Now here be a brain teaser ...

[RJW NZ]

Australian P1907 LITHGOW 1914, HOOKED QUILLION BAYONET - eBay (item 220638386212 end time Jul-26-10 04:25:00 PDT)

Its a very nice 1914 lithy, potentially a Gallipoli battlefield pick up, yet it is stamped with 2MD. Is that even possible? I thought the military district concept came about in reaction to a potential Jap land invasion? I guess I'm about to learn something new ... lol

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[Peter Laidler]

Remember the old phrase when buying cars and in our case, weaponry. Buy the rifle and not the story

[Son]

I was under the impression the "military districts" were formed shortly after federation in 1901. Up until this time