Departure of the New South Wales Contingent from Sydney for the Sudan

This Lithograph was adapted from a photograph held in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales's collection of the NSW Contingent troops passing down Gresham Street in Sydney. They are being cheered by onlookers, some soldiers are mounted, most are marching. On 3 March 1885 the New South Wales contingent was ready to set sail for the Sudan, and due in part to the holiday declared to farewell them, the troops left amid much public fanfare. Trousers worn by the soldiers, grey with red stripe, are not regulation blue with a red stripe. Between March- June 1885, the NSW Contingent served in Sudan, Africa. 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. It left Sydney amid much public fanfare, generated in part by the holiday declared to farewell the troops; the send-off was described as the most festive occasion in the colony's history. The NSW contingent anchored at Suakin, Sudan's Red Sea port, on 29 March 1885 and were attached to a brigade composed of Scots, Grenadiers and Coldstream Guards. Shortly after their arrival they marched as part of a large "square" formation -on this occasion made up of 10,000 men - for Tamai, a village some 30 kilometres inland. Not having participated in any battles, Australian casualties were few: those who died fell to disease rather than enemy action. By May 1885 the British government had decided to abandon the campaign and left only a garrison in Suakin. The Australian contingent sailed for home on 17 May 1885, arriving back in Sydney on 19 June. It was generally agreed at the time that, no matter how small the military significance of the Australian contribution to the War in Sudan, it marked an important stage in the development of colonial self-confidence and was proof of the enduring link with Britain.