The New Zealand Carbine by John Milligan, NZAHAA Auckland Branch
We Don't Know how Lucky We Are, Mate! There are probably many
gun enthusiasts in New Zealand who do not know that New Zealand
can lay claim to one of the rarest Lee Enfield Models in the
world. The 'Magazine Lee Enfield Carbine – New Zealand Pattern'
is uniquely ours. It was designed for, and issued solely to our
'Rough Riders' in the Boer War. It is an under-appreciated and
under-valued artefact from our military history. In fact
overseas collectors of historic arms value them far more highly
than we do! How The New Zealand Carbine Came About When the
first contingents of NZ Mounted Rifles arrived in South Africa
in November 1899 they carried single shot .303 Martini-Enfield
Carbines. These soon proved to be inadequate against the
firepower of the Boers armed with clip loading Mausers. So in
April 1900, while camped at Springfield, Bloemfontein our troops
were (optionally) issued with Lee Enfield and Lee Metford
Cavalry Carbines borrowed or bou