Queensland University Regiment (QUR) is a training unit of the Australian Army Reserve. Based in Queensland, the regiment is currently assigned to the 8th Brigade. The regiment's history can be traced back to 1932 when the University Rifles was formed. During World War II, the regiment's predecessor unit did not serve overseas, but many of its personnel were deployed as part of the 7th Brigade or within units of the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initia ...

. After the war, the regiment was formed under its current designation. Since then, its size has fluctuated as its role has changed. Currently, it is responsible for providing training for Reserve officer cadets, officers and soldiers.

Role and organisation

The regiment is headquartered at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

campus in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. Staffed by a cadre of Regular Army personnel, it is tasked with training

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

and soldiers of the Army Reserve and currently provides pre-appointment training for officer cadets for 11th Brigade units, as well as promotion courses for all Reserve officers up to the rank of major. The regiment also provides driver training, and Initial Employment Training courses for 11th Brigade soldiers. The regiment has a sub-unit, known as the North Queensland Company (NQC), which is based at

Lavarack Barracks Lavarack Barracks is a major Australian Army base located in Townsville, Queensland. Lavarack Barracks is currently home to the Army's 3rd Brigade and 11th Brigade. Elements of the 3rd Brigade based at the Barracks include the Combat Signal ...

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

. QUR is spread across three main locations and currently consists of the following sub-units: * Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) – St Lucia * Training Company – St Lucia * Officer Cadet Company (Jacka Coy) – St Lucia and Enoggera * Administration Company – Enoggera * North Queensland Company – Lavarack Barracks, Townsville QUR conducts field training at the Enoggera Close Training Area (ECTA), Greenbank Training Area (GBTA), Wide Bay Training Area (WBTA), High Range Training Area (HRTA) and Canungra.

History

QUR was initially formed in 1932 as the "University Rifles" by two UQ graduates – Captain Thomas Fry and Lieutenant James Mahoney – who were officers of the Citizens Military Forces. Fry had been serving in the 9th/15th Battalion (the Oxley Regiment) and Mahoney had served in the 26th Battalion (the Logan and Albert Regiment).Smith 2002, p. 17. Previously university students had to complete their compulsory military training other units of the Citizens Military Forces, and the university had a long tradition of its members serving in the military. The University of Queensland was unable to raise enough men to form an entire unit, with its total strength only several hundred men. As a consequence in 1933 university sub-units were attached to existing militia units, with the first platoon attached to the 9th/15th Battalion (Moreton and Oxley Regiment). In 1935, the 9th/15th was delinked and the university platoon became part of the 9th Battalion. The following year the detachment was raised to two platoons and the 9th Battalion was linked with the 49th Battalion; they subsequently remained linked until 1941. During World War II, the 9th Battalion, along with the rest of the 7th Brigade was sent to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

to help stem the tide of the Japanese advance. At the

Battle of Milne Bay The Battle of Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September 1942), also known as Operation RE or the Battle of Rabi (ラビの戦い) by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines, known as ''Kaigun Tokub ...

a number of university men played an instrumental part in the first major Allied land victory in the Pacific. One of these was Mahoney who served as the

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section dire ...

and was mentioned in despatches, while Captain Jack Kelly served as adjutant of the 9th Battalion and Captain Murray Brown served in the 2/10th Battalion. Lieutenant Ron Dark, the first man to gain a commission through the university detachment, also served along the

Kokoda Track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanes ...

with the 2/33rd. Later in the war, the 9th Battalion took part in the

Bougainville campaign The Bougainville campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan, named after the island of Bougainville. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allie ...

