Sport and Colonialism in 19th Century Australasia - LA84 Foundation

citizen army nearly 18,000 senior cadets paraded through Melbourne's
streets in November 1912, a muster that the Wesley
headmaster hoped "would do much to silence critics of the scheme
in this State". 56
Moreover, Adamson could not resist the opportunity
of Letting it be generally known that he was particularly
proud of the fact that 258 boys from Wesley had taken part in
the impressive march past in the city. 57
The concern Adamson showed for the construction of a strong
military cadet force at Wesley, and his overall interest and
support of a citizen army, cannot be simply explained as his way
of providing an additional practical training for boys in the
arts of gentlemanly conduct, leadership and collective loyalty.
The political views of Adamson have not been widely reported,
though on a visit to England in 1912 he was bold enough to announce
that it was an Australian ideal, and one which he obviously
supported, "to keep Australia for a white race". 58
There is no
doubt, however, that Adamson was vitally caught up in the interests
of England and the welfare of her Empire. During his
visit to England in 1912 and the threat of war with Germany
moving closer to a climax, Adamson dwelt on the fact that there
was compulsory military training throughout Australia and the
nation was prepared to make sacrifices for her ideals," as
people must also for Empire ideals". 59
Furthermore, he preached
the idea "that all sport should be auxiliary to and in connection
with military work". 60
Clearly, military training for boys
was not only an acceptable notion to Adamson, it was an essential
concept in his construct of education, and schools had to accept
their responsibility for developing the sentiments of military
duty for service to the state.
Adamson was well aware that Federation in 1901 had sparked
off a new sense of national identity in Australia in which
there was a rapid evaluation of her capacity to defend the home-
Land and contribute to the defence of the Empire. Australian
interest in the Boer War and the military service of her troops
in South Africa had helped to awaken in the nation a new patriotic
fervour which had forced the recently installed Federal
Parliament to consider, as a matter of urgency, the problems of
national defence. A militarily prepared Australia would,
57