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- Australian Contingent: History of the Patriotic Movement in New South Wales
Find your ancestors in Australian Contingent: History of the Patriotic Movement in New South Wales
Records in this collection
- Anzac Memorial Records
- Australian Contingent: History of the Patriotic Movement in New South Wales
- Australian Contingents to South Africa
- Australian Imperial Force Embarkation Roll 1914-1918
- Australian Imperial Force Nominal Roll 1914-1918
- Australian Imperial Force Roll of Honour 1914-1919
- Australia's Fighting Sons of the Empire (NSW, QLD, WA)
- Bank of New South Wales (Roll of Honour)
- Book of Remembrance of the University of Sydney, 1914-1918
- British Garrison Deserters in South Australia
- Defenders of New Zealand and Maori History
- Education Department War Service, 1914-1917
- New South Wales Roll of Honour
- New South Wales, Government railways and tramways Roll of Honour, 1914-1919
- New Zealand Boer War Servicemen
- New Zealand Division, 1916-1919
- New Zealand military pensions 1900-1902
- New Zealand War Medal Roll
- New Zealand Wars officers and men killed 1860-1870
- New Zealand Wars: The Maori Campaigns
- New Zealand WW1 Soldiers
- New Zealanders and the Boer War
- Queensland, Tuberculosis Home Applications 1923-1932
- Queenslanders Who Fought in the Great War
- South Australia Boer War Contingents
- South Australia Boxer Rebellion Contingent
- South Australia, Heroes of the Great War Chronicle Newspaper 1915-1919
- Tasmania’s War Record 1914-1918
- Tasmanians in the Boer War
- War Services - 'Old Melburnians Society'
AUSTRALIAN CONTINGENT: HISTORY OF THE PATRIOTIC MOVEMENT IN NSW
Building your family tree? This is a must for anyone with a family ancestry involved in the Australia (New South Wales) Contingent in the Soudan War from March to June 1885 or the NSW Patriotic Fund that supported it. It includes both information about the battle itself, plus a listing of 'Subscriptions to the Patriotic Fund' which gives personal and business names, as well as the amount paid to support the fund by each contributor.
The contingent, an infantry battalion of 522 men and 24 officers and an artillery battery of 212 men, was ready to sail on 3 March 1885; leaving Sydney amid much public fanfare. Support, however, was anything but universal, and many viewed the proceedings with indifference - or even hostility. The nationalist Bulletin ridiculed the contingent both before and after its return. Meetings intended to launch a patriotic fund and endorse the government's action were poorly attended in many working-class suburbs, and many of those who turned up voted against the fund. In some country centers there was a significant anti-war response, while miners in rural districts were said to be in 'fierce opposition'.
The contingent finally arrived back in Sydney on 19 June, 1885. Originally expecting to land at Port Jackson, the decision was now made for them to disembark at the quarantine station on North Head near Manly, as a precaution against disease. Five days after their arrival in Sydney the contingent, dressed in their khaki uniforms, marched through the city to a reception at Victoria Barracks where they stood in pouring rain as a number of public figures gave speeches, including: the Governor, Lord Loftus, the Premier, and the commandant of the contingent, Colonel Richardson. It was generally agreed at the time that, no matter how small the military significance of the Australian contribution to the adventure, it marked an important stage in the development of colonial self-confidence and was proof of the enduring link with Britain.
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