A Survey of Military,Educational and Community Expectations of the Cadet Movement in Australia, 1866‐2006

The national military cadet movement in Australia marked its centenary in 2006. In total, however, taking into account their colonial forebears, cadets have existed in this country for more than 140 years. The scale of the organisation over time, in the context of a relatively small regular army and situated (for the most part) within secondary schools, serves to emphasise its importance as a nexus of military, educational and social history. Throughout time the movement has been characterised by two key features. The first is that all cadet schemes, from 1866, have operated on the basis of consistent military, educational and social support. The second is a conspicuous lack of published material concerning the history of the movement. The purpose of this article is therefore twofold. It aims to explain the longevity of this three‐sided commitment; why the army, state schooling systems, and the community at large have underwritten the movement for so long. What did they expect in return? In doing so the article traces a cyclic balance between the expectations of these three groups — to this end it is a survey of changing aspirations. As a secondary objective, it hopes to help fill the near historiographical vacuum surrounding the movement.