The Harbour Trust will be holding a free event on 2 May, exploring the Easter Encampments, large-scale military camps held at Middle Head / Gubbuh Gubbuh, Mosman in the late 1800s, where volunteer soldiers gathered each year for drills and demonstrations.
The event, which is part of the National Australian Heritage Festival, will include a guided walk with military historian Brad Manera, who is a member of the Harbour Trust, followed by a screening of three short films which bring this period to life.
The short films are about the annual Easter Encampments. After British troops were withdrawn in 1870, responsibility for defence shifted to the colonies, and a new local force began to emerge. Volunteers played a major role, travelling from across the colony to attend the camps, where they lived and trained together in artillery, military manoeuvres and coastal defence, activating the harbour’s fortifications.
For a week each year, the headlands of Middle Head / Gubbuh Gubbuh attracted thousands of civilian spectators who watched the large-scale mock battles and military exercises.
The films are shot on location and offer engaging and insightful stories on the very ground where the events took place.
Easter Encampments event
Saturday 2 May
11am to 12pm
Building 7 Workshop, 1110 Middle Head Road, Mosman
Each of the three short films will be played on a loop from 12pm to 2pm
Free event
Registration is essential, visit: Harbourtrust.gov.au
