Correct as at: 16 Dec 05 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE ACADEMY THE TORCH AND THE SWORD A HISTORY OF THE ARMY CADET MOVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA 1866-2004 CRAIG A.J. STOCKINGS STUDENT NUMBER 9193110 THESIS PREPARED IN REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2006 I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no material previously published or written by another person, nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. Craig Stockings February 2006 ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to provide a general history of the army cadet movement in Australia from 1866 to 2004 by tracing the interactions between four fundamental forces that have stood as its foundation for almost 140 years. In various guises military, educational, social, and financial factors are the pillars on which the cadet movement has always rested. Over time the balance and relative dominance of each has determined the shape and state of the cadet organisation and will continue to do so in the future. When these four forces have been aligned the movement has thrived but when they have pulled in disparate directions it has faltered. Throughout the thesis, contextualising these four key concepts, are two more general themes concerning the influence of conservative politics and a recurring state school/private school divide. The history of army cadets, and therefore this thesis, is an investigation into the interplay of these dynamics. With such a purpose and methodology the thesis begins by tracing the development of the movement from its nineteenth century origins by identifying issues and circumstances that led some colonies to maintain thousands of cadets while others struggled to field any. It goes on to examine the formation, five years after Federation, of a Commonwealth cadet scheme birthed only to be swamped by the era of compulsory military training in Australia from 1911-29 which saw, at its peak, almost 100,000 schoolboys in khaki. The thesis analyses the re-organised voluntary cadet system in place from 1930-38 which, matching the circumstances of the adult army, faltered in numbers and support as it was restructured into dual ‘Regimental’ and ‘School’ branches. It goes on to assess the impact of the Second World War and the renewed impetus it provided to the cadet organisation before investigating the prosperity of the movement throughout the 1950s and 1960s in spite of the complexities raised by National Service and Australian involvement in conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Malaya and Borneo. Particular attention is paid to the early 1970s and the machinations surrounding the unexpected decision to disband the cadet organisation announced by the Labor government on 26 August 1975. The cadet story does not conclude at this point, however, with Vice Regal controversy and a subsequent Liberal-National election victory resurrecting the movement. The re-styled cadet scheme of 1976-83 is investigated followed by twelve years of division and distress under consecutive Labor federal governments between 1984-95. The thesis concludes by examining the reversal of fortunes for the movement from 1996-2004 which saw the cadet system develop, by the end of the period, into a well led, resourced and motivated organisation of almost 17,000 members. The research informing this thesis is based on documents held in National Archives of Australia offices in all state capitals, as well as those held in the Australian War Memorial. In addition, all state public record offices have yielded significant material, as have a wide range of private and school-based archives. More recent primary source information has been gathered from sources within the Department of Defence Archives, Queanbeyan, NSW, while select active and closed files from Headquarters Australian Army Cadets and the Directorate of Defence Force Cadets were graciously provided to the author. The study has also been informed by a wide selection of official, privately published and unpublished secondary sources spanning more than a century. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements i List of Tables iii List of Figures v Abbreviations vi Chapter One – Introduction 1 Chapter Two – Colonial Genesis 1866 - 1905 5 Chapter Three – Commonwealth Cadets 1906 - 1910 44 Chapter Four – Conscripts 1911 - 1929 74 Chapter Five – A Dual System 1930 - 1938 112 Chapter Six – Cadets & the Second World War 1939 - 1945 141 Chapter Seven – The Australian Cadet Corps 1946 - 1957 173 Chapter Eight – Ascent & Descent 1958 - 1974 205 Chapter Nine – Death & Rebirth 1975 - 1982 240 Chapter Ten – The Great Divide 1983 - 1995 273 Chapter Eleven – Healing, Harmony & Hope 1996 - 2004 304 Chapter Twelve – Conclusion 347 Appendices 351 Bibliography 384 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this doctoral thesis, like most I suspect, required input from three essential sources. The first was the guidance of my academic supervisor Professor Jeffrey Grey, and assistant supervisor, Dr David Blaazer, both of the Humanities and Social Science Department at the Australian Defence Force Academy. Professor Grey’s knowledge, experience and encouragement have been invaluable. I have known him since my undergraduate days in the early 1990s and sought his tutelage for two reasons. He has the mind and energy of one of this country’s leading military historians mixed with an affinity for frank, direct and candid critique. Though I have known Dr Blaazer for a shorter period his time, effort and advice have been very much appreciated. Through consistent reminders for ‘relevance, context and evidence’ he is responsible, in no small measure, for turning a story into a thesis. The second crucial ingredient for the successful completion of this work was the goodwill and generosity of a wide range of individuals who went out of their way to assist my research. I am especially indebted to Mr Gerry Walsh, accomplished historian, long-time teacher, and friend. His editing expertise and knowledge of Australian history were as valuable now as they were when he supervised my Honours thesis almost a decade ago. I also offer my sincere thanks to the staff at the Australian Defence Force Academy Library, particularly Ms Mary-June Burk, whose patience and commitment to fulfil literally hundreds of inter-library loans and other requests has been admirable. So too, the amity of archivists from all state offices of the National Archives and the Australian War Memorial was greatly appreciated while cheerful support from the various state public record offices was indispensable. I must make special mention of the staff at the Department of Defence Archives, Headquarters Australia Army Cadets and the Directorate of Defence Force Cadets whose files informed the latter chapters. Thanks also to Air Vice Marshal David Dunlop, Head Cadet Policy, for his careful editing and advice concerning Chapter 10. Finally, I am most grateful to the long list of schools and school archivists who gave of their time and records freely in the preparation of this thesis. Although I cannot name them all I hope that my efforts prove worthy of their expectations. i The third, and for me at least, the most important factor in the completion of this dissertation has been the unremitting support of my family. My wife, Emma, has been by my side every step of the way. She is a true partner and without her commitment there is no doubt that this thesis would forever have remained an unfulfilled dream. She has endured not only the financial burden of a being married to a student but has also borne the emotional strain and obsessiveness of a PhD candidate with grace, love and good humour. As my first draft editor Emma weathered uncountable typographic errors and provided insightful and practical advice at all stages. Last of all I must thank my children. Georgia, who was born three weeks after this project was begun and Charlotte who arrived near its end. Your laughs and smiles have made hard days easy. This thesis belongs to the four of us. ii LIST OF TABLES Chapter 2 Table 2A Organisation of the Victorian Volunteer Cadet Corps, 1886 p. 18. Table 2B Numbers of School Cadets in NSW and Victoria, 1900-07 p. 31. Chapter 3 Table 3A Strength of the Cadet Corps in Australia, December 1904 p. 46. Table 3B Geographic Allocation of Cadet Units, 1908-09 p. 52. Table 3C Defence Expenditure as a Percentage of GDP, 1905-10 p. 58. Table 3D Establishments and Strengths of Cadets, June 1907 - June 1910 p. 70. Chapter 4 Table 4A Senior Cadets Registered, Exempted & Undergoing Training, 1913-21 p. 83. Table 4B Establishment Strength of a Company of Senior Cadets, 1911 & 1912 p. 83. Table 4C Trends in Army Expenditure against GDP, 1911-29 p. 90. Table 4D Efficiency of Senior Cadet Brigades and Training Areas, 1913 p. 95. Table 4E The Syllabus of Training for Senior Cadets, 1913 p. 102. Chapter 5 Table 5A Establishment and Strength of Cadets, 30 December 1931 p. 120. Table 5B Regimental Cadets within the 3rd Division, 12 July 1932 p. 121 Table 5C Efficiency Return for Regimental Cadets, 30 June 1937 p. 122. Table 5D Number of Regimental Cadets, 31 June 1930 - 30 September 1931 p. 125.