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South African War, 1899-1902 

Our research indicates that there are only two South African (Boer War) veterans buried in the Cook Islands. Information about the service of these two men is listed below.

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The South African War (1899–1902), also known as the Second Boer War, was fought between the British Empire and the Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Driven by imperial ambition and the discovery of gold and diamonds, the conflict marked a turning point in southern African history.

After early Boer successes using fast-moving commandos, British forces regrouped and captured key towns and capitals. The war then shifted to guerrilla fighting, met by British scorched-earth tactics and the use of civilian concentration camps, where thousands of women, children, and Black Africans died from disease and hardship.

The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in 1902, bringing the Boer territories under British control while laying the groundwork for self-government. Its legacy shaped the political and social foundations of modern South Africa.


Rank, Name, Service Number, Regiment:
Gunner Sydney HOPKINS, also known as Sidney Hopkins
8521, Royal Horse Artillery
British Army

Born:
21/7/1881, Reading, Bershire, England, United Kingdom

Died:
2/2/1948, Rarotonga, Cook Islands (death registration RARO1948002)

Where buried:
Cook Islands Christian Church, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Service information:
Attested London, 28 April 1900 (implying that he didn't join in South Africa).
Served in South Africa, 19/01/1901 to 27/01/1904 (Pom Pom Depôt during the war; "T" & "S" Batteries after the war).
QSA with clasps for Transvaal, Orange Free State & Cape Colony.
KSA with clasps for South Africa 1901 & 1902.
Discharged in South Africa (on payment of £18), 27/01/1904.
He had previous service with the Royal Navy and 1st Life Guards.

Additional information:
(Source: Cook Islands News, 15 October, 1988, p 4).
Born in England. Ran away from home at age 16, joined the navy and went to sea. In about 1900 he left ship in South Africa and became a Bombadier fighting for the British in the South African (Boer) War. He later joined the constabulary in South Africa, then in 1909 returned to England for a short time. He then went to New York and spent time travelling in the United States. Subsequently he travelled the Pacific and spent time in Australia, Hawaii, and the Society Islands. In 1914 he decided to settle in Rarotonga where he set up as a professional photographer. His studio was located in Avarua town centre on the site of the present treasury office. He continued to practise as a photographer until his death in 1948.

Images: 









 

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Rank, Name, Service Number, Regiment:
Sergeant Rupert Vivian HOSKING
183, Protectorate Regiment

Born:
2/5/1878, Masterton, New Zealand

Died:
27/10/1962 (as per service plaque and Cook Islands death register RARO19620053)
Private headstone records date of death as 29/10/1962

Where buried:
Ngati Raina burial ground, Titikaveka, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Memorial plaques also located at RSA, Nikao, Rarotonga, and Ngati Marama Cemetery, Nikao, Rarotonga

Biographical & service information:
Rupert Vivian Hosking was born on May 2, 1878, in Masterton, a growing settlement in New Zealand's Wairarapa District. He was the third son of Dr. William Henry Hosking (1841–1917), an English immigrant from Redruth, Cornwall, who had qualified as a surgeon in London before emigrating to New Zealand in 1863.
William Henry was a trailblazing physician, serving as the sole doctor in Masterton for years, delivering babies, performing surgeries, and introducing innovations like X-ray equipment and radium treatments.
He founded the Lansdowne Hospital (later Masterton Hospital) in 1879 and served as its superintendent until 1899.

Rupert's mother, Christina Sloane Archer (1850–1890), was a teacher from Scotland; she and William had three sons—Archer Phillip, Frederick, and Rupert—before her death in 1890. William remarried Alice Vallance in 1890, adding half-siblings Douglas and Christina to the family. Growing up amid his father's demanding medical practice, which involved long hours and community service, likely instilled in Rupert a sense of duty and resilience. He attended Wanganui Collegiate School, a prestigious institution, before enrolling at Lincoln Agricultural College to study agriculture. However, his path shifted dramatically with the outbreak of the South African War.

War Service: The Boer War and Siege of Mafeking:
The Second Boer War (1899–1902) drew many from the British colonies, including New Zealanders eager to support the Empire. Hosking enlisted in the Army, serving as a sergeant (service number 183) in the Protectorate Regiment, part of the Frontier Force. Some accounts also refer to him enlisting with the Cape Mounted Rifles, possibly indicating unit transfers.

He was stationed at Mafeking (now Mahikeng, South Africa), a key strategic town besieged by Boer forces from October 13, 1899, to May 17, 1900.

Under the command of Colonel Robert Baden-Powell—famous for his resourceful defense and later founding the Boy Scouts—Hosking endured the 217-day siege, which became a symbol of British tenacity.
Hosking maintained a personal diary from October 1899 to March 1900, documenting the hardships, including food shortages, shelling, and daily life under siege. The diary, now held in the University of Washington archives, offers a firsthand perspective, though full contents are not publicly digitized. He was slightly wounded during the siege and severely injured in a later engagement before the town's relief.
For his service, he received a £5 gratuity from the New Zealand government.

Invalided to England for recovery, Hosking's war experience marked a turning point, steering him toward further education rather than immediate return to New Zealand.

Dental Training and Professional Career:
Post-war, Hosking pivoted to dentistry, studying at Edinburgh University in Scotland—a hub for medical education—followed by advanced training at Philadelphia Dental College (now part of Temple University) in the United States. Exact graduation dates are not specified in sources, but by September 21, 1904, he was certified by New Zealand's Board of Examiners under the Dentists Act and registered to practice.

He established a dental practice in Masterton, leveraging his family's reputation—his father and brother Archer were key figures at the local hospital. By around 1911, Hosking accepted a government dental position in the Cook Islands, a New Zealand-administered territory, relocating to Rarotonga.

In Rarotonga, he provided essential dental services, appearing in New Zealand Gazettes from 1916 to 1936. 

Marriage, Family, and Life in Rarotonga:
In Rarotonga, Hosking met and married Vaevae Robati (full name Vaevae Te Aruru-O-Te Rangi Ropati Marama Maui Terei), born around 1892 to Robati a Marama and Moinavai Luita Taipaku.

Family accounts describe her as his dental nurse.  Their marriage on July 10, 1911, in Rarotonga produced at 11 children. Vaevae died on March 13, 1952, in Rarotonga.

Hosking died on October 27, 1962, in Titikaveka, aged 84, and was buried in the Ngati Raina family burial ground, Titikaveka, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

1931, Pacific islands monthly : PIM Pacific Publications, [Sydney viewed 9 July 2024 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-324690885
"Mr. Rupert Vivian Hosking 
The death occurred in Rarotonga recently of Mr. Rupert Vivian  Hosking, a well known Cook Islands resident for more than 50 years. Mr. Hosking, who was 84, was born at Marsterton, New Zealand.  He was educated at the Wanganui Collegiate School and then studied medicine at Edinburgh University. After serving with the Imperial Forces in the Boer War and being  wounded at the siege of Mafeking, he returned to New Zealand and obtained a Diploma of Agricultural  Science at Lincoln College. He then obtained the degree of Doctor of Dentistry at the University of Philadelphia and returned to Masterton to practise. Mr. Hosking went to Rarotonga in 1909 and settled at Titikaveka. He is survived by 11 children, 54 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren."

Further links:
https://www.angloboerwar.com/unit-information/south-african-units/456-protectorate-regiment

A NEW ZEALANDER IN MAFEKING.
AUCKLAND STAR, VOLUME XXXI, ISSUE 165, 13 JULY 1900, PAGE 5
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19000713.2.40.10
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MS19000326.2.34

Images:

Died 27/10/1962 as per service plaque and Cook Islands death register.

Private headstone records date of death as 29/10/1962.

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