Far North Queensland Regiment

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Far North Queensland Regiment


caption=Cap Badge of the Far North Queensland Regiment
dates=1936-1946
1950-1960
1 October 1987-
country=Australia
branch=Army
type=Line Infantry
command_structure=Royal Australian Infantry Corps
role=Regional Force Surveillance
size= One battalion
current_commander=
garrison= 51st Battalion - Cairns
ceremonial_chief=HM The Queen
(Royal Australian Infantry Corps)
ceremonial_chief_label=Colonel in Chief
colonel_of_the_regiment=Colonel P. Sibree
colonel_of_the_regiment_label=Honorary Colonel
nickname="The Eyes and Ears of the North"
motto= "Ducit Amor Patriae" (Patriotism Leads Me) (Latin)
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=Unit Colour Patch
identification_symbol_4=FNQR
identification_symbol_4_label=Abbreviation
colors=
march=Quick - "The Far North Queensland Regiment" (Band); "The Black Kookaburra" (Pipes and Drums)
Slow - "Soldiers of the North"
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=The Far North Queensland Regiment is an elite regiment of the Australian Army. The regiment serves as a Regional Force Surveillance Unit (RFSU), and as its name suggests, reconnaissance & surveillance is its primary role. Every operator in the unit is cross-trained in a variety of 'low-visibility' skills such as weapons, survival, sniping, medic, small boat handling, driving, tracking, air ops etc. The regiment consists of a single battalion, the 51st Battalion, which traces its lineage back to the 51st Battalion, Australian Imperial Force.

History

World War I

The 51st Battalion, AIF was raised in Egypt in 1916 from personnel originating from Western Australia. At the time of its formation, it inherited the battle honour awarded to the mounted infantry from Western Australia who served during the Second Boer War.

The battalion, as part of 13th Infantry Brigade of the 4th Australian Division, sailed for Marseilles and was sent to the front lines in June 1916. In three weeks, the battalion lost 560 men. Following this, it moved to Belgium where it saw service on the Hindenburg Line, where it lost a further 389 men in two days. By the end of the war, when the 51st Battalion was disbanded, it had lost 83 officers and 2,477 men, with Lt Clifford William King Sadlier having been awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in Belgium.

Inter War

The battalion was reformed in 1921 at Subiaco in Western Australia, before moving to Launceston, Tasmania, and then to Sydney. In 1927, the battalion was regimented as 51st Battalion, Field of Mars Regiment. During its period in New South Wales, it was twice amalgamated, first with the 30th Battalion in 1930, then with the 18th Battalion in 1935. In 1936, the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment was formed, taking on the lineage from the original 51st Battalion.

World War II

The FNQR was a militia regiment on the outbreak of the Second World War, and consequently lost most of its men to the 2nd Battalion, Second Australian Imperial Force. In 1941, with Japan entering the war, the regiment was placed on full time duty defending the area from Port Douglas to Gordonvale. However, in 1943, due to the government releasing rural workers from their full time military commitment, the 51st Battalion was forced to amalgamate with the 31st Battalion, Kennedy Regiment. The new 31st/51st Battalion was deployed to New Guinea, where it was designated as an AIF battalion in 1944. Following this, and a return to Australia, the battalion was then deployed to the Solomon Islands, where it saw its heaviest fighting of the war at the Battle of Porton, near Bougainville. The battalion was finally disbanded in 1946.

Post war

The 51st Bn, FNQR was raised again in 1950, this time being presented with colours containing the battle honours of its predecessor units. In 1960, the regiment was amalgamated yet again, with the 31st Battalion, Kennedy Regiment and the 42nd Battalion, Capricornia Regiment to become the 2nd Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment. This lasted five years, until the Citizen Military Force was reorganised again - the 2nd Battalion was split into it components, with the 51st becoming 51st Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment. A further reorganisation saw the number of battalions reduced; this led to the 51st become a single company.

RFSU

In the late 1970s, the Australian government decided that an increased military presence was needed in the far north of Australia, in the form of Regional Force Surveillance. The first two units, North-West Mobile Force and The Pilbara Regiment were raised for service in Western Australia and the Northern Territory in 1981-1982. To extend this to the northern regions of Queensland, it was decided to reform the 51st Battalion. In 1985, the 51st Independent Rifle Company was removed from the order of battle of the Royal Queensland Regiment to become the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment once again. The inaugural Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel (Kel)vin Ryan.

Mission

The mission of the 51st Bn, FNQR is as a Regional Surveillance Force unit. It is responsible for providing surveillance and reconnaissance in the inhospitable areas along the northern coast of Australia. As the regiment's name suggests, it has responsibility for patrolling 640,000 square kilometers of the areas in the north of Queensland.
*Battle Honours
**South Africa 1899-1902
**Great War: France and Flanders 1916-18, Egypt 1915-16, Somme 1916-18, Pozieres, Bullecourt, Messines 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele, Ance 1918, Villers-Bretonneux, Hamel, Amiens, Albert 1918, Hindenberg Line, Epehy
**Second World War: Liberation of Australian New Guinea, Tsimba Ridge, Bonis-Porton, South West Pacific 1943-45

External links

* [http://www.defence.gov.au/army/51fnqr/history.html History of 51 Far North Queensland Regiment]