HBH 1890 October 18 65th REGIMENT
The following story is going the rounds: – The 65th Regiment was 20
years out of sight, till at last the London Punch discovered it to be
in NEW ZEALAND.
That island (says a writer in the Sydney Morning Herald) at the time-
from 25 to 35 years ago was the very pick of stations in the British
Empire for officers without means, and men who could turn their hands
to some use when their discharges were purchased or their terms of
office expired.
The corps finding itself in such clover asked nothing better than to
be left alone-a wish which the easy-going authorities of the Horse
Guards discovered and good-naturedly complied with. The result was
that officer, non-commissioned officers, and men became a sort of
commune or mir.
The full privates were let away for months at a stretch to plough and
delve and blast, a small percentage of the earnings-so at least it was
whispered-finding its way upward, being promoted, in fact. These
knowing lads made themselves popular with the natives, too, so that in
the sixties, when trouble commenced in TARANAKI, the Maoris would bawl
out, “Lie down, ickedy-fifth; we’re going to shoot.”
No wonder the new troops that came in the wake of General CAMERON
called the 65th the “Civil Maoris,” and no wonder that many a stiff
stand-up fight in the buff behind the canteen was the result.
kopuru
