View source for Jervois-Scratchley reports

[[File:Picturesque New Guinea Plate XLIX (a) - Sir Peter Scratchley KCMG.jpg|thumb|right|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.]]
The '''Jervois-Scratchley reports''' of 1877 concerned the defences of the Australian colonies, and influenced defence policy into the twentieth century.

== Background ==
From the time of the first settlement in [[Australia]], the [[Royal Marines]], the [[New South Wales Corps]] and a [[List of British Army regiments that served in Australia between 1810 and 1870|succession]] of [[regiment]]s of the [[British Army]] had been responsible for defending the Australian colonies.<ref name="Odgers17">{{harvnb|Odgers|1988|p=17}}.</ref> With the withdrawal of British garrison troops in 1870 the various colonies moved to establish more significant defences of their own.<ref>{{harvnb|Grey| 2008 |p=23}}.</ref>

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.<ref>{{harvnb|Dennis et al |1995 |p=163}}.</ref> These were to form the basis of defence planning in Australia and New Zealand for the next 30 years.

== Impact ==
A consequence of their reports was that [[Colonial forces of Australia|colonial defences]] were reorganised on one model with slight variations for each colony. Wealthier colonies tended to have a higher proportion of paid permanent soldiers and militia whilst the smaller colonies opted for more volunteers. Given that a large portion of their reports concentrated on sea ports the most visible signs of their influence are the many fortifications from the 1880s and later that may be found at the entrance to the larger ports of Australia and New Zealand. These include:

* The fort on [[Bare Island (New South Wales)|Bare Island]], [[Botany Bay]], [[New South Wales]];
* [[Fort Scratchley]], [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]], [[New South Wales]];
* [[Fort Lytton]], [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]];
* [[Fort Glanville Conservation Park|Fort Glanville]], [[South Australia]];
* [[Fort Jervois]], [[Ripapa Island]], [[New Zealand]]; 
* [[Fort Nepean]] and [[Fort Pearce]] on [[Port Phillip Bay]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]; and
* The [[Hobart coastal defences]] on the [[River Derwent (Tasmania)|River Derwent]], in [[Hobart, Tasmania]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Military history of Australia}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Dennis|first1=Peter|last2=Grey|first2=Jeffrey|authorlink2=Jeffrey Grey|last3=Morris|first3=Ewan|last4=Prior|first4=Robin|author5=Connor, John|title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Melbourne|year=1995|edition=1st|isbn=0-19-553227-9 |ref=CITEREFDennis_et_al1995}}
*{{cite book |last=Grey |first=Jeffrey |authorlink=Jeffrey Grey |title=A Military History of Australia |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Port Melbourne, Victoria |year=2008 |edition=3rd |isbn=978-0-521-69791-0 }}
*{{cite book|last=Odgers|first=George|title=Army Australia: An Illustrated History|year=1988|publisher=Child & Associates|location=Frenchs Forest, New South Wales|isbn=0-86777-061-9 }}
{{Refend}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jervois-Scratchley Reports}}
[[Category:Military history of Australia]]
[[Category:Royal Australian Navy]]