhodes attempted to organise an armed insurrection in Transvaal using
immigrants and mine workers working alongside an expeditionary force led by
Dr Leander Starr Jameson. This became known as the Jameson Raid and was a
dismal failure, with all members of the expeditionary force being taken prisoner and
returned to South Africa. The scandal increased tensions between the two nations
and forcing Cecil Rhodes to resign his post.
Tensions rose further as the Government of South Africa tried to force the Transvaal
to give voting rights to Uitlanders (non-Boer miners, predominantly British) in order to
force the democratic election of pro-British leaders. This was successfully countered
by the Boers by giving the Uitlanders voting rights, but only for matters involving the
mines in which they worked and other small internal matters rather than national
policy or leadership. This solution was more than acceptable to the Uitlanders and
completely pulled the rug from under any South African attempts at creating an
internal rebellion.
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Daniel Tizzard-Close September 2020The South African government demanded additional British troops as tensions
seemed to be reaching a high point, with all new units being immediately shipped
towards the border. This rapid build-up of forces alarmed the Boers which led to the
demand on the 9th of October 1899 that the forces be removed. When the British
refused to acknowledge the request, Boer forces launched a pre-emptive attack on
the 11th of the October, making rapid gains and inflicting a string of defeats on the
completely unprepared British forces. They laid siege to the three major towns
of Ladysmith, Mafeking (Mafikeng), and Kimberley. Despite initial success, the Boers
were unable to hold the ground they had taken and were quickly pushed back
beyond their starting point. British imperial forces advanced via the railways to
successfully capture Bloemfontein (capital of the Orange Free State) in February
1900, Johannesburg in May and retaking Pretoria (capital of South Africa at the time)
in June.
It was during the next 15 months that the war was dragged out and took a decidedly
dark turn. Unable to meet the imperial forces on equal terms in the field, the Boer
forces, under the capable command of leaders such as Christiaan Rudolf de
Wet and Jacobus Hercules de la Rey, waged a highly effective guerrilla war against
the British forces. They harassed barracks, storage facilities, and railways including
a brutal ambush on an armoured train during which a young Winston Churchill was
taken prisoner before he managed to escape.
Desperate to bring the unpopular war to a close, Lord Kitchener (the British High
Commander) ordered the drastic measure of starving the Boers into submission.
Thousands of Boer civilians were taken off their land and forced into concentration
camps thereby not only eroding the Boers will to fight but also denying them friendly
farms from which to source food. This measure was widely condemned, especially
as conditions in the camps were abysmal with an estimated 46,000 elderly, women
and children of all ethnicities dying due to disease and lack of care. Despite
condemnation from even his own government, Lord Kitchener continued with the
strategy and did eventually force the remaining Boer Kommando units to surrender
in May 1902.
The war was incredibly unpopular in Great Britain due to the crimes committed
against civilians. It was also because this was one of the first wars to be widely
reported with modern photography. Photographs were taken either immediately after
or even during combat. This prevented the media from having to rely on military
reports or drawings. War correspondents such as Winston Churchill were able to
write their own stories with their own photographs which often painted the British and
Imperial forces and their conditions in a very different light to what the army was
saying in official reports These reports showed the true conditions of war as well as
the causes. It showed this war as a land grab. Despite the unpopularity in the
‘Mother Country’, the war was popular here in New Zealand due to our eagerness to
be seen as a member of the Empire, as well as the wide-spread establishment of
local volunteer defence regiments.
Supporting Link
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/south-african-concentration-camps
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Daniel Tizzard-Close September 2020New Zealand’s Involvement in the War
New Zealand was keen to be involved from the outbreak of war, not only out of a
sense of Imperial Duty, but also to further New Zealand’s own ends of establishing
themselves as a Dominion as opposed to a colony. New Zealand politicians and
businessmen suspected that if New Zealand sent volunteers to fight and should
prove herself willing to ‘pull her weight’, then New Zealand could start to negotiate
her own trade deals, rather than being dictated to by London.
The premier, Richard Seddon, was determined that New Zealand would be the first
nation of the Empire to send troops. As a result, training and equipping of our new
recruits was rushed through. Training was only three weeks and equipment had to
be compiled from donations from the community as well as local volunteers and
government stockpiles.
Local volunteer units were instructed to choose men from their units who met a
series of high standards including horsemanship, marksmanship, as well as good
health.
There is evidence that the Government ordered that Māori not be permitted to enlist,
though a number managed to circumvent this restriction by changing their surname
to an English sounding one (e.g. changing the surname Ngāta to Night). Many of
these surnames still exist throughout New Zealand.
Once men had been selected, they were shipped to Wellington to Campbell’s farm in
Karori where a basic training centre had been set up. The effectiveness of this
training is called into question due to the constant interruptions by the arrival of new
recruits.
When the training time was up, the New Zealand contingent under the command of
Major Alfred Robin, was made up of 204 men in two companies. Those of No. 1
Company were predominantly from the North Island while most members of No. 2
Company were South Islanders. The command of the initial contingent was split
between nine officers, a surgeon, and a veterinary surgeon.
With a total of 6500 men and 8000 horses from New Zealand eventually seeing
service as well as taking part in a number of key battles, the perception of New
Zealand was catapulted from that of a colonial back water to that of a fully-fledged
member of the Empire.
Engagements such as the famous battle of Slingersfontein Farm were major
influences on this change of perception. New Zealand forces assisted the British in
taking the Slingersfontein Farm in early January 1900. While the rest of the imperial
force advanced, a small garrison of 60 men under the command of Captain W.R.N.
Madocks was left to garrison the area. Just over a week later, on 15 January the
Boer General Koos De la Rey arrived to retake the farm. The Kiwis, alongside a
company of the Yorkshire Regiment, defended a hill overlooking the farm. With the
British forces suffering heavy casualties, Madocks sent some of his troops to the
Boer flank, before personally leading a bayonet charge against their force. The
Boers quickly retreated, losing 21 dead at a cost of only two New Zealand lives. For
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Daniel Tizzard-Close September 2020his quick action Madocks was promoted to major and the hill was named New
Zealand Hill.
Another New Zealand soldier of note was trooper Henry Coutts, who, thanks to his
brave actions in rescuing his mortally wounded sergeant while under heavy fire
during an ambush at Sanna's Post on 31 March 1900, was awarded one of the
scarves crocheted by Queen Victoria herself as a mark of gallantry (comparable to a
Victoria Cross).
Due to battles such as this, New Zealand’s political ambitions were realised and
shortly after the war’s end, New Zealand renegotiated its trade deals with Britain,
allowing for the further growth in New Zealand industry and agriculture.
Māori involvement in the war.
With the last battles of the New Zealand Wars still within living memory, there were
mixed perceptions of the Boer War within the various iwi and hapū, as to whether
Māori should involve themselves in the conflict.
The premier of New Zealand, Richard “Dick” Seddon, proposed to the British foreign
office that a force of 100 Māori volunteers be included in the first wave of New
Zealand forces to go to South Africa. This was met with a firm refusal, even though
the colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlin stated that:
“I’m sorry not to give the Māoris a chance” going on to state “If they had sent them
without asking and mixed them up with others no one would have known the
difference.”
While Māori were officially prevented from serving, this did nothing to deter those
eager to serve, with numerous cases of volunteers altering their surnames to a more
English sounding term. Many others were able to enlist if they had mixed Pākehā/
Māori parentage with an English surname. Due to these altered surnames and the
lack of widespread photographic material from New Zealand during the period, it is
impossible to ascertain how many Māori may have served during the Boer War.
Because of the prestige of warriors within the Māori culture many communities fund-
raised to enable their fittest and finest young men to go to war to support New
Zealand and the British Commonwealth in an international arena.
Supporting Link
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-in-the-south-african-boer-war/
maori#:~:text=Many%20M%C4%81ori%20supported%20New%20Zealand's,some%
20were%20willing%20to%20enlist.&text=New%20Zealand%20Premier%20Richard
%20Seddon,included%20in%20the%20First%20Contingent.
Nurses in South Africa
New Zealand was able to send a group of women to work in South Africa. Around
thirty nurses left New Zealand to help. Conditions were appalling and many of the
nursing areas had to be thoroughly cleaned before they were fit for purpose. One of
the nurses was scathing in her comments, saying:
“I found that I had to take the milk into my own hands, it was continually going bad
through being put into dirty basins, bottles, etc. The doctors were all very pleasant,
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Daniel Tizzard-Close September 2020but from belonging to an ambulance corps whose only duty is to pick up the
wounded on the field, they had no notion of cleanliness or antiseptics. The rooms
were filthy everything I touched dirty. I had only one old table napkin that I looted to
dry up everything on.”
-Sister Emily Peter in Gavin McLean and Ian McGibbon with Kyuan Gentry (eds),
The Penguin Book of New Zealanders at War, Penguin, North Shore, 2009, p. 87.
Teachers
Due to concerns about the welfare of the children who had been interred in the
concentration camps, New Zealand was asked to supply teachers to educate them.
It was accepted that all children were entitled to an education, and that teachers
were well thought of in New Zealand, so an appeal was put out for volunteers.
Approximately 200 women responded to the call and 20 were selected. Most of
these women were over 25, single, and looking for adventure. They were referred to
as The Learned Eleventh by Acting Premier, Sir Joseph Ward. This was because
ten contingents had already left for South Africa, with the teachers being the
eleventh. Only six of the twenty returned to New Zealand after the conflict had
ended.
Supporting Links
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/troops-campbells-farm-karori
https://www.boerwarwa.org.au/news/the-battle-slingersfontein
http://frontiersmen.homestead.com/famousCOUTTS.html
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/new-zealand-south-african-war-nurses
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealand-in-the-south-african-boer-war/women
References
Weaponry:
Recovered from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qv0AgGhq58
South African War 1899-1902', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/south-african-boer-
war/introduction, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 7-Mar-2018
British perspectives:
Recovered from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc76E2kPxFM
Morgan, K. O. (2002). The Boer War and the Media (1899–1902). Twentieth Century
British History, Volume 13, Issue 1, 2002, Pages 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1093/tcbh/
13.1.1
Kent, K.S. (2013) Propaganda, Public Opinion, and the Second South African Boer
War. Inquires Journal
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