In 1836, the first Governor of Perth received an anonymous letter from Calcutta enquiring about a facility to breed and export quality horses for the British Indian regiments.
Subsequently, a new horse was bred in New South Wales, mixing Arab, Spanish and Welsh horses, and by 1845, they were being exported to India. The horses were sturdy and were bred to travel long distances in hot weather with little water. They became known as ‘Walers’.
Horse buyers from India representing the Remount service purchased horses suitable for the army. The first horses exported to India proved superior to any local breeds. Walers were recognized for their agility and endurance. Between 1899 to 1902, nearly 16,000 Walers were sent to India to serve in cavalry regiments of the British Army.
It was incumbent on the Australian horse trader to equip the ship to transport the Walers with stalls, fodder and the ‘holsters’ — one who takes care of horses — or ‘grooms’. It was a busy job to feed, water and groom the horses, clean out the stalls, and walk the horses if there was room on the ship. For the journey to India, 23 litres of water and 30 pounds of food were needed for each horse for each day of the passage.
The majority of the horses were sold “wild” with almost no training. This was a preference for many buyers but made for challenging work for the holsters. Optimally the ratio of a holster to a horse was one to twenty. If the horses were already trained, fewer holsters were needed, and more would be employed if the horses were unhandled.
On September 9 1900, Karl left Newcastle, Australia on the SS Bezwada steamship to Kolkata (then Calcutta).To pay for his passage to Kolkata, Karl was employed as a ‘hostler’ with three other men, and they were in charge of 230 Waler horses bound for duty with the regiment of the Bengal Lancers. Karl worked 15 to 16 hours a day with what he describes as “wild, unbroken horses”. He would say he fared well, “barring half a dozen kicks and about as many bites received from the animals”.
As documented in Karl’s post-stamp book, it is written: “Mr Karl M. Creelman arrived here on the 11th October. Having left Newcastle N. S. Wales on the S. S. Bezwada and assisted in attending to my shipment of horses.”
The horse sales would happen at a spot called “Waler Corner’' where the Indian Army officials and Australian horse traders would meet. Waler Corner was a location next to the Grand Hotel in Kolkata. After the horses were sold at the Army Remount Depot in Alipore, some traders would stay at the hotel.
The Grand Hotel is still operating today, albeit under a different name. It has quite a history, and it’s where I’ll meet up with Karl in next week's Chronicle.
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