30th Battalion (Australia)

30th Battalion
Troops of B Company, 30th Battalion crossing a shallow creek between Weber Point and Malalamai during the Battle of Sio in 1944
Active	1915–1919 1921–1930 1935–1946 1948–1960
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–1,000 men
Part of	8th Brigade, 5th Division
Nickname(s)	New South Wales Scottish Regiment
Motto(s)	In Omni Modo Fidelis (In All Things Faithful)
Colours	Purple and Gold
March	Highland Laddie
Engagements	First World War Western Front Second World War Huon Peninsula campaign Aitape–Wewak campaign
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch
Tartan	Government

First World War

Second World War

The 30th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally formed in 1915 during the First World War as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and saw service on the Western Front before being disbanded in 1919. It was re-raised in 1921 but was later amalgamated with the 51st Battalion in 1930. In 1935 the two battalions were delinked and the 30th re-raised in its own right. During the Second World War it undertook garrison duties in Australia before undertaking active service in New Guinea in 1944–45. After the war, it was disbanded in early 1946. In 1948, the battalion was re-raised again and remained on the order of battle until 1960 when it was absorbed into the Royal New South Wales Regiment.

The 30th Battalion was originally raised for service as an Australian Imperial Force (AIF) unit during the First World War, as part of the 8th Brigade. Formed in Australia in early August 1915, the battalion concentrated at Liverpool, New South Wales and drew most of its personnel from various parts of New South Wales, with a large contingent coming from Newcastle, although one company was formed from Victorian men who had volunteered to transfer from the Royal Australian Navy to serve in the infantry. Upon the battalion's arrival in Egypt, the 8th Brigade had been unattached at divisional level, but in early 1916, it was assigned to the 5th Division, after a reorganisation that saw the AIF expanded from two infantry divisions to five. The battalion was not formed in time to see action at Gallipoli and instead they remained in Egypt until June 1916 when the battalion was transferred to the European theatre along with the rest of the 5th Division. For the next two and half years they served in the trenches along the Western Front in France and Belgium.