in 1944–45 where it took part in significant actions at Pearl Ridge, Artillery Ridge and along the Numa Numa Trail. In all, throughout the war, a total of 120 men who had previously served in the university detachment were killed. Their names were later inscribed upon the Forgan Smith Building in the university grounds. In May 1948, QUR was formed, initially as an independent company designated as 'A' Company. An increased number of recruits arrived in 1950 and as a result in May that year the regiment was established as a full infantry battalion. This resulted in the raising of Support Company, consisting of Mortar, Medium Machine Gun and Assault Pioneer Platoons. An Anti-Tank Platoon was later added. Later the following year the regiment began training members to receive commissions as officers; the first member to graduate was Second Lieutenant Pat Shanahan. QUR was presented Queens and Regimental Colours on 19 July 1959 by the Governor of Queensland, Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith. By the end of the 1950s the role of officer training became the focus of the regiment's existence. Following the end of the national service scheme resulted in a reduction in the number of parading members and as a result during the early 1960s regimental strength was no more than 160 at any given time.Smith 2002, p. 54. Following the re-establishment of the scheme in late 1964 following the commitment of Australian troops to South Vietnam, the regiment's ranks swelled and by late 1965 the regiment had a frontage of 438 personnel. This trend continued and by mid-1967, the regimental strength was 40 officers and 603 other ranks. At that time the regiment was made responsible for providing officers to all Northern Command units and was tasked with delivering training over the course of a two-year cycle; under this model 'A' Company took over the role of recruit training while 'B' Company became the officer training company. The end of the national service scheme in 1972 resulted in a sharp decline in the regiment's strength; 92 personnel remained at the end of the year. Two years later there were only 37. During the

1974 Brisbane flood In January 1974 a flood occurred in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia after three weeks of continual rain. The Brisbane River, which runs through the heart of the city, broke its banks and flooded the surrounding areas. The cyclone that produ ...

caused by Cyclone Wanda the regiment's depot in Walcott Street was damaged as were the regimental colours. The regiment was still able to mount an annual camp, however, further declining numbers resulted in discussions about disbanding the regiment. These were put off, although the regiment's existence continued to be tenuous as it was only able to graduate three officers in 1975 and two more the following year. That year women were officially permitted to join the regiment in support roles and after this the regiment began to recover. A major focus of the next two years was the recruitment and training of enough soldiers to put together a creditable parade for the presentation of new Queen's and Regimental Colours, which occurred on 9 July 1978. The colours were presented by Governor-General Sir

Zelman Cowen Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982. Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...

, who had recently been the Vice-Chancellor of Queensland University. These replaced the old colours that had been damaged four years earlier, which were subsequently laid up in Emmanuel College Chapel located at the University of Queensland. By 1982 the regiment had grown once more to about 600 members as it began recruiting from a number of different universities including

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian ...

, the Queensland Institute of Technology and the Brisbane College of Advance Education. Two years later, the regiment consisted of a regimental headquarters, two rifle companies, a training company, support company (mortars, signals, demonstration and employment platoons and intelligence section), and an administration company, with an authorised strength of 540 personnel. On 12 July 1986, the regiment exercised the Freedom to Enter the City of Brisbane and paraded before the Lord Mayor Sallyanne Atkinson; later that year it exercised for the first time in Shoalwater Bay, deploying by air. The late 1980s saw a period of change as the regiment lost its mortar and machine-gun platoons and the way in which officer training was delivered in the regiment was changed. Instead of having officer trainees serve in the ranks and then as NCOs prior to commissioning a new system required such members to be "appointed" as officer cadets. This resulted in a reduction in the number of soldiers and NCOs in the regiment and the requirement to establish a new mess. In 1992, the regiment's role became solely focused upon officer training when it became part of the 1st Officer Training Unit (OCTU). It was restructured at this time to consist of a regimental headquarters, an administration company and an officer training company. Changes in the way in which officer training was delivered resulted in a modular system that saw the regiment's involvement in the delivery of courses reduce during this time, and as a result the regimental began detaching personnel to instructional roles at places like the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state ...

, the Land Warfare Centre and the School of Infantry in Singleton.Smith 2002, p. 110. During the early 1990s a number of former QUR personnel were involved in Australian peacekeeping operations in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bougainville and East Timor. Other members took part in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. In 1996 and 1997, OCTU and the Regional University Regiment of Queensland (RURQ), formally based at Gatton were disbanded and their role subsumed by QUR. As a result, for a while QUR maintained a detachment at Gatton. In 1997 all the University Regiments were brigaded under the Royal Military College, Australia. In October 2000, the formerly independent North Queensland Company (NQC) came under the command of the Regiment. In July 2008 all University Regiments became part of the 2nd Division, with QUR being assigned to the 11th Brigade. Later, in 2017–18, all University Regiments, including QUR, were moved under the command of a dedicated training formation, the 8th Brigade.

Prominent former members

* Governor and former Chief Justice P. de Jersey, AC * Justice John Byrne, AO, RFD * Colonel Michael Kingsford, CSC * Terry Gygar, RFD

Notes

References

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External links