NSW Corps
| New South Wales Corps (102nd Regiment of Foot) |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1789–1810 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Branch |
 British Army
|
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Size | One battalion |
| Nickname(s) | Rum Corps, Botany Bay Rangers, Rum Puncheon Corps, The Condemned. |
| Colours | Yellow Facings, White Braided Lace |
| Engagements |
Battle of Vinegar Hill (1804) Rum Rebellion (1808) |
The New South Wales Corps was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. It was disbanded in 1818.
The regiment was formed in England in June 1789 as a permanent unit to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. The regiment began arriving as guards on the Second Fleet in 1790. The regiment, led by Major Francis Grose, consisted of three companies. A fourth company was raised from those Marines wishing to remain in New South Wales under Captain George Johnston, who had been Governor Arthur Phillip's aide-de-camp.
When Phillip returned to England for respite in December 1792, Grose was left in charge. Grose immediately abandoned Phillip's plans for governing the colony. A staunch military man, he established military rule and set out to secure the authority of the Corps. He abolished the civilian courts and transferred the magistrates to the authority of Captain Joseph Foveaux. After the poor crops of 1793 he cut the rations of the convicts but not those of the Corps, overturning Phillip's policy of equal rations for all. In a connived attempt to improve agricultural production and make the colony more self-sufficient, Grose turned away from collective farming and made generous land grants to officers of the Corps. They were also provided with government-fed and clothed convicts as farm labour.
Grose also relaxed Phillip's prohibition on trading of rum (sometimes a generic term for any form of distilled beverage, usually made from wheat), usually from Bengal. The colony, like many British territories at the time, was short of coins, and rum soon became the medium of trade. The officers of the Corps were able to use their position and wealth to buy all the imported rum and then exchange it for goods and labour at very favourable rates, thus earning the Corps the nickname "The Rum Corps". By 1793 stills were being imported and grain was being used to make rum, exacerbating the shortage of grain.
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Wikipedia