- 1st / 73rd ( Highland) Regiment 1st Battalion of Foot
- 2nd /7 3rd ( Highland) Regiment 2nd Battalion of Foot
1810 -1814
- Back to Start page
- 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)
- The 73rd regiment was relieved by the 46th Foot South Devonshire Regiment
- 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
- Refer to Home Page
- © Copyright B & M Chapman (QLD) Australia
- Last revised: Sunday, 20 June 2010 04:51:30