47th Battalion (Australia)

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The 47th Battalion was an infantry unit of the Australian Army raised in 1916 for the First World War. It fought on the Western Front in France and Belgium, taking part in major battles such as Pozières, Bullecourt, Messines and Passchendaele. In early 1918, as the German Spring Offensive battered Allied lines, the battalion sustained heavy casualties and was disbanded on 31 May 1918 to provide reinforcements for other Australian units. During the war it lost 661 men killed and 1,564 wounded. One of its members, Sergeant Stanley McDougall, earned the Victoria Cross. The battalion received 11 battle honours in 1927.

In 1921, the 47th was re-raised as a part-time unit of the Citizens Force (later the Militia) based in south-east Queensland. In 1927 it became known as the Wide Bay Regiment, drawing personnel from the Wide Bay–Burnett region with depots in towns such as Maryborough, Bundaberg and Gympie. Its motto was Defendere non Provocare. After compulsory training was suspended in 1929, the Militia fought to maintain numbers through voluntary service, and the 47th avoided being amalgamated during the inter-war years. It formed alliances with the Loyal Regiment and the Edmonton Regiment.

With the Second World War, the Militia provided cadres for the all-volunteer 2nd Australian Imperial Force, while also undergoing training under compulsory service. The 47th was mobilised for full-time service on 17 March 1941 and became part of the 29th Brigade, initially within the 5th Division. It served in garrison duties in Townsville, then in the Milne Bay area, Goodenough Island, Tambu Bay and the Salamaua–Lae campaign, helping capture Lae. In 1944–45 the battalion returned to Australia for training and reorganisation at Strathpine as the Army shifted to jungle warfare. It later joined the 3rd Division and took part in the Bougainville campaign, operating in the southern sector from the Jaba River to Mawaraka and later at the Mivo River offensive in July 1945. The battalion returned to Australia in December 1945 and was disbanded in January 1946. WWII losses amounted to 67 dead and 147 wounded. Decorations included an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, six Military Crosses, nine Military Medals and 21 Mentions in Despatches; five battle honours were awarded in 1961.

After the war, Australia’s part-time force was re-raised in 1948 as the Citizens Military Force, with the 47th re-established around Maryborough. In 1960, under the Pentropic divisional system, the battalion became D Company (The Wide Bay Company) of the 1st Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment. In 1965 the Pentropic system was abandoned, and D Company became part of the restructured 9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment. In 2011, the official history Battle Scarred by Craig Deayton was published, detailing the battalion’s campaigns. The 47th’s legacy is remembered locally in the Wide Bay region, including through school colours at Maryborough, which were presented to local memorials in 2017.