The Breaker

While trying to cram the entire Boer War into a few parapraphs, I came across the engrossing exploits of Harry "Breaker" Morant, a rough and tumble character who's revered in Australia and is the subject of a 1980 Bruce Beresford film. He was given the name "Breaker" because of his skill at taming horses. He was also a well-known and widely published poet, part of the "Back-Block Bards" movement in Australia. I found it moving that he spent the last night before his execution writing sardonic scraps of verse in his cell.

Why did they execute Breaker Morant? As part of a troop of irregulars in the Boer War, Morant might have had something to do with the murder of 11 Boer prisoners ( if he had shot them before they surrendered, it wouldn't have been a problem! ) and 1 German missionary. Because the Boers were stealing and wearing British uniforms, Lord Kitchener had issued orders suggesting that all those caught "wearing khaki" should be shot on the spot. When this order was actually acted upon, there was mass humanitarian outcry, the powers-that-be wanted to distance themselves from their own directive, and a convenient scapegoat was needed.

After being arrested, Morant was asked if he wanted the counsel of a clergyman. "No! I'm a Pagan!" he shouted out. He refused a blindfold when he faced the firing squad: "Shoot straight, you bastards! Don't make a mess of it!" That was The Breaker. The transcripts of his court martial disappeared and haven't been seen since. Why is it that every time you write about anything historical, you sooner or later come up against a cover-up, a white-washing, or an out and out fudging of facts? Oh well...