Jervois-Scratchley reports

From the time of the first settlement in Australia, the Royal Marines, the New South Wales Corps and a succession of regiments of the British Army had been responsible for defending the Australian colonies.

[1] With the withdrawal of British garrison troops in 1870 the various colonies moved to establish more significant defences of their own.

[2] To provide guidance, Major General Sir William Jervois and Lieutenant Colonel Peter Scratchley were commissioned by a group of colonies to advise on defence matters.

The two Royal Engineers inspected each colony's defences, leading to the Jervois-Scratchley reports of 1877.

[3] These were to form the basis of defence planning in Australia and New Zealand for the next 30 years.

Sir Peter Scratchley who, along with William Jervois, authored the Jervois-Scratchley reports, which were instrumental in the development of Australia's colonial forces after the withdrawal of the British Army.