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Well done, Neville!
Tomorrow I should be able to post a couple of pics of rounds from that Sydney "gunsmith's hoard".
Regards
IL.

Very interesting!
It's always worth remembering that rifle amunition could also date from hunting or recreational shooting. So, on the Tugela front, I've found (as well as service rounds and 19th century hunting calibres): 1940s dated .303 cases, incl. blanks; 7.62 NATO cases; 9mm parabellum bullets. And similarly, I and others have found 1940s US army buttons on Zulu War and Boer War sites.
Though a spot may seem deserted and remote, many will likely have visited there over the years.

An example of a .303 hollow-point cartridge, found on the site of Cronje's laager, Paardeberg.

Clearly a "dud" round, as it remains intact despite having been fired.

Again, manufactured by Eley Brothers, London.



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And a cartridge case from the British defences at Ration Post, Ladysmith.

The headstamps indicate that this example was manufactured at the Dum Dum Arsenal, Calcutta, India. However, the fact that it was made at Dum Dum does not mean that it would have had a "dum dum" or "expanding" bullet.

It is perhaps relevant that Ration Post was held by the 2nd Battalion, King's Royal Rifles, a unit that had come directly from India.




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Neville
You are correct in saying that .303" Cordite Mk. II Ball and Mk. II Special made at Dum Dum arsenal, India had the same headstamp style. And the link with a Regiment which had served in India is well supported. In contrast, the "dud" round from the laager at Paardeburg bears a definite Commercial headstamp and it is not a conversion from a Military round.
Regards
IL.

Neville, Sturgy and other interested Forum members
Apologies for the delay in this update!
Here are some pics showing the split jacket and clipped nose .303" round from the Sydney Gunsmiths Hoard; alongside a standard .303" Ball Cordite Mk.II (the standard British issue during the ABW).

And the corresponding headstamps

And a different aspect of the split jacket round


The "waterline" headstamp E B indicates manufacture by Eley Bros., London and according to Labbet and Mead (".303 inch") is found on .303" Powder Mk.II samples. But not later types. The keen observer will see that the projectile of the illustrated Cordite Mk. II round is held in the neck by stabbing; whereas that of the "Hoard" round is not. That is an important clue as from 1891 all .303" Cordite rounds featured neck stabbing while the earlier Powder types had projectiles held in place only by neck pressure. This characteristic of plain cartridge necks was typical of other "sporting" type .303" rounds from the "Hoard".
It is my opinion that an enterprising sporting ammunition manufacturer took advantage of the availability of surplus ammunition of obsolete .303" pattern (whether in the form of components or loaded rounds) and repurposed them by fitting sporting projectiles and hence to markets in Southern Africa. And onto the battlefields.
As a matter of interest, it would be interesting to learn if the fired .303" "K" "1" case found at Colesburg has neck stabbing or is plain.
When I winnowed out my ammunition collection and kept only key types all those years ago, the EB split nose job made the cut because it appeared to be an attempt to replicate the "Tweedie" design of expanding .303" ammunition. Glad I kept it for illustrative purposes.
Regards to all
IL.