6 August 1900
The Boxer Rebellion was an uprising led by the Chinese Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists. They were also known as ‘Boxers’, as many of them were trained in Chinese martial arts.
Beginning in 1899 and culminating in 1901, Boxers massacred Europeans and Chinese Christians. They eventually besieged the foreign legations in Peking (modern Beijing).
Several nations sent troops to China to relieve the legations. They formed an international coalition known as the Eight-Nation Alliance.
- Britain
- the United States
- Germany
- France
- Austria-Hungary
- Italy
- Japan
- Russia.
Several Australian colonies sent forces to Peking under the British contribution to the Eight-Nation Alliance. The South Australian government committed HMCS Protector. The New South Wales and Victorian colonies offered a combined naval brigade of 550. These troops arrived too late for the drive on Peking. Instead, they became a very small part of the international occupation force.
Protector was similar to the naval brigades, in that it formed a small part of a larger force. It conducted survey work and operated as a dispatch vessel in Chinese waters. Before departing South Australia, Protector had been commissioned into the Royal Navy. This was so that it could operate internationally.
Protector was commanded by Captain William Rooke Creswell, who later went on to be a driving force in the creation of the Royal Australian Navy.
Protector returned to Australia for the inauguration of the Australian Commonwealth on 1 January 1901. It was soon after transferred to the new Australian Government, which inherited all colonial naval and military forces.