South Australian Mounted Rifles

South Australian Mounted Rifles
A group of eight soldiers wearing slouch hats with rifles raised into the air on horseback
2nd South Australian Mounted Rifles training in Adelaide, prior to deployment to South Africa, early 1900. Trooper Harry Morant is third from left.
Active1899–1901
Country South Australia
AllegianceBritish Empire
TypeMounted infantry
Size
Initial:
  • 6 officers and 121 men (1st SAMR)
  • 7 officers and 112 men (2nd SAMR)
EngagementsSecond Boer War

The South Australian Mounted Rifles (SAMR) was a mounted infantry unit of the Colony of South Australia that served in the Second Boer War. The first contingent of South Australian Mounted Rifles was raised in 1899, followed by a second contingent in 1900.

The first contingent, an infantry company, arrived in South Africa in late November 1899, and served with the Australian Regiment guarding a railway line. After being mounted, the unit fought in operations around Colesberg, and in the march to Bloemfontein, where it joined the second contingent to form the South Australian Mounted Rifles. The second contingent, a mounted squadron, had arrived in South Africa in late February 1900, participating in the suppression of a Boer uprising before joining the march to Bloemfontein. The SAMR, as part of the 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade, participated in the capture of Johannesburg and Pretoria, the Battle of Diamond Hill, and the Battle of Belfast, the last set-piece battle of the war. After advancing to the eastern border of Transvaal, the first contingent and a small portion of the second contingent returned to Australia in November, while the remainder served in Transvaal until March 1901, when they too returned to Australia.