1823 - 3rd Regiment of the Line, the East Kents
- the Buffs - New South Wales - Governor Darling - Port Macquarie - Port Dalrymple - Tasmania - Parramatta - Liverpool - Newcastle - Wellington - Botany Bay - Bathurst - convicts -
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In New South Wales, the role of military slave-master
passed from the 46th Regiment to the 48th, the Northamptons; and then
came the Buffs, the 3rd Regiment of the Line, the East Kents.
In August, 1821, detachments of the Buffs started to embark from England,
escorting
parties of convicts bound for New South Wales; and thereafter continued to
embark at intervals, with the last arriving at Sydney in August, 1823.
During their service in New South Wales, The Buffs were commanded by Lieut.
Colonel W. Stewart and Lieut Colonel C. Cameron.
Between 1822 and 1827 detachments of the Buffs were stationed at Port Dalrymple in Tasmania, at Parramatta, Liverpool, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Wellington, Botany Bay and Bathurst.
The Regiment was augmented in strength in 1826 and
comprised almost 1100 of all ranks. The excellence of the tasks performed
by some of the small detachments won the approbation of Governor Darling who
issued an order expressing his gratitude for their zeal and conduct.
The Governor reported of
the N.C.O's : "They are in general old soldiers and they perform their duty in a
very proper manner". Of the men he wrote : "Their conduct in general is good but
there are some individuals who are addicted to drinking which it is difficult to
restrain in the Colony.
The Colony was reported to be in a lawless state, the country
districts being infested with parties of bushrangers recruited mainly from the
ranks of escaped convicts. So, as well as guarding the convicts in the
recognised settlements, chief of which was Port Macquarie, the Buffs were often
called upon to support the police in rounding up these gangs of outlaws.
The Regiment reunited and was transferred to Calcutta in 1827.
Additional History
The Buffs (Royal East Kent
Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was an
infantry regiment of the British Army until 1961.
It had a history dating back to 1572, and was one of the
oldest regiments in the British Army being third in
order of precedence (ranked as the 3rd Regiment of the
line).
They stem from the
old Holland Regiment, formed in 1572. They had fought in all the great battles
of Marlborough's wars, from Schellenburg and Blenheim onwards; in the American
War, the Peninsula War and at Waterloo.
It provided distinguished service over a period of almost four hundred
years accumulating one hundred and sixteen battle honours.
Following a series of amalgamations since 1961 its
lineage is today continued by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.
The origins of the regiment lay in Thomas Morgan's Company of Foot, The
London Trained Bands, which was in existence from 1572 to 1648.
In 1665 it was known as the 4th (The Holland Maritime) Regiment, and by 1668 as the 4th (The Holland) Regiment.
In 1688-1689 it was "4th The Lord High Admiral's
Regiment" until 1751 it was named as other regiments after the Colonel
Commanding ,being the 3rd (Howard's) Regiment of Foot from 1737-1743, at
which point it became the 3rd Regiment of Foot, "Howard's Buffs".
The 3rd Regiment received its nickname of "The Buffs" because it had
been issued buff armour made of soft leather when it served abroad in
Holland and later when it was a Maritime Regiment of Foot. It was
later given buff-coloured facings and waistcoats to distinguish it from
those of other regiments, and had their leather equipment in buff rather
than dyed the traditional white.
It received the title of "The Old Buffs" during the Battle of Dettingen
in 1743, when the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot marched past
King George II and onto the battlefield with great spirit.
Mistaking them for the 3rd due to their buff facings, the sovereign
called out, "Bravo, Buffs! Bravo!". When one of his aides, an officer of
the 3rd regiment, corrected His Majesty, he then cheered, "Bravo, Young
Buffs! Bravo!", thus granting the 31st the honour of being nicknamed the
"Young Buffs". The 3rd Regiment then took to calling themselves the "Old
Buffs" to keep themselves distinct from the 31st.