Emergency Food Ration Tin

In 1899, soldiers in the field were fed raw meat, slaughtered on the hoof, handfuls of flour to make damper, tea and tobacco. This tin, normally one of a pair joined at one end, is an example of Australia’s first emergency rations. One tin would contain some form of meat, the other a nutritious drink. This one was issued to Trooper Ash Whitney in 1900 in South Africa. Whitney, from Parramatta, at 17 was probably the youngest Australian to fight in the Boer War. When Cox’s Lancers landed at Cape Town, the NSW Government put a 20 year age minimum on those who could fight. Whitney disappeared until the ship left harbour and then re-joined the other Lancers. When he retired from the Army, having spent his entire career with the Lancers, he was the senior Warrant Officer in the British Empire. The tin is problematically sealed with lead and has never been opened. The front reading says “Cocoa” while the reverse label says “meat extract”. As it remains unopened to this day we don’t know what is actually inside!