Side drum : 2 (Tropical) Battalion, Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force Accession Number: RELAWM16168

Description

Side drum. The main body of the drum is made from brass. A brass ring has been added to the top and bottom of the drum, each with 8 points attached to fit the drum tensioning screws. The supplier's details are stamped on the side of the drum 'J.S. MARLOR / 221 ALBERT STREET / BRISBANE'. Engraved into the brass near the name of the supplier is 'SPECIAL TROPICAL FORCE / 2ND / QUEENSLAND'.

The drum heads, made from vellum, have been stretched over the top and bottom of the drum and wrapped around a wooden band at the top and bottom. The brass rings have then been fitted over the top of the vellum and tensioning screws have been attached through the points to tighten the heads. 4 lengths of string run over the bottom drum head and are tied off on each side to a brass lug.

Attached to the top ring is a collapsible brass hook which would have been used to attach to a neck brace. A brass handle has been added to the bottom ring. The hand grip is covered in leather and the handle is able to be folded almost flat against the side of the drum.

The top drum head has two signatures on it and shows evidence of use. The bottom drum head has many signatures on it, but the vellum has split, causing some of the signatures to become illegible.

Contextual Description

This side drum is associated with the service of the 2nd (Tropical) Battalion, which was made up entirely from members of the pre war North Queensland Kennedy Regiment. One of the notable members of this force was Captain (later Major) Hugh Quinn, who was later killed on Gallipoli with 15 Battalion on 29 May 1915.

After war was declared, the men of the Kennedy Regiment were mobilised as the 2nd (Tropical) Battalion of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF) and after requisitioning the ship, Kanowna, sailed for Thursday Island on 8 August 1914. Once the unit had arrived, a call was put out for men to serve in an overseas capacity. 500 men of the 1000 strong contingent volunteered and once again embarked aboard Kanowna for New Guinea on 16 August. The other 500 men remained on Thursday Island, later returning to the mainland.

The Kanowna arrived at Port Moresby on 4 September and the men were inspected by Colonel William Holmes, commanding officer of the ANMEF. He found them to be insufficiently trained and poorly equipped and provisioned with many of the men being trainees aged between 18 and 20 years. Holmes was dubious about letting the Queensland men continue on the voyage, but eventually allowed them to proceed.

The majority of the Australian force, including the troop ships Berrima and Kanowna, left Port Moresby on 7 September. The outer harbour was barely cleared when it was noticed that the Kanowna was falling behind. Not long after, the ship stopped and turned broadside on to the fleet and a signal 'Out of control' was sent. HMAS Sydney investigated and discovered the firemen aboard the Kanowna refused to stoke the boilers as the ship's crew were unhappy at being forced into service and taken so far from their homes.

The commander of the Sydney ordered the Kanowna to turn around and sail for Townsville. The troops onboard were keen to continue with their deployment and offered to stoke the ship's furnaces, but were returned to Australia bitterly disappointed.

Colonel Holmes, upon finding out that the Kanowna had been ordered back to Australia, recommended that upon their return, 2 (Tropical) Battalion be disbanded. This occurred on 14 September with many of these men of this unit later enlisting in the AIF.