The War in Soudan- with the Australian Contingent at Sydney (Paddington Barracks)

A hand coloured wood engraving related to Australia's involvement in the War in Sudan (1885), consisting of four scenes; 1) Early morning parade in Sydney of volunteer soldiers for the War in Sudan; 2) The Sudan voluntary artillery; 3) Sudan volunteers at Paddington Barracks and 4) some types of the Force. The wood engraving may have appeared in the 'Illustrated Sydney News'. The activities and preparations of the NSW contingent for the War in Sudan are depicted in an informal, yet carefully illustrated and detailed manner. The format of the wood engraving evokes a storyboard, offering simple, but effective and informative images, of the Australia's Colonial military forces. In addition, the reference to the Paddington Barracks (now the Victorian Barracks in Sydney) provides an important reference point in relation to early military training and history in Colonial Australia. The Paddington Barracks were constructed by convicts between 1841 and 1846 and originally occupied by regiments of the British Army until 1870. The Barracks was the premier military training site in Australia for many years, from its completion until after Federation in 1901. During the early 1880s, an Egyptian regime in the Sudan, backed by the British, came under threat from rebellion under the leadership of the native Muhammad Ahmad (or Ahmed), known as Mahdi to his followers. The British instructed the Egyptians to abandon the Sudan, and sent General Charles Gordon to coordinate the evacuation, but he was killed in January 1885. When news of his death arrived in New South Wales in February 1885, the government offered to send forces and meet the contingent's expenses. The New South Wales Contingent consisted of an infantry battalion of 522 men and 24 officers. An artillery battery of 212 men and sailed from Sydney on 3 March 1885.