Home Images and media photos Departure of First Contingent

Departure of First Contingent

The First Contingent departed from Wellington on Shaw Savill & Albion Ltd's Waiwera on 21 October 1899. Premier Richard Seddon wanted the New Zealand Contingent to be the first group of colonial troops to reach South Africa, and the steamer successfully raced Australian troopships across the Indian Ocean. Note the horse stables on the deck of the ship.

This image Appears In 1 Article:

  • General Piet Joubert and Boer soldiers, 1899
    South African 'Boer' War

Keywords

wellington city
south african war
first contingent
boer war
Credit

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PA1-q-329-14
Photographer: Henry E. L. Brusewitz
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

How to cite this page

'Departure of First Contingent', URL: /media/photo/departure-first-contingent, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 17-May-2016

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Community contributions

2 comments have been posted about Departure of First Contingent

What do you know?

admin

Posted: 16 Jun 2014

Thanks, Bevan - have updated the caption now

Bevan Lewis

Posted: 12 Jun 2014

Just a minor point, according to this site (http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=10876) the Waiwera was owned by Shaw Saville & Albion Ltd. The Union company did provide a lot of the boats used by spectators as the troops departed.