Redcoat Index

The Redcoats came as a small number from New South Wales to KGS in 1826 (though none stayed) through to two companies in 1868. Some came from Britain, but most came from larger bodies of men serving in Tasmania or New South Wales. They are generally known as the Military Establishment in Western Australia. The men of this Establishment, some with families, were not enrolled pensioners who arrived as convict guards, they were not discharged veterans who were appointed as warders and gaolers or policemen. These were men actively serving in the British Army; but it is also the case that their roles often included work in exploration and survey, aboriginal welfare, and policing. It is also possible that once discharged from the Army, they took employment in the ‘security industry’.