First - Australian to Die on Active Service.
Posted by: 
Tuena
S 34° 39.600 E 150° 51.130
56H E 303183 N 6162562
Robert Weir of the New South Wales Contingent was the first Australian to die on active service.
Waymark Code: WMW8MF
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 07/24/2017
Views: 2
The Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour (
visit link) records Private Weir of the New South Wales Contingent serving with the Colonial Military Services & dying of an illness on 1 May 1885 at Suakin, Sudan. He is buried in Suakin.
A monument to Robert Weir was erected in the Bombo Cemetery in 1886 & was restored & rededicated in July of this year. The brass plaque recording the occurrence of his death, the fact that he was the first Australian to die on active service & the history of the circumstances leading to the monument is located at the monument's base.
The plaque is worded:
"This monument is in recognition of the sacrifice of Private Robert Weir of the New South Wales Contingent to the Sudan, who was the first Australian to die on active service. Private Weir succumbed to cholera during his service in the Sudan and died aboard the hospital ship Ganges on 1 May 1885. On return to Australia his army mates decided to honour his service. In June 1886 the citizens of Kiama held a public subscription and after raising the £30 required, over 200 citizens attended the unveiling ceremony accompanied by 100 horsemen as an honour guard. The monument was restored through a NSW Community War Memorial grant and rededicated on 15 July 2017. Private Weir is buried in Suakin in the Sudan."
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