Cadets khaki fur felt slouch hat : Australian Universal Service Scheme

Khaki fur felt slouch hat with domed crown, grosgrain ribbon bound brim and leather sweatband. Crown of the hat has four tiny rivetted ventilation holes. The front of the hat has holes where the hat badge would have been worn.

This slouch hat would have been worn by a cadet circa 1912. It retains the style of the Victorian high dome slouch hats of the 19th Century. From 1911 to 1929, Australia had the Universal Service Scheme which had three levels of paid and part time compulsory service. Boys aged twelve to fourteen enrolled in the junior cadets, boys aged fourteen to eighteen enrolled in the senior cadets, and men aged eighteen to twenty-six had to register with the home defence militia, the Commonwealth Military Forces.