51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment | |
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![]() Cap badge of the Far North Queensland Regiment | |
Active | 1916–1919 1921–1930 1936–1943 1950–1960 1965–1976 1985–present |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | Army Reserve |
Role | Regional force surveillance |
Size | One battalion |
Part of | Regional Force Surveillance Group |
Garrison/HQ | Cairns |
Nickname(s) | The Eyes and Ears of the North |
Motto(s) | Ducit Amor Patriae (love of country Leads Me) (Latin) |
March | Quick – The Far North Queensland Regiment (Band); The Black Kookaburra (Pipes and Drums) Slow – Soldiers of the North |
Commanders | |
Honorary Colonel | Colonel K. Ryan |
Insignia | |
Unit colour patch | ![]() |
Abbreviation | 51 FNQR |
The 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment (51 FNQR) is an Australian Army Reserve Regional Force Surveillance Unit headquartered at Porton Barracks in Cairns. The battalion's primary role is to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance tasks in support of border security operations. Its area of operations includes the Torres Strait (especially Australia's border with Papua New Guinea) and the Cape York littoral environment. Additional tasks for 51FNQR include the collection and collation of military geographic information as well as community engagement and disaster relief operations.
Soldiers in the unit are cross-trained in a variety of "low-visibility" skills such as weapons, survival, sniping, medic, small boat handling, driving, tracking, air operations. It is the only battalion of the Far North Queensland Regiment, and draws its lineage from an Australian Imperial Force (AIF) light infantry battalion, which was raised for service during World War I.