17th Battalion (Australia)

17th Battalion later 17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment
The 17th Battalion entraining at Maritina Italiana in 1915
Active	1860–1878 1888–1893 1895–1944 1965–1987
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Line infantry
Part of	5th Brigade, 2nd Division
Colours	Black over green
Engagements	World War I World War II
Commanders
Notable commanders	Henry Arthur Goddard Edward Fowell Martin
Insignia
Unit colour patch

The 17th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Although its numerical designation was bestowed upon it during World War I, the 17th Battalion can trace its lineage back to 1860, when a unit of the New South Wales Volunteer Rifles was raised in St Leonards, New South Wales. This unit has since been disbanded and reformed a number times. Through its links with the units of the colonial New South Wales defence force, the battalion's history includes service in the Sudan and South Africa. During World War I, the 17th Battalion was raised for overseas service as part of the Australian Imperial Force. Attached to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Division, the battalion was raised in 1915 and sent to Egypt initially, before taking part in the fighting at Gallipoli against the Turks. Later the battalion was sent to the Western Front in France and Belgium, where it served in the trenches as part of the Australian Corps. Throughout the course of the war, the battalion won numerous battle honours and its members received many individual awards, however, at the end of the war the battalion was disbanded in April 1919.

In 1921 the battalion was reformed as a militia unit known as the 17th Battalion (North Sydney Regiment), before being disbanded in 1944. The battalion was reformed in 1948 as an amalgamated unit known as the 17th/18th Battalion (The North Shore Regiment), before being reduced to a company-sized element in the 2nd Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment in 1960. In 1965, the battalion was reformed again as the 17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment, before being amalgamated to form the 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment in 1987.