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
Siege of Khartoum relief to Khartoum. He was rebuked by Queen Victoria in a telegram which became known to the public. His government fell in June 1885, though he was back in office the next year. The public outcry soon weakened, first when press coverage and sensationalism of the events began to diminish and secondly when the government released details of the £11.5 million military budget cost for pursuing war in the Sudan. In reality, Gladstone had always viewed the Egyptian-Sudanese imbroglio with distaste and had felt some sympathy for the Sudanese striving to throw off the Egyptian colonial rule. He once declared