*Soldiers

British forces in the colonies From the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, with its detachments of Royal Marines, until the departure of the last of the British Regiments in 1870, British soldiers were quartered in Australia. Some of these men had already seen service in Britain's wars, a number went on to India and were replaced by new detachments of freshly arrived regiments, and many went to New Zealand to take part in the Maori Wars. Others took their discharge in Australia and went on to carve out different careers for themselves.

The New South Wales Corps
After the convicts, the military were the second largest group of British settlers in the colony. The New South Wales Corps was a British army unit established in 1789 to serve the colony. They played a very influential role in colonial life. They supervised convicts and patrolled the frontiers of settlements to repel attacks from the Indigenous peoples. //Refer Image 2//

After Governor Phillip left in 1792, the New South Wales Corps took over control of the colony. The soldiers' way of life changed too, often for the better. The commander of the Corps increased the men's rations, and gave them land; they started trading goods, in particular rum. They were very powerful until Governor Bligh took over in 1806, and then Governor Macquarie in 1810.

What did the soldiers eat on the First Fleet?

Both the marines (soldiers) and seamen on the First Fleet were given the same rations, which were as follows:
 * seven pounds of bread a week
 * four pounds of salted beef
 * two pounds of salted pork
 * two pints of peas
 * three pints of oatmeal
 * six ounces of butter
 * three-quarters of a pound of cheese
 * half a pint of vinegar
 * three and a half pints of rum
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">a pound of fresh bread or, when that ran out, a long-lasting "hardtack" bread made from barley

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