Dates: 1740 -
* The Regiment was first raised in 1740 as the 58th Regiment of Foot, and later renumbered as the 47th, then changed in 1756 to the 58th again. From 1757 until 1782 it was known as the 58th Regiment of Foot. In 1782 it was granted the county title of Rutlandshire which it held until 1881 when it became the 2nd Battalion of the Northhamptonshire Regiment.
*It now forms a part of the Royal Anglian Regiment.
* Nicknames: The Steel Backs (from their lack of concern about floggings) and The Black Cuffs (from the black facings the Tunics).
In 1843 it was decided that the 58th regiment ("The Black Cuffs) should take over garrison duties in New South Wales from the 80th which was going to Madras.
The 58th provided the guards for 19 convict ships that left London and Ireland for Tasmania or Norfolk Island in 1842-45.
In 1845 N.S.W. reluctantly agreed to send the 58th to N.Z. because of the unrest with the Maori in the Bay of Islands. The regiment stayed in N.Z. until November 1858 when they embarked for England, the regiment consisting of 16 officers and 194 men.
Over 300 officers and men had elected to settle in N.Z. During the years that the regiment was in N.Z. some detachments returned to Australia and some took their discharge before this.
In 1933, after many temporary homes, the colours were placed in their final home, the recently (then) completed Auckland War Memorial Museum where they remain.
