Royal Australian Engineers collar badges were produced as a facing pair in bronze, in the pattern worn from 1907 by the Australian Engineers of the Australian Army. These Australian Army engineer corps collar badges display the recognised flaming grenade in clear relief, surmounting “AUSTRALIA” in a scroll. The bronze construction is consistent with the oxidised finish commonly applied to Australian badges of this period, distinguishing them from the brass badges of the same pattern.
The corps traces its origins to 15 November 1860, when a Corps of Engineers was first established in the colony of Victoria, with engineer units subsequently raised in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia over the following decades. The colonial engineer units were amalgamated on 1 July 1902 as the Corps of Engineers Australia, with the title revised to “Australian Engineers” in September 1907 following a reorganisation of the corps structure. The flaming grenade device was derived directly from the badge of the Royal Engineers of the British Army, the parent corps from which the Australian Engineers drew their traditions, their practices, and their title of “Sapper” for private soldiers.
Manufactured in bronze with an oxidised finish consistent with Australian Army engineer corps collar badge production from the First World War onwards. Australian Engineers’ bronze collar badges are collected as examples of Australian Army militaria, Royal Engineer Corps insignia of the Australian Army, and uniform hardware of the colonial and Commonwealth period Australian military engineering tradition.
Dimensions Approx. 29mm x 19mm (each badge)
Condition Very good, with some light wear
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