Military firearms in colonial Western Australia 
been more than about 300, a total which is 
supported by the highest stand number noted on 
an Enfield, number 260, and 167 on an Enfield 
bayonet. Taken together, these factors of evidence 
give circumstantial support for a probable total of 
300 Enfields. 
After transportation of convicts ceased in 1868, 
the need for the Pensioners gradually lessened over 
the following decade. In 1870, when this force was 
re-armed with Snider-Enfield rifles it is estimated 
that the need had declined considerably so that on 
this occasion only about 250 Snider-Enfields were 
received. 187 The highest stand number noted on an 
E.P.F. Snider-Enfield was 194. 
The Volunteers, as has been noted, were issued 
with 200 Enfield rifles in August - September 1862 
which seems to have fulfilled their requirements 
until the 1870's. They received a large quantity of 
Enfields from the E.P.F. when that body was re¬ 
armed with Snider-Enfields in 1870. It is not 
thought that they received all the E.P.F. arms as 
some small quantities of Enfields were still in the 
E.P.F. store when they disbanded in 1880. Enfields 
remained the issue arm of the Volunteer Force until 
they began to be replaced by Sniders in 1877. They 
were finally recommended for "abolition" in a 
letter from the Colonial Secretary to the Governor 
on 25th April 1882. 188 This recommendation was 
echoed in the Commandants Report of that year 
where he recommended that the "muzzle-loaders" 
should be sold. 18 ' 1 The last corps to be armed with 
Enfields were the York Rifle Volunteers, who had 
them until 1883-84. 190 From this information it is 
evident that the volunteers had 200 of their own 
Enfields and the use of close to 300 others. The 
total number of Enfields in W.A. therefore was 
around 500. 
In 1875, W.A. applied to England for a loan of 
400 Sniders for the Volunteers but this was 
refused. 111 The first Sniders received by the 
Volunteers were 111 long and seven short Sniders 
purchased by the Colonial government and issued 
to the Metropolitan Rifle Volunteers in early 1877, 
followed by 33 more in mid 1877. The Fremantle 
Naval Artillery Volunteers received 25 Pattern 1858 
Snider Naval rifles in 1879 and the Albany Rifle 
Volunteers were issued 50 Sniders in the same 
year, (a contemporary account describes them as 
conversions). The colonial purchased Sniders 
therefore totalled 226. By 1881 Geraldton and 
Guildford both had about 130 Sniders between 
them, the volunteers having obtained access to the 
Snider-Enfields of the now disbanded Enrolled 
Pensioner Force. The Sniders and Snider-Enfields 
were the issue arms of the Volunteer Force until 
1884 when they began to be replaced by the 
Martini-Henry rifle. In 1885 a shipment of spare 
breech-blocks and other parts for the Snider rifles 
was ordered for W.A. These parts were used in 
105 
1886-87 to "overhaul and put in thorough repair" 
288 Snider rifles 192 which were then kept as reserve 
arms in racks in the armoury at the Perth Barracks. 
This total did not include "40 issued to the York 
rifle club and 12 Short rifles to Major Gardiner for 
the use of the Cadet Corps". The Sniders were 
officially "called in" in 1887. 193 An Annual Return 
sent to the War Department in England in 1889 
shows that W.A. had 366 Sniders and 104,790 
rounds of ammunition in reserve as of 31st 
December 1888. 19,1 This Return confirms the totals 
of Volunteer and E.P.F. Sniders. By adding the 53 
Snider rifles known to have been on issue at this 
time to the Guildford Rifle Volunteers, (between 
1884 - 1895), 195 12 with the cadets, 40 with the York 
Rifle Club, the 366 total increases to 471. Similarly, 
adding the 226 known Volunteer Sniders to the 250 
Snider-Enfields of the E.P.F. gives a total of 476, 
which, allowing for a small unexplained 
discrepancy of five rifles between the two totals, 
thus reconciles the respective figures and 
establishes the total for Sniders in W.A. at around 
470. Sniders were still on issue to the Guildford 
corps as late as 1893-94, 196 years after the Martini- 
Henry had superseded them throughout the 
Defence Force. According to an already quoted 
newspaper report, it was a shortage of modern 
arms which led to the arming of mounted units 
with Sniders in the 1894 - 1895 period. 
It will be remembered that the Fremantle Rifle 
Volunteers were the first corps to be issued 
Martini-Henrys. They consisted of 72 Mark Is 
issued in 1874, with the total rising to 100 by 1881. 
The Commandant, obviously becoming aware of 
the desirability of re-equipping with this modern 
arm wrote in his Report as early as 1881 that: 
"A large proportion of the Sniders are Converted 
Enfields and many of them are damaged and 
unserviceable. I would therefore submit for His 
Excellency's consideration, that it would be better to 
replace them by degrees with Martini-Henrys and that 
a supply of the latter be at once ordered for the 
Metropolitan Rifle Corps”. 1 ” 
These arms were ordered in August 1883 but did 
not arrive for issue until 1884. They were 110 rifles 
"latest pattern" (Mark III). In 1885 another large 
order was sent from England. This order was for 
101 Mark II rifles. They were intended for the 
Albany Rifle Volunteers, the "increased" Fremantle 
Rifle Volunteers and the Guildford Rifle 
Volunteers. 198 (It is possible that this order is 
actually part of the later, large order of 250). 
During the 1886-87 year 250 Martini-Henry Mark 
III rifles were received and were distributed to the 
Perth (30), Fremantle (20), Guildford (60), 
Geraldton (60), and Albany (80) Corps, 199 leaving 
only 60 more required to fully arm the Defence 
Force with Martini-Henrys. These 60 arrived in 
1887 and were distributed to the Northhampton 
