New South Wales Marine Corps

New South Wales Marine Corps
The uniform of the British Marines. Engraving by Joseph Stadler, 1815.
Active	1786–1791
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Her Majesty's Naval Service
Type	Marine Infantry
Size	One battalion
Colours	Wreath of thistles and roses on white background
Commanders
Notable commanders	Major Robert Ross 1786–1791

The New South Wales Marine Corps (1786–1791) was an ad hoc volunteer unit that the British Royal Navy created to guard the convicts aboard the First Fleet to Australia, and to preserve "subordination and regularity" in the penal colony in New South Wales.

Established in 1786, the Corps saw active service in New South Wales from 1788 to 1791 and was instrumental in establishing the colony's rule of law. In 1791 the Admiralty disbanded the New South Wales Marines and replaced it with a new regular Army unit, the New South Wales Corps.

On 18 December 1791 HMS Gorgon left Port Jackson taking home the last company of the New South Wales Marines. Those leaving included Robert Ross, Watkin Tench, William Dawes, and Ralph Clark. Of the departure, Tench said, “we hailed it with rapture and exhilaration”.

The Corps was established on 31 August 1786 with assent from King George III for a force of 160 enlisted marines and accompanying officers to attend the settlement of New South Wales "... for the purpose of enforcing subordination and obedience in the settlement [at Botany Bay], as well as for defence of that settlement against the incursions of the natives."

Volunteers for the NSW Marine Corps were required to have had a satisfactory prior record of service in the British Marines, to be at least 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) tall and under forty years of age.

Recruits were offered a two-guinea incentive payment if they volunteered for the Corps. A further inducement was that although enlistment as a British Marine was traditionally for life, members of the New South Wales Marine Corps could seek an honourable discharge after three years of colonial service. With an eye to the likelihood of delays in setting out, the three-year term would commence on arrival of the Fleet in New South Wales rather than the dates of enlistment in England. Marines who chose this option had no automatic right of return to military service after discharge, but in practice few were refused re-entry when their service expired.