item details
NameBayonet, 1907 Pattern
ProductionLithgow Small Arms Factory; manufacturer(s); 1913; New South Wales
Classificationedged weapons, bayonets
Materialssteel, wood
DimensionsOverall: 30mm (width), 65mm (height), 550mm (length)
Registration NumberB000033
Credit linePurchased, 1964
Overview
This bayonet is on display at Te Papa in Gallipoli: The scale of our war.
It is a 'Bayonet, Pattern 1907' (also known as 'Bayonet, Number 1, Mk 1'). It was designed to be fitted to the Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifles which were used at Gallipoli by men of the Māori Contingent and the Mounted Rifles.
Bayonets were a terrifying weapon, used to stab enemy troops, especially during an attack. When our men started attacking Turkish positions during the August Offensive, they were ordered not to shoot but to rely on their bayonets to surprise and kill the defenders.