Following a series of minor victories , the British suffered a major setback during Black Week between 10 – 17 December 1899 , although no Australian units were involved . The first contingents of infantry from Victoria , South Australia , Western Australia , and Tasmania arrived in Cape Town on 26 November and were designated the Australian Regiment under the command of Colonel John Charles Hoad . With a need for increased mobility , they were soon converted into mounted infantry . Further units from Queensland and New South Wales arrived in December and were soon committed to the front . The first casualties occurred soon after at Sunnyside on 1 January 1900 , after 250 Queensland Mounted Infantry and a column of Canadians , British and artillery attacked a Boer laager at Belmont . Troopers David McLeod and Victor Jones were killed when their patrol clashed with the Boer forward sentries . Regardless , the Boers were surprised and during two hours of heavy fighting , more than 50 were killed and another 40 taken prisoner . Five hundred Queenslanders and the New South Wales Lancers subsequently took part in the Siege of Kimberley in February 1900 .