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Article: Khaki in the classroom: compulsory junior cadet training in Australian schools, 1911-31.(Report)
- Article from:
- History of Education Review
- Article date:
- January 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Australian and New Zealand History of Education Society (ANZHES). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The passing of the Defence Act (1909), with its provisions for universal military training, was a profound development for Australia. With bi-partisan support the government exacted compulsory peacetime conscription for all 12-25 year old males in the context of a voluntary defence system considered inadequate in a decade of growing security concerns. It was the first modern English-speaking country in the world to do so. For five years prior to 1909 growing fear for the safety of 'White Australia', coupled with the erosion of British naval supremacy, had forced defence issues into the public domain. Japan's victory over Russia in 1905, followed by a much publicised ...