The NSW Contingent: Colonial Troops Sent to Sudan in 1885.

A large crowd was on hand to farewell the NSW Contingent, as the colonial troops boarded their ship for the Sudan on 3 march 1885. (Image courtesy of the State Library of NSW).

The story of British troops besieged at Khartoum under the command of General Charles Gordon is a famous historical event that has been retold through books and also by film, but some may not be aware that an infantry battalion and artillery battery from colonial New South Wales (NSW) was also dispatched to the conflict.

The NSW Contingent, as it was known, comprised of 522 infantrymen with 24 officers, and an artillery battery of 212 men.

The decision to send colonial troops to the Sudan was motivated by the death of the popular Gordon in January of 1885, while he and his besieged troops waited for the expeditionary force that had been sent from Cairo in September of 1884.

The fact that Canada had already offered troops to support the empire in its time of need, also spurred the NSW Colonial Government to a decision, but there was also a lot of anger within the NSW public, who thought that the British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, had acted too slowly in sending British troops to Gordon’s aid.

In defence of the British Government of that time, Gordon had been deployed on an evacuation mission to Khartoum to rescue the British-backed Egyptian forces who had been sent into the Sudan to suppress the rebellion led by Muhammed Ahmed, known as the Mahdi.

The general decided to ignore his orders to evacuate, and instead, chose to engage the Madhi’s forces directly, which ultimately led his own forces being under siege alongside the Egyptians.

Public opinion in regards to the deployment of colonial troops was mixed, but there was enough enthusiasm and excitement for the expedition within the colony of NSW to declare a day of holiday on the date the troops embarked. A large crowd gathered on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour on 3 March, 1885 as the soldiers, determined to prove their worth to the empire, boarded their ship.

As with interstate rivalry in today’s Australia, the deployment of troops from NSW in 1885 also attracted its fair share of accusations of favouritism towards NSW. The colony of Victoria had its offer of troops rejected, with some within that colony feeling that the War Office had approved the NSW contingent because of its government’s positive stance towards Imperial matters over that of the emerging Federalists.

The Daily Telegraph from Launceston, Tasmania, on the other hand, portrayed a feeling of admiration towards NSW; the article suggesting that the troop deployment would be a historical turning-point; going along way to proving how valuable the colonies were to the mother country.

“The arrival at Suakin of Australian troops for voluntary service in the Soudan (sic)…will form another remarkable page in the history of Australasia. The promptitude with which the men of the New South Wales contingent were equipped, embarked and conveyed to Egypt offers convincing proof of the energy of the Executive Government of that colony, and of the spirit of its population.”

Infantrymen form the NSW contingent pose for a photograph before their departure from Sydney to the Sudan. (Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial: A05137).

An interesting point within the offer to send colonial troops was that the NSW Government would cover all of the costs in relation to the contingents travel and upkeep. To this end, a patriotic fund was set up, and while the fund bore the brunt of criticism in publications like The Bulletin, and was not well received at some public meetings, it did receive substantial contributions from the business sector, with the banker and property owner, Donald Larnach contributing £500 to the NSW Contingent; a significant amount of money for the period.

Contemporary newspaper reports continued to relay news of the contingent’s progress to the Australian public, with many articles painting the expedition in a positive light. The Albany Mail wrote: “Troopship Iberia arrived. Horses in excellent condition and general health of men is good. Men are anxious to reach there in time to join in the advance of British troops on Tamai.”

This sentiment of enthusiasm is authenticated in a letter sent by Samuel W. Rayner, a volunteer with the NSW contingent who wrote home after arriving at Suakin: “…our men are anxious to get into action.”

Rayner also mentions his eight-days of sea-sickness aboard the troopship; the limit of ten words per telegram, per soldier, when they docked at the Port of Aden at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and the “splendid speech” given by General Graham when the NSW contingent arrived at Suakin.

The NSW contingent did eventually march towards Tamai, a town 30km inland from the port of Suakin. They were a part of a 10,000-man formation, and being at the rear, were limited to engaging in some light skirmishes with the enemy.

The frontline action that the troops had hoped for, would continue to evade them, with disease being the cause of the few casualties from within the ranks by campaigns end.

Volunteers from the NSW contingent pose with Martini-Henry rifles prior to departure for the Sudan in 1885. (Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial: A05526).

A major battle had taken place in the region some 11-days before, and the colonial troops did get to see the impact of war first-hand, as they marched directly through where the action had taken place. Perhaps, considering that people in all walks of life harbour, and experience, different emotions, the sight of the remnants of battle may have sobered a section of the contingent’s enthusiasm for action.

If the NSW troops were disappointed in missing the battle, as reports suggest, they were soon to be frustrated further, as they were assigned to guard duty and the hard physical labour of constructing a railway line towards the village of Berber.

In late May the British Government decided to abandon the Sudan campaign, resulting in the NSW contingent arriving back in Sydney on 19 June, 1885.

Although the NSW troops were enthusiastic about their deployment to the Sudan conflict, it is reasonable to assume that they would have been excited about the opportunity to be reunited with family and share their experiences overseas, in a time when international travel was very limited for the majority of Australians.

Whatever anticipation existed amongst the troops, it was put on hold temporarily, while the contingent underwent quarantine at the South Head facility, near the seaside town of Manly; a place now considered part of the Sydney metropolitan area, but in 1885 it was isolated; almost rural in its setting, and a destination for Sydney-siders looking to rest by the sea.

After their time in quarantine, the NSW contingent marched through the city of Sydney to a reception at Victoria Barracks. Subject to one of Sydney’s famous downpours of rain, the returned troops were soaked during the parade, but proud to be recognised for their service to the colony and the British Empire.

Despite some objections to their initial deployment, the overall sentiment within the colony was that the NSW contingent had represented colonial Australia well, and had proved that NSW, and the other colonies, could contribute to the advancement of the British Empire.

Furthermore, and distinct from most, but not all, of the motivations in sending the contingent in the first place, was the emerging sentiment that the people of the Australian colonies, while tied to Britain, were quickly developing their own identity. This sentiment would ensure that the movement towards a Commonwealth of Australia would gather momentum.

Some thirty years later, the enthusiasm of young men to heed the call to war; to seek adventure and honour by volunteering to fight in defence of the Empire would arise again, but with far more devastating consequences.

The baptism of fire that the NSW contingent sought in 1885, would find young Australians in 1915 on the shores of Gallipoli. Fighting alongside their neighbours from New Zealand as part of a larger Commonwealth force, the Australian troops would experience the brutality of war. The public at home forced to deal with the stark reality, and silence of casualty lists.

References and Further Reading

Australian War Memorial

State Library of NSW

Trove: National Library of Australia

Martha Rutledge and Bede Nairn, “Dalley, William Bede (1831-1888)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dalley-william-bede-3356/text5057.

G. P. Walsh, ‘Larnach, Donald (1817-1896)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/larnach-donald-3995/text6319.

The War in Sudan, The Albany Mail, 31 March 1885, p. 3

The Sudan Contingent: To the Editor of the Bowral Free Press, Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 7 March 1885, p. 7.

Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tasmania: 1883-1928), 31 March 1885, p.2

Presentation to a Soudan Volunteer, Evening News (Sydney, NSW: 1869-1931),

The Soudan Contingent, Nepean Times (Penrith, NSW: 1882-1962), 23 May 1885, p. 2.

The Soudan, Northern Star (Lismore, NSW: 1876-1954), 4 march, 1885, p. 3.

Return of the NSW Contingent from the Sudan, The Protestant Standard (Sydney, NSW: 1869-1895), 23 May 1885, p.5.