Many Australian Boer war volunteers were from the bush or the rural suburbs of cities, and were good at handling a rifle and a horse.

While the British troops often excelled on foot, Australian soldiers gained respect for their horsemanship if not their discipline.

The Australians had to learn the army ways as they went. The British forces had had years of training, but were often not as skilful on horseback as the Australians.

The nature of the terrain meant it was a war fought on horseback rather than on foot.

One of our greatest poets, Banjo Paterson was a newspaper reporter during the Boer War. The stories he filed while containing fact, also had an air of patriotism about them.

"The English troops as a rule have a heavy vacant sure bacon look about them while our compatriots, on the other hand, looked smart enough to steal a policeman's watch if they were given half a chance."

Some of the Australian troops may not have been as well trained as their British counterparts, but often their skills and tenacity made up for it.

DATED APRIL 28, 1901

"Australians are thought a lot more of over here than English soldiers. The Boers say the English Tommy are too damn slow, and that if the Australian had never chipped in they might have had a chance to hold their own. The Englishmen are very poor horsemen at the best of times."

TROOPER RICHARD HENRY EDWARDS

Imperial Bushmen had to have the following experience:

Good shooter
Good rider
Good eyesight
Good hearing and be practical bushmen of experience
Be between 5ft 6 inches and 5ft 11 inches tall
And not over 11 stone 10 lb.

Rate of Pay
Qrt-M Sergeant 8/6d per diem
Trooper/Private 5/-d per diem
Special War Gratuity for service in South Africa £5

Aussie know-how was not just restricted to good horsemanship. They had to stay on their toes to avoid the Boers infiltrating their ranks.

The Boers got to know the skill of the Australians and rather than fire on them would sometimes try to infiltrate their camps to gain information by wearing an Australian uniform as a disguise. To counter this, a constantly changing signal was developed. If the person on horseback did not respond correctly, our soldiers would know they were Boers.