The first contingent, an infantry company, arrived in South Africa in late November 1899, and served with the Australian Regiment guarding a railway line. After being mounted, the unit fought in operations around Colesberg, and in the march to Bloemfontein, where it joined the second contingent to form the South Australian Mounted Rifles. The second contingent, a mounted squadron, had arrived in South Africa in late February 1900, participating in the suppression of a Boer uprising before joining the march to Bloemfontein. The SAMR, as part of the 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade, participated in the capture of Johannesburg and Pretoria, the Battle of Diamond Hill, and the Battle of Belfast, the last set-piece battle of the war. After advancing to the eastern border of Transvaal, the first contingent and a small portion of the second contingent returned to Australia in November, while the remainder served in Transvaal until March 1901, when they too returned to Australia.