William Bridges (general) the Narrabri district. In early 1885, in response to the fall of Khartoum and the death of General Charles Gordon during the British campaign against the Dervish revolt in Sudan, the colony of New South Wales raised a military contingent consisting of an infantry battalion, with artillery and supporting units, for service with the British. In an effort to enlist, Bridges travelled to Sydney from Narrabri, but by the time he had arrived, the force had already been raised. Nevertheless, due to concerns about Russian intentions in Afghanistan, the Australian colonies began expanding their military forces, and on 19 May
Khartoum (state) Nile State, and in the west by North Kurdufan. There are several etymologies for the name of Khartoum. The explanation suggested as "most correct" by the state government's website is that it comes from the Arabic for "elephant's trunk", which describes the shape of the site of the city at the confluence of the two Niles, where a stretch of land extends into the water. Other stories are that it is a corruption of "gurtoum", the name for seeds of the sunflower plant, supposedly used by Roman invaders at the current site of Khartoum to treat soldiers' wounds, or that