DZ Season 035 Part 01. Australia's First Battle Elands River 4-16 August 1900. First and Final Part.

If you’ve ever seen the movie “Zulu” with Michael Caine you’ve seen the story about how a handful of British soldiers stood up against a large army of Zulu warriors defending a place called Rorke’s Drift. If you’ve ever heard of Breaker Morant, or seen the movie of the same name, you’ve seen a movie about the Boer War which was fought in South Africa in 1900. It’s not a war that most people have heard of. It was the first war where a significant number of soldiers from the different states of Australia – Australia hadn’t yet been federated – fought and died for their country.  I can almost guarantee you that you’ve never heard of the incredible siege of the station at the Elands River in South Africa defended by some of the soldiers from Australia fighting in the Boer War. Someone said that if A.B. Banjo Paterson had been at Elands River the name won with the blood of the incredible resistance of the Australians to the enemy’s overwhelming firepower would be as familiar to you today as the name of Gallipoli.  If you’ve ever heard of the Boy Scouts movement, then you may have heard of its founder, Baden-Powell – he was involved in this siege. So was Lord Kitchener still remembered from the iconic First World War propaganda poster pointing at you with the caption “Your Country Needs You”. If you’ve ever heard of the author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, you might be interested to hear what he had to say about the Australian stand at Elands River between 4 and 16 August 1900.  This action was dramatic, heroic, and drew in some of the greatest personalities from the beginning of the 1900s – what a movie this would make. Tag words: Zulu; Michael Caine; Rorke’s Drift; Breaker Morant; Boer War; Elands River; Gallipoli; Boy Scouts; General Robert Baden-Powell; Lord Kitchener; First World War; Your Country Needs You; Sherlock Holmes; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; British Empire; Victoria Cross; Mafeking; Rustenberg; Colonel Hore; Major Walter Tunbridge; Queensland Mounted Infantry; Surgeon-Captain Albert Duka; Magato; New South Wales Citizens Bushmen; 3rd Queensland Mounted Infantry; 3rd Victorian Imperial Bushmen; 3rd Western Australian Imperial Bushmen; 2nd Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen; Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Carrington; Australian Imperial Bushmen; General Koos de la Rey; Jan Smuts;