The 6th contingent sailed from New Zealand on 30th January 1901. Throughout their war service they and the 5th Queensland Bushmen operated
under General Plumer in almost every part of the seat of war, and the column
distinguished itself by consistently good work. They could not have been
more fortunate in their column commander. In the despatch of 8th May 1901
Lord Kitchener narrated the work of numerous columns in the North-eastern
Transvaal in April, and said that he brought Plumer's troops from the Orange
River Colony to Pretoria, and directed him to occupy Pietersburg in the
north of the Transvaal, a district which, up to that time, had not been
visited by British troops. General Plumer left Pretoria on 26th March and
occupied Pietersburg on the morning of 8th April. During the advance 48
Boers were captured or surrendered. In Pietersburg other 46 Burghers
surrendered; and the force took 1 gun and an immense quantity of ammunition. Between 14th and 28th April the results included 91 prisoners, 20
surrenders, 1 maxim, and more ammunition. On 24th April Captain Markham of
the 6th was able to assist Lieutenant Reid of the 4th Imperial Bushmen in
bringing off a fine capture. Correspondents about this time frequently
referred to Captain Markham's good work. Plumer was now directed to march
south to Eerste Fabriken, and he arrived there on 4th May. On the 14th the
column again set out as one of several instructed to co-operate in clearing
the country between the Delagoa and Natal railways. At Kromdrai, on 16th May, there
was some stiff fighting, and on the 25th May a convoy was most severely
attacked near Bethel, when some Colonials greatly distinguished themselves. Plumer arrived at Standerton at the end of May,
and on 1st June started on another trek, this time to the extreme east of
the Transvaal, making his way into the wild country, mountains, and almost
impenetrable bush on the boundaries of Zululand and Swaziland. On this
expedition many prisoners and horses were taken, but not without losses on
the British side. Lieutenant F J Ryan was killed on 6th June, and there were
other casualties in both corps about this time. On 28th June Plumer left
Utrecht and marched north to Lake Chrissie, where he arrived on 7th July. In
the despatch of 8th August, para 5, Lord Kitchener noted that Plumer's
column was in the second week of July taken by rail to Bloemfontein, whence
on the 23rd they marched west to Modder River, almost on the tracks of Lord
Roberts' army when he first invaded the Orange Free State, the direction
being reversed. On this march some prisoners and stock were captured. On 4th
August Plumer's men again moved out to take part in driving operations in
the south-west of the Orange River Colony. On the 11th he returned with 32
prisoners and many cattle, and between the 15th and 30th he operated between
the Modder and Orange Rivers, making more captures. He reached the
Bloemfontein railway on 30th August and moved into the south-east of the
Colony: here some very hard fighting and no little pursuing was done, the
enemy being frequently found in strength. On 22nd September 1901 "a
party of New Zealanders under Major Tucker (of the 6th contingent),
belonging to Lieutenant Colonel Colvin's column (one of those under Plumer's direction),
was engaged on the Elandsberg with 150 Boers under Field-Cornets Hugo and
Bothnia, both of whom, with several other prisoners, were captured". On 27th
September there was stiff fighting at a drift on the Caledon, in which the
Queenslanders suffered most of the casualties. The despatch of 8th October
further narrated that in conjunction with operations south of Thabanchu "General Plumer despatched 200 New Zealanders under Major Andrew (of the
Indian Staff Corps, attached 6th contingent) from Wepener to hold Mokari
Drift on the Caledon. This party reached the drift on the 27th September,
just in time to anticipate some 300 to 400 Boers who were about to cross the
river to the south-east. In some sharp fighting which followed, the
enemy, who were driven westward, left 6 dead and 7 wounded on the field".
In consequence of the enemy's activity in the south of the Transvaal, and
the threatened reinvasion of Natal, Plumer's troops were, early in October
1901, railed to Volksrust, on the northern border of Natal. They marched
from that station towards Wakkerstroom, and in that district they operated
for several
months.
In the despatch of 8th January 1902 Lord Kitchener dealt with the work of
General Plumer's troops in the Eastern Transvaal, and said that "while
watching the hilly district to the north of Wakkerstroom on 3rd January, a
party of General Plumer's New Zealanders became hotly engaged with the enemy
in the vicinity of Twyfelaar, when, despite the loss of the officer in
command, who was wounded, and 20 (?) of their numbers, they effected the
capture of 300 cattle and a waggon-load of ammunition". The casualties
reported on the 3rd were Sergeant Major Smith killed, Lieutenant Mitchell and Sergeant Major Lewin and two men wounded.
"Another severe encounter between the Boers and General Plumer's troops took
place on the following day (at Onverwachte), when about 50 of our mounted
troops, under Major Vallentin, who were following up the commando which had
been engaged with the New Zealanders, were suddenly attacked by several
hundreds of the enemy. The Boers advanced at a gallop, with about 100 men in
first line, and about 50 thrown back on each flank. The whole movement was
covered by heavy fire from several hundred dismounted riflemen in the
background; severe hand-to-hand fighting ensued, in which, I regret to say,
Major Vallentin and 18 of his men were killed, and 5 officers and 28 men
wounded, before the arrival of reinforcements, under Colonel Pultney,
compelled the enemy to retire. The Boers, who were led on this occasion by
General C Botha on the one flank, and General J D Opperman on the other,
fell back northwards, leaving 9 dead and 3 wounded in our hands. Amongst the
former was General Opperman, who held chief command over a group of
commandos, as well as the personal leadership of the Swaziland Commando".
Onverwachte was one of the most severely fought engagements of the second
phase of the war. A member of the 19th company
Imperial Yeomanry, who was present, said that they had been following up Boers
all forenoon, and had halted, dismounted, and were at their midday meal,
when they were surprised by the enemy, who had gathered behind a rise not
far away. The chief losers were: the Hampshire Mounted Infantry, 7 killed
and 5 wounded; 19th company Imperial Yeomanry, 1 officer and 1 man killed, 8
wounded; 5th Queensland Bushmen, 12 men killed, 2 officers and 20 men
wounded.
The column continued for some time to work in the Eastern Transvaal, and on
several occasions made substantial captures.
