Subscribe
From imperial defence to colonial responsibility
For decades the British garrison guarded the Australian colonies. Coastal fortifications were built at locations including Dawes Point and the 1801 fort on Middle Head / Gubbuh Gubbuh, monitoring ships entering the harbour. In 1870, British garrisons were withdrawn as part of wider imperial reforms. Maintaining distant garrisons was costly and Britain increasingly expected the colonies to organise their own defence. Its attention was focused on India and Africa. At the same time, imperial rivalries, particularly with Russia, raised fears that ports such as Sydney could be attacked.
The withdrawal of the British garrison meant that the colonies were for the first time responsible for defending their own shores.
The shift prompted reform. Sydney Harbour was central to the colony’s defence and Middle Head / Gubbuh Gubbuh held a strategic position overlooking the harbour entrance. Alongside Georges and Bradley’s Head, South Head and North Head, it formed part of a wider defence network. New and more powerful gun batteries and defensive works were built throughout the late 1800s into the early 1900s, aimed at defending the harbour approach.
Colonial governments began developing their own defence forces, combining small permanent infantry and mounted units with a growing network of volunteer soldiers. These volunteers were ordinary citizens who, when not working at their civilian jobs, trained in roles such as gunners, engineers and signallers.
A temporary military town
Each year, the Easter Encampments brought these forces together for training. Held over the Easter holiday period, the encampments typically lasted around a week, with volunteers travelling from across New South Wales to gather at locations around Sydney. One of the most important locations was Middle Head / Gubbuh Gubbuh, where surrounding fortifications and proximity to the harbour provided an ideal setting for training and large-scale events.
Rows of canvas tents stretched across the plateau, with parade grounds and drill areas between them. Life followed a strict routine of military drills and inspections. For soldiers, the encampments offered a rare experience of what life would be like during active service.
Defence as public spectacle
The Easter Encampments were not simply military exercises – they were also major public spectacles held across the headland and harbour.
Visitors travelled to Middle Head / Gubbuh Gubbuh to observe the camps, wandering through the tents as volunteer soldiers drilled. The week would culminate in large-scale mock battles across the headland and harbour, described by contemporary newspapers not only as training exercises, but also:
‘for the entertainment of the visitors’.
– Australian Town and Country Journal, 11 April 1891
Spectators gathered along the ridgelines to watch mock battles and demonstrations of new defence technologies. These displays reassured the public that the colony could defend its shore.
A place of training and participation
The Easter Encampments reveal an important dimension of Middle Head / Gubbuh Gubbuh’s history. Here, within a temporary city of tents, drills and spectators, volunteers from across New South Wales stepped away from everyday life to train and take part in a growing system of local defence.
Watch: A trilogy of short films
In 2026, the Harbour Trust released 3 short films exploring the Easter Encampments at Middle Head. Produced in collaboration with The Story Mill and military historian Brad Manera (also a Member of the Trust), the films debuted during the National Trust’s Australian Heritage Festival in New South Wales. Each brings together archival imagery, historical research, narration and on-site filming to reveal how the headland was once transformed into a temporary training ground for volunteer soldiers and a public stage for defence demonstrations. Watch them below.
Sources and further reading:
Gilchrist, C., & Manera, Brad. The Easter Submarine Mine Disaster, Sydney 1891.
Grey, Jeffrey. A Military History of Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Nicholls, Bob. The Colonial Volunteers: The Defence Forces of the Australian Colonies 1836–1901. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1988.
Oppenheim, Peter. The Fragile Forts: The Fixed Defences of Sydney Harbour 1788–1963. Sydney: Kangaroo Press, 1988.
Wilcox, Craig. For Hearths and Homes: Citizen Soldiering in Australia 1854–1945. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1998.
Australian Town and Country Journal, 5 April 1890 and 11 April 1891.
