Supply tent on military camp, ca. 1899. John Oxley Library image#APU-048-0001-0010
The provision of uniform clothing and accoutrements for Queensland's forces was not always a Government responsibility. Volunteer units in the 1860s and 70s had to design and pay for their own uniforms. This led to a stylistically diverse yet colourful companies appearing on parades across the colony.
In later years the colonial government provided uniforms and accoutrements, many of them purchase directly from the Royal Army Clothing Depot in Pimlico, England.
From the 1890s the gradual adoption of khaki uniforms of a simpler construction enabled local manufacturers to become competitive. This page will provide overview and examples of the uniforms and accoutrements in Queensland during the nineteenth century.
Illustration of a member of the Brisbane Volunteer Rifle Corp, from the Queensland Figaro, February 1889. John Oxley Library image#63387
Clothing and armaments are not the only items necessary to assemble a capable military force, and the Queensland Government accepted responsibility, albeit sometimes reluctantly, to provide its troops with the necessary equipment to perform their various tasks.
Items acquired were as simple as teapots, entrenching tools and tents, or technologically advanced as forges, collapsible boats, signalling equipment, searchlights or ambulance wagons. Most items were imported, being issue items for the British Army or Royal Navy. This section will provide details and illustrations of many of them.
For further reading, please download:
The Queensland Scottish Volunteer Corps Kilt, by James Scarlett and Brian Rough, originally published in ‘Military Illustrated’
Oliver's water-bottle: Does the story really hold water?, Brian Rough
Recommended reading: I Skennerton, 'List of Changes in British War Material', Vols I and II.
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Defending the Colony 
