Boot and Saddle by JG GilberdIntroduction
This is a rather belated attempt to put on record the part played by horses in the New Zealand Forces from the 1840s until 1945. This research should have been carried out at least 30 years ago when many military horsemen were still around; I refer to the veterans of the Armed Constabulary, Volunteer Cavalrymen, Mounted Riflemen, Artillery Drivers and others who formed horsed units during the period when animals provided the means of mobility and transport for the Army at that time. In this paper I have tried to record the story of the horse both in peace and in war. What really is missing are the stories (first hand) from the military horsemen of that era. However, by researching Army reports, war histories and documents from Army libraries, National Archives and many other sources we will have salvaged something that will show the contribution made by those 'long-faced' friends and their handlers to the military history of New Zealand. The military horse first appears on record with the arrival in New Zealand of British regiments from India, United Kingdom and Australia. The bulk of these troops were Foot Regiments of the line together with Royal Artillery batteries plus the Supply Train with their horses. So we commence our story with the New Zealand Wars which brought British soldiers to this country. There were at that time small bands of volunteers formed into cavalry units to support the British in their operations against hostile Maoris. From the settlers, such families as the Atkinsons, Smiths, Bayleys, Houlstorms and others made ideal frontiersmen. Schooled in hard living, trained to work on their own, plus being excellent horsemen, this was the material that formed the volunteers. In 1862 was formed the Colonial Defence Force Cavalry, a regular force organised on constabulary lines. Not a few of the mounted branch of the original Armed Constabulary formed by Governor Grey in 1846 transferred to the new force. The first recorded use of horses for military operations was in 1860 during the First Taranaki War. Lieutenant Colonel Murray called out the militia and the Taranaki Volunteers for active service, and included in this force was a small detachment of mounted men armed with carbines, swords and revolvers. Colonel Gold of the British Army moved on Waitara on 5th March 1860 with a force of 400 Officers, NCOs and Men from the 65th Regiment of Foot, some artillery plus the supply train. The first casualty in the Taranaki War was Trooper J Garter of the Volunteer Cavalry. Then on 9th October 1860 a composite column numbering over 1000 men marched out from New Plymouth along the South Road with the object of reducing the Maori fortifications at Kaihihi. Included in the force were 105 Taranaki Cavalrymen. These men were used on scouting and message-carrying duties, a very arduous job in the bush-covered terrain. On 4th March 1861 Captain Mercer's battery of six 12-pr RBL Armstrong guns arrived in Auckland from Woolwich in the troopship Norwood. The horses were purchased from outback stations in New South Wales, and were wild and unbroken. They gave some trouble to their drivers until broken tot he draught work of hauling the guns. These 180 horses arrived in May 1861. Stables were built, harness unpacked, and training then commenced in earnest. Much of this training time was spent in making the original Great South Road from Auckland to the Waikato. For this purpose the limber bodies, which in those days comprised two large chests, were removed and replaced by locally-made bodies suitable for carting and spreading gravel. The heavy work involved in handling this material greatly assisted in breaking the horses. In March 1863 Captain Mercer received instructions to mount 100 Gunners and Drivers from his battery to drill and train as cavalry. Each man was armed with a regulation cavalry sword, plus a carbine or a Dean and Adams revolver supplied by the Colonial Government. As hostilities were expected to break out again in Taranaki, Mercer's battery and the mounted squadron moved by sea from Auckland to New Plymouth. Lieutenant Rait was in command of the mounted squadron. The loading of equipment, men and horses from the Manukau Harbour caused problems owing to the lack of proper wharf facilities. On arrival at the beach it was found necessary to drive the horses into the water while boats then towed them to the troopship where they were slung aboard. Again at New Plymouth the horses and equipment were slung overboard. The horses then swam ashore where their handlers took them over. It was the rainy season in Taranaki and the horses were picketed in the open. Lieutenant Rait spent some time exercising his squadron in riding, carbine, pistol, and sword drill. In April 1863 the disputed land in Taranaki was peacefully occupied. However, it was short-lived - ambushes by Maoris on detachments of the 57th Regiment of Foot caused hostilities to break out again. The mounted squadron was continually employed on night patrols and as mounted messengers during daylight hours. Despatches were carried between the Force HQ at New Plymouth and the various Army posts in the Province, proving the value of the military horse in this type of warfare. As the winter came on these duties were arduous, incessant rain, very few tracks, and very deep mud causing problems and casualties to horses. Jim Gilberd, 1989 |
