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The Officers of the New South Wales Marine Corps (1786-1791) were commanders of the first European military force to be stationed on the continent of Australia.

The New South Wales Marines were established in 1786 to guard convicts aboard the First Fleet to Botany Bay, and to preserve "subordination and regularity" in the settlement of New South Wales.

Officers were chosen from among British Marine volunteers. Enlistment requirements mandated that they were at least five and a half feet tall, with previous satisfactory service in the Marines and having the appearance of being " the stoutest, fittest and healthiest [of] men."

Establishment
In 1788 four companies of marines, numbering some 213 men, under Major Robert Ross, accompanied the First Fleet to the penal colony of Botany Bay. The Board of Ordnance had provided one thousand carbines and ten thousand musket flints for Marine use in New South Wales, but due to an oversight in provisioning, the Fleet left Portsmouth without any substantial supply of ammunition. The error was kept a secret from the convicts in order to avoid an uprising, and was addressed via resupply when the fleet made port in Rio de Janeiro midway through the voyage.

Volunteers for the NSW Marine Corps, many drawn from the ranks of the British Marines, were required to be at least 5 ft tall and under forty years of age. Recruits were offered an initial two-guinea inducement to volunteer for the Corps.

A key inducement was that although British Marine enlistment was traditionally for life, members of the New South Wales Marine Corps could seek an honourable discharge after three years of colonial service. With an eye to the likelihood of delays in setting out, the three-year term would commence on arrival of the Fleet in New South Wales, rather than the dates of Marine enlistment in England. Marines who chose this option had no automatic right of return to military service after discharge, but in practice few were refused re-entry when their service expired in 1791.

Rates of pay were in accordance with those of the British Marines, including routine provision of a subsistence allowance equivalent to two-thirds of daily pay. British Marines received the allowance when in the field (i.e., not serving on board a vessel); the NSW Marines received the allowance for the duration of their three-year enlistment, relieving the Admiralty or the government of the colony of the responsibility of providing messing facilities.

New South Wales Marine Corps uniforms consisted of a red long-tailed doublet, white trousers, black headdress, and shoes and gaiters. Officers were authorized to carry swords and sidearms; other ranks were issued Brown Bess muskets.

In 1789 the British government established the New South Wales Corps as a permanent regiment to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps. The fourth company, under Captain George Johnston, of this regiment consisted of those members of the New South Wales Marine Corps wishing to remain in NSW.

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