Royal Regiment of A A
ustralian artillery marked its 150th anniversary on 1 August 2021 – a centuryand-a-half of continuous service. The formation of an Australian artillery capability 150 years ago marked an initial step in Australia becoming a sovereign nation, according to the Head of Regiment Brigadier Richard Vagg.
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The first permanent Australian artillery unit was established on 1 August 1871, when the NSW colonial government raised and funded a permanant battery. The history of Army’s longest continuous-serving permanent unit, A Battery, can be traced to that original NSW battery. Commemorative services were held around the country on 1 August to mark the 150th anniversary. Brigadier Vagg told those gathered at Mount Pleasant in Canberra that the enduring story of Australian artillery began after 1870 when the last British forces left the colonies of Australia. “This anniversary is therefore a special day for every Australian, not just for gunners, as 1871 marks the year from when Australia’s colonial governments made a permanent commitment to their own selfdefence – one of the hallmarks of sovereignty and nationhood,” Brigadier Vagg said. “Today, Australia’s gunners continue to serve proudly across the nation.” A sequential national salute, which fired from locations around Australia, used a mix of M2A2 105mm and M777 155mm howitzers, with firing locations chosen as COVID-19 restrictions permitted.
CONTACT Air Land & Sea – Issue 71 – September 2021
