12th / 16th Hunter River Lancers The 12th / 16th Hunter River Lancers is an Australian Army Reserve light armoured regiment . It was formed on 1 May 1948 , although it draws its lineage from units that were originally formed in the 1880s . It is currently a Light Cavalry Scout unit and equipped with Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles . The regiment forms part of the 8th Brigade , attached to the 2nd Division and draws its members from regional centres in northern New South Wales , hence the reference to the Hunter River . In recent years the Regiment has provided individuals as reinforcements to round - out Regular Army units deploying overseas on peacekeeping operations and in the current conflict in Afghanistan . History . Both regiments were established in the 1880s and underwent a series of unit name and number changes prior to 1914 . A volunteer cavalry regiment was raised in June 1897 and was designated the ' Australian Horse ' . The subunits from this regiment were the forerunners of the New England Light Horse and Hunter River Lancers . In 1900 , ' D ' Squadron of the Australian Horse was raised in the Hunter River area and mobilised a detachment to serve in the Boer War . At the same time ' E ' Squadron was raised , covering an area from Gunnedah to Armidale and likewise provided a detachment to serve in South Africa . After Federation in January 1901 , the colonial military forces were reorganised . The 4th Light Horse Regiment was formed in the Hunter River area , while the 6th Light Horse Regiment was formed in the New England region . In 1907 these regiments received territorial titles — the 4th ALH ( Hunter River Lancers ) and 6th ALH ( New England Light Horse ) . Each regiment received their own badges and mottoes and remained on the order of battle until 1918 . At the outbreak of World War I light horse regiments were formed as part of the Australian Imperial Force . Distinct from the Australian Military Forces regiments , they were raised for overseas service . The 4th and 6th Regiments virtually ceased to exist as most of their available manpower joined the AIF . The 12th Light Horse Regiment was raised at Liverpool in early 1915 and was deployed as part of the 1st AIF to continue its training in Egypt . Most of its members were from the areas covered by both the 4th and 6th ALH . In July 1915 the regiment was split up and its members trained as infantry ; they were deployed to support the ANZAC forces at Gallipoli . The squadrons of the regiment were split up to reinforce other Light Horse regiments already in place . Following the Gallipoli campaign , the regiment was redeployed to Egypt , where it took part in the Sinai campaign of 1916 – 1917 . In 1917 the regiment saw extensive service in Palestine where it took part in the Battle of Beersheba , the last great cavalry charge in modern warfare . Following this the regiment continued to be heavily involved in the Palestine campaign until the cessation of hostilities in 1918 . After the war , the designation of the pre - war regiments was altered to maintain the traditions and battle honours of the AIF Light Horse regiments . The 6th Light Horse Regiment became the 12th Light Horse Regiment and was linked with the 24th Gwydir Regiment , becoming the 12th / 24th Light Horse . In 1938 these regiments were delinked to become separate regiments . After the war the 4th ALH ( HRL ) was redesignated the 16th HRL and was awarded battle honours for the Middle East campaign , despite never having seen overseas service . This was because many of the members of the regiment had seen active service with other regiments . The regiment was known as the 16th Light Horse ( Hunter River Lancers ) through to 1941 . During World War II the unit was renamed the 16th Light Horse ( Machine Gun ) Regiment and then the 16th Motor Regiment before being disbanded in July 1943 like many CMF units due to lack of available manpower . In 1948 the 12 / 16 Hunter River Lancers was raised as part of the Citizen Military Forces and equipped with Matilda tanks . The first camp was held in February 1948 and the regiment was the first to go into camp since 1945 . Regimental Headquarters was located at Muswellbrook with tank squadrons in Tamworth and Armidale . In the following years Regimental HQ was moved to Tamworth and the regiment was reorganised in the reconnaissance role and armed with a variety of vehicles including Staghound and Ferret armoured car s . In the 1960s the regiment was again reorganised , this time as an Armoured Personnel Carrier regiment equipped with Humber 4 x 4 trucks and M3 Scout Car s . In 1967 the first of the M113A1 APCs was received . In 1976 the regiment received M113A1 Medium Reconnaissance Vehicles and adopted a medium reconnaissance role . 12 / 16 HRL reverted to the APC role in 1987 , a role which it maintained until 2005 when it was announced that 12 / 16 HRL would become a Light Cavalry Regiment , being equipped with new Bushmaster PMVs . Since 2000 many members of the regiment have been attached to regular RAAC units and seen active service in East Timor , Iraq and Afghanistan . In September 2007 the Regiment received 15 Bushmasters . Current organisation . The regiment is currently organised as follows :