Wallace, Arthur David (Lance Corporal, b.1876 - d.1940)

Collection relating to the South African war (Boer War) service of 6 Lance Corporal Arthur David Wallace, New South Wales Mounted Rifles and 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles, South Africa, 1899-1901.

Collection consists of:

Wallet 1:

2 x original diaries (folder 1) with an associated transcript (folder 2) collectively spanning the dates 3 November 1899 to 5 January 1901. Diary one is black with “Collins’ Handy Diary 1900” embossed in gold on the cover. The entries in this diary begin on 3 November 1899, with the year ‘1900’ crossed out and ‘1899’ written above. The entries continue until the end of 1899 and recommence in the correct entry space for 1 January 1900, until 2 November 1900. The second diary is a black-covered notebook with the dates 3 November 1900 to 5 January 1901.

The diary begins with Wallace’s journey aboard the SS Aberdeen from Sydney to Melbourne (where he disembarks to watch the Melbourne Cup, won by Merriwee), then continues on to Albany. On the continuing journey to Cape Town he describes: food on board; issuing of ranks; the prevalence of seasickness; shooting practice; sports; lectures; and hygiene. Following his arrival at Cape Town, Wallace is sent to the Colesberg area, where he spends the majority of his time while in South Africa. Throughout the diary, skirmishes with Boer troops are regularly noted and the deaths of several Australian individuals are described. During this time he also transfers from the New South Wales Infantry to the New South Wales Mounted Rifles. Wallace also gives an account of the last day of the Battle of Elands River where 12 Australians were killed and the aftermath, including the large number of dead horses and mules. Recurring subjects also mentioned in the diary are: lack of rations and supplies; prisoners of war, both captured and lost; mail; livestock stolen from local farms to feed soldiers; the rough terrain and wildlife encountered; and news of the war on other fronts as it reaches the author.

Wallet 2:

Folder 1:
37 x letters sent by Wallace to his brother, sister and parents. These letters largely discuss the same subjects as those discussed in the diary, with the addition of discussions about home life and affairs in Bathurst, and discussion about the treatment of returned soldiers, including brief mention of the poor reception of some that had returned relatively early.

Folder 2:
2 x unused postcards, one from the Cape of Good Hope, with a small vignette of the Jetty at Port Elizabeth, and one from the Orange Free State;
1 x unused ‘Tourist Letter Card’;
1 x obituary (newspaper cutting) for a Sergeant J C Frazer (unidentifiable);
1 x postcard from the South African republic, sent from Wonderfontein asking for an invoice;
1 x receipt dated 1899;
1 x empty envelope from the Australian Museum, Sydney;
1 x envelope sent from Middelburg to Bathurst, postmarked 3 October 1900, addressed to a B Wallis (sic);
1 x letter, date unknown, sent from the Cape of Good Hope to Mr Wallace (presumably Lance Corporal Wallace’s father) in Bathurst;
1 x telegram dated 1899 advising which train to catch;
1 x used postcard from the Cape of Good Hope with a vignette of the Town House in Cape Town, written by Lance Corporal Wallace to Mr Wallace in Bathurst advising him that he is about to leave South Africa; and
2 x pages from a book featuring “foreign words and phrases in common use”.