British Regiments of Foot in Australia

The Royal Marines served in the Colony between 1788 and 1790, after which the New South Wales Corps (Rum Corps) took over for the 20 years up to 1810.

After the New South Wales Corps were ousted in 1810 there were twenty four British Regiments that served in Australia between 1810 and 1870, two of those doing 2 tours. Of these there were nine regiments that served in Western Australia for varying lengths of time. This list does not include Enrolled Pensioner Guards as such.

New Rules Update

A members workshop was held on Saturday 24 March 2018  to discuss and give feedback on the revised Association Rules and By-laws. Some proposed changes were subsequently adopted by the Committee.

The draft revised Rules of Association replacing the previous WAGS Constitution and new draft by-laws, with these latest amendments included, are posted in Members Only>WAGS Business> Constitution.

If you cannot access the documents page you can request  a copy of the documents, by emailing: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

As only two members in addition to committee members attended the workshop on 24 March there will not be any further workshops held. It is proposed to convene a General Meeting of the Society on 29 July 2018 for the purpose of formally adopting the new Rules and by-laws. A formal Notice of Meeting will be published closer to the time.

Western Ancestor - March 2018 Issue - in your letterbox soon...

The March 2018 edition of the journal of the Western Australian Genealogical Society is on the way to a letterbox near you - or maybe you just want to read it online.

Members can browse or download the electronic copy in the Member’s Only Section (you will have to log in) of this website under the Journal menu item.

The arrival in Western Australia of the Hougoumont, with its cargo of convicts and Pensioner Guards, marked the end of transportation worldwide. The 9 January 2018 will mark the 150th Anniversary of this event and so the WA Genealogical Society and the Royal WA Historical Society will be holding a series of Joint Presentations and Displays of Artefacts and Photographs of the men who came to the Swan River Colony, both in chains and in Uniform, during the convict era.  Both societies will have two events.