Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Soldiers' riot 1916

Mutiny of soldiers stationed at Casula military camp who travelled from Liverpool to riot in the streets of Sydney on !4 February 1916. Their drunken behaviour was to influence the referendum on early closing later in the year.

Milestone
Date of event
14 Feb 1916
Type

Transcript: Mrs Elsie Collimore remembers scenes from the Liverpool soldiers' riot of 1916

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2015

Mrs Elsie Collimore was born in 1906 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960' project. Here she remembers scenes from Liverpool during World War I, including the now famous soldiers' riot of 1916.

The Soldiers Riot of 1916

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2016

On 14 February 1916 soldiers based in the Australian Imperial Force training camps at Casula and Liverpool rioted, first in Liverpool, then at Central Station and in the city. The riot caused widespread damage, the death of one soldier-recruit, injuries to seven, multiple military and criminal convictions and contributed to the introduction of six o'clock closing across New South Wales.