Luca Muir Anderson

When I was 14 years old, I bought a book on Western Australian military history, which sparked my early interest in the subject. What followed was a scurry of numerous little projects that often went nowhere. At age 16, I started working on a website devoted to the frequently ignored colonial era of Western Australian military history so that I would have a place to put all of my work before moving on to larger projects. The website went live in July 2022 and has been archived by the Battye Library.

Currently in my final year of schooling, I am very excited to continue the work on this website to make as much information open to the general population as possible. Bigger projects are in the works.

Right now I’m writing a history of the First Western Australian Mounted Infantry “Westralia’s First Troopers”. Chapters have and will continue to be added to the website as time progresses.

During the 2nd Boer War, 2 members of my family deployed to South Africa as part of the Western Australian Mounted Infantry.

Name William Anderson Rank Trooper Birthplace Scotland Job Working on a regional Station Age 32

Served with the 3rd WAMI in Africa from 18th April 1900 – 8th May 1901. Saw action in numerous battles including Koster’s River. Wounded at Klep Klop Drift 6th January 1901. Received the Queen’s South Africa Medal with 4 clasps (“Rhodesia” “Transvaal” “Orange Free State” “Cape Colony”)

Name Arthur W H Anderson Rank Trooper Birthplace Scotland Job Surveyor in Coolgardie Age 35

Served with the 4th WAMI in Africa from 18th June 1900 – Early July 1901. Saw action in numerous battles. Received the Queen’s South Africa Medal with 4 clasps (“Transvaal” “Wittebergen” “Cape Colony” “South Africa 1901”

My family has also seen action in WW1, WW2, Vietnam and peacetime service.