- 1st / 73rd (
Highland) Regiment 1st Battalion of Foot
- 2nd /7 3rd (
Highland) Regiment 2nd Battalion of Foot
1810 -1814
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- The Regiment
- Known as (nickname)........................None Known
- Facings................................................DARK GREEN
- Braided Lace.....................................
Gold
- Service in
Australia .......................... Sydney , Newcastle &
Tasmania .
- Commanding Officer....................................Lieut.
Colonel M. C. O'Connell



-
- The 73rd Regiment came into existence on the 30th
of July 1779 as part of the 42nd Royal Highland
- Regiment. The 73rd being the
second Battalion of the 42nd. It was during April of 1785
that the second Battalion became a separate Regiment from
the 42nd. They were in this year to be formed into what
is now known as the 73rd Highland Regiment. The regiment
gained its own facings these being Dark Green and in 1786
& received its own Ensign. The Regiment fought in the
Indian Wars and several other campaigns in the region.
- On the 8th of May1809 under the
command of Lieutenant Colonel Lachlan Macquarie ,the
Battalion was
- ordered to relieve the Royal New
South Wales Regiment (102nd) in Sydney. Sailing from
Yarmouth on the Isle Of White the British ships "HMS
Hindustan" and "HMS Dromedary" embarked for
Sydney. On the First of January 1810 the ships arrived in
Sydney. Over the next few months the Regiment was sent
for duty in various areas. These included Sydney ,
Newcastle, Parramatta, The Derwent in Hobart, Port Dalyrimple, and Norfolk Island, Several soldiers of the
102nd had volunteered to join the 73rd so they could stay
in the colony, this boosted the strength of the 73rd
Regiment.
- The duties of the Regiment varied
from convict supervision to exploration . The Regiment
was to assist in
- the clean up of the colony
following the problems caused by the Royal New South
Wales Regiment. In many ways this was achieved by the 73rd
who were in some ways no better than the Royal New South
Wales Regiment. The 73had its own problems with officers
and men, to the point that eventually Macquarie, the then
Governor, rd requested the replacement of the 73rd. Before
the request could reach England the order was given for
the 73rd Regiment to embark to Ceylon .
-
The Regiment served in Ceylon until 24th Dec 1815.
73rd Regiment arrived in England in 1816.
- Firstly, the men of the 1/73rd were transferred
to Ceylon on 5 vessels in the period 1814-1815:
-
Earl Spencer ( departure - 25 January 1814)
General Hewitt (departure - 5 April 1814)
Windham (departure - 5 April 1814)
General Brown(e) (departure - 19 December 1814)
Kangaroo (departure - 19 April 1815)
- During the research of this
Regiment I came upon this item which in some ways
typifies the honour of the
- Regimental code. On February 29th
1851 a ship called "Birkenhead" struck rocks
east of Cape Town. On board the ship was a large number
of woman and children as well as members of the 73rd
Regiment and some members of other Regiments . As the
ship broke apart the woman and children were placed in
life boats and pushed away from the ship. The only way
for the soldiers to survive was to jump ship and reach
the life boats. This would have placed a large strain on
the boats and could have resulted in their sinking and
endangering the lives of the woman and children on board.
It was decided by all to remain on board. The Regiment
stood fast and subsequently went down with the ship. 357
lost their lives with the 73rd being the largest
contingent losing the lives of 56 men. It was this
solitary action that now is known as "woman and
children first"
-
- The following is a history of many
name changes.
- 1758.....2nd Battalion of the 42nd Regiment
- 1780 ....2nd
Bn, 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot (The Black
Watch)
- 1786.....73rd (Highland) Regiment of Foot
- 1809.....73rd Regiment of Foot
- 1816
....73rd (Highland)
Regiment
of Foot
- 1862.....73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot
- 1881.....united with
42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot, The Black Watch
to become 2nd Bn, The Black Watch (Royal
Highlanders)
- References
- Family Members, Military records
,Pay rolls, Pay Musters, Cemetery Records, Church Records & General Muster
Records, Mitchell Library ,Sydney Australia
- This image (or other media file) is on
the site because its copyright has expired.
- The information is intended for short Historical
value only,
- E- mail address
- © Copyright B & M Chapman (QLD) Australia
- Last revised: Sunday, 20 June 2010 04:51:30