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Australians
in the Boer War
Oz-Boer Database Project |
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Full Record
Hint: This site is intended as a search aid - not a definitive source. It is essentially an index to documents that seem to relate to this person plus a very brief precis of relevant elements. Sources often conflict and I also flag things with a ? when I am unsure. So if the information below is important to you, then please check the original sources to see what else they contain (and in case I have inadvertantly introduced transcription and/or precising errors). There can be additional information that was not included in the database for both space and copyright reasons.
| Surname | | STEWART |
| Given Name(s) or Initial(s) | | Ralph |
| Regimental Number | | 367 |
| Rank | | Saddler |
| Unit Name | | 4th Queensland Imperial Bushmen |
| State | | Qld |
Extracts and Comments
(from Sources as shown) | |
B5207: 1ACH(Qld).
B5172: c/- Charleville Qld.
URL3: letter dated 12.3.1901 from Bloemfontein re capture of DE WET's wagons and 400 men.
Source:# 1598 STEWART, Ralph. Noted as having joined the Queensland Police and also having been a tram driver, jewellery salesman and hotel publican. While residing in New Zealand, he was the owner of Beau Vite, "the hottest favourite since Phar Lap" in the 1940 Melbourne Cup.
URL4: He stood there, envied owner of the Cup favourite - Ralph STEWART, an Australian whom New Zealand has adopted as her own. There was something philosophical about the man. He had pressed many an adventure, often to the bitter end. He had suffered at the hands of the notorious Queensland bushrangers the KENNIFFs. Out on the veldt during the Boer war. along with many other loyal Australian, often he had been face to face with the grim possibilities of conquest. Safely back in his homeland he had joined the Queensland Police Force - and surely that has held adventure sufficient for one life. Next he drove trams - the servant of the public in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of human colorings. His restless nature swept him on. Throughout the backblocks of Australia he worked his way selling jewellery. Finally he sailed from Sydney for New Zealand where he landed all but flat broke. Between him and necessity stood the meagre sum of £3. That evaporated. There was nothing left, but to make a swag of his troubles and hump them in search for the niche in life he so eagerly desired. And then, this man who was born in Ipswich, and began life as a saddler, turned to the flax industry. He was engaged as an engineer. His luck was established at last. Later he became the licensee of a hotel and worked up a prosperous business from which he retired only a few years ago. Yesterday he stood there the proud owner of the outstanding horse of the Spring Carnival. Yet even in this, his newest adventure - his essay to win the coveted Melbourne Cup - the same grim possibility that has colored his adventurous life stalked him again: blackguards had attempted to put his favorite - Beau Vite - out of action. Mr STEWART confessed that after that attempt he was very tempted to wind up his Melbourne Cup endeavor and ship Beau Vite back to New Zealand. Consideration for the continued well being of his noble horse alone prompted him to forgo the object of his visit ... (More).
URL5: Mr. R STEWART Dead. Auckland (NZ) Friday [8.5.1942]. Following a recent operation, Mr. Ralph
STEWART, owner of Beau Vite. died to day.
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| Source References | |
Murray: Official Records of the Australian Contingents etc. page(s) 486
B5207: National Archives of Australia series B5207
B5172: National Archives of Australia series B5172
B4418: National Archives of Australia series B4418
Queenslander: The Queenslander newspaper date(s) 20.4.1901
Source:# Oz-Boer contributed source number 1578
Sportg. Globe: Sporting Globe (Melbourne Vic.) newspaper date(s) 6.11.1940
NMHMA: Newcastle Morning Herald & Miners' Advocate newspaper date(s) 9.5.1942
| | External Link URL1 | | naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=687428&I=1&SE=1 | | External Link URL2 | | www.archives.qld.gov.au/Researchers/CollectionsDownloads/Documents/boer_war_index_id18351.pdf | | External Link URL3 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21255881 | | External Link URL4 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188818171 | | External Link URL5 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140418122 |
Please email me if you can
contribute any other relevant information about this person (eg any
other military service, where in Australia they came from or when/where
they died). Also, if you find an external link broken.
Apology: For some time now it has been difficult to keep up with the newly available sources (especially the Trove newspaper site) plus the flow of contributions and queries. So I have been forced to prioritise maintenance and data entry over replying to correspondence. Nevertheless, your contributions are being added to the database and acknowledged on the contributions page and, although my replies are many months behind, I will attempt to get to them more often.
The
Oz-Boer Database
is copyright and may not be used for any commercial purpose.
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