The Military History Society of NSW

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Our October 2026 Lecture - Chancellorsville: Lee's Finest Hour

- September 14, 2026

In the spring of 1863, the American Civil War stood at a crossroads. The Union Army of the Potomac possessed overwhelming strength, renewed confidence and a new commander determined to deliver a decisive blow. Opposing them was Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, outnumbered and undersupplied, but led by a general whose reputation had been forged through boldness and calculated risk. What followed was a campaign defined by uncertainty, rapid manoeuvre and high-stakes decision-making. Fought amid the dark, tangled and treacherous terrain of the Wilderness of Virginia, Chancellorsville forced commanders to act with imperfect information and little room for error. It became a contest not only between armies, but between personalities, leadership styles and competing visions of how the war should be fought. This presentation explores the strategic background to the campaign, the commanders who shaped its course, and the challenges posed by the unforgiving Wilderness. Above all, ...

Our September 2026 Lecture - The Rum Corps: Rulers of the Colony

- August 05, 2026

The New South Wales Corps was raised to protect and police the people of the infant colony of NSW. Instead, they became corrupt traders in rum, goods, land and power for twenty years. They defied several Governors culminating in their overthrow of Governor William Bligh and their unlawful seizure of power in the Rum Rebellion of 1808. They established a military dictatorship in NSW with all the elements of any modern dictatorship today. Our Vice-President Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Lyons (retd) will talk about this turbulent time in the military history of New South Wales. TIME AND VENUE: 10:30AM Saturday 5 September 2026 at The Auditorium, Anzac Memorial Hyde Park, Hyde Park South, corner Elizabeth and Liverpool Streets, Sydney CBD. Admission is free of charge but a donation would be appreciated. For info call 0419 698 783 or email: president@militaryhistorynsw.com.au Our Venue The venue for The Military History Society of NSW lecture program is th...

RECONNAISSANCE Winter Issue 2026

- June 18, 2026

This is the "From the Editor" column of the Winter 2026 Issue of Reconnaissance , the quarterly magazine of the Military History Society of New South Wales. Earlier in the twentieth century, the Anzac Legend naturally centered on those grinding struggles across the shores and heights of Gallipoli. Only some decades later did the country’s attention turn to the Western Front in France and Belgium, where our soldiers displayed even more heroism and made an undeniable contribution to the victory of 1918. But the Western Front was a universe of warfare embroiling teeming millions of men over long stretches of terrain while absorbing vast resources churned out by the world’s most advanced industrial empires and nations. In some respects, we are still ignorant of many features and dimensions of Australia’s role in that complex upheaval. This issue of Reconnaissance presents a version of Lt-Col David Deasey’s April 2026 lecture shedding light on a little known but important as...

RECONNAISSANCE Autumn Issue 2026

- March 15, 2026

"From the Editor" column of the Autumn 2026 Issue of Reconnaissance , the quarterly magazine of the Military History Society of New South Wales. Welcome to the Autumn 2026 Issue of Reconnaissance . To mark this year’s 250th anniversary of American independence, which will be celebrated across the United States, our president Robert Muscat chose to deliver the Society’s first lecture for 2026 last month on a topic from the celebrated war which secured that freedom. An article version of his talk on the British Army at the Battle of Long Island, New York, in 1776 is published as the cover feature of this Reconnaissance . For the British generals, as Robert explains, the clash on Long Island was to be a culminating blow to separate the northern colonies from their southern counterparts and bring the whole rebellion crashing down. Owing to its strategic location on the Hudson River, port facilities and thriving industries, New York City was a lynch pin which needed to be inse...

Statement on the future of Sydney's Victoria Barracks

- February 03, 2026

Statement of the Military History Society of New South Wales on sale and redevelopment of Victoria Barracks, Paddington, Sydney Site map of Victoria Barracks precinct The Victoria Barracks precinct contains some of the most elegant Regency style buildings in Australia, even though their original and continuing purpose has been functional as a military facility. The Barracks site is simply too compact in its dimensions (15 hectares) and too important historically to be developed for anything other than its present use. Precious heritage buildings and spaces are dispersed right across the site (see site map above). In accordance with their function and the state of technology at the time of construction, the site’s structures are low-rise. We are concerned that new buildings would be higher in a way that overshadows and spoils the low horizontal silhouette of the Main Barracks, particularly looking to the south. In this regard the Main Barracks and the parade ground have historically b...

RECONNAISSANCE Summer Issue 2025

- December 07, 2025

This is the "From the Editor" column of the Summer 2025 Issue of Reconnaissance , the quarterly magazine of The Military History Society of New South Wales. Welcome to the Summer 2025 Issue of Reconnaissance . From our English inheritance of mistrusting over-mighty standing armies and calling on civilian reserves in times of threat, the concept of volunteer soldiering or militia service was implanted in the Australian colonies by the mid-nineteenth century. Interest in this form of defence intensified after the withdrawal of regular British troops in 1870. Since militiamen or reservists remained, primarily, civilians who served on a part-time basis, some degree of overlap between their work status in civil life and their military service was a natural development, as it was deep into English history. Many regiments and sub-units adopted identities associated with the occupations, professions and institutions to which their members belonged, as well as, of course, the loca...

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