The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Training exercises were an integral part of preparing for battle. This wood engraving, published in the Australasian Sketcher, 8 April 1882 p.105, shows colonial troops of the Victorian Naval Reserve being reviewed, conducting gun drill, and practising charging with swords. The sailors are also engaged in gun drill with a muzzle loading naval gun.
The Australian Colonial Military forces were maintained from December 1788 until March 1901 when they were transferred to Commonwealth government control, after Federation. Initially, they were compos
These two prints were published in the Australasian Sketcher on 22 February 1882, page 25. In the top image, titled 'Off to the squadron', civilians crowd on a wharf and watch as a woman is assisted t