Regimental Colour : Richmond Company, Victorian Volunteer Rifle Corps

The colours of the Richmond Volunteer Rifles are thought to be the oldest surviving example of regimental colours in Australia. Colours were once carried into battle. With a long tradition in armies, they retain a symbolic significance today. They typically come in pairs – the Queen’s or King’s Colour and the Regimental Colour – and early local examples provide a fascinating glimpse into colonial military and social history.

The colour shown here was made by “the ladies” of Richmond, Victoria, and presented to the unit on 2 February 1861. The regimental colour is richly embroidered in gold and silver thread with crossed rifles and bayonets, scrolls, motto and the Royal Standard. The colours eventually outlived the corps and were kept at different times in the local drill hall, St Phillip’s Church, Collingwood, then at the Richmond Town Hall. In 1971 they were passed to the Australian War Memorial, and more recently they have undergone a six-year program of conservation treatment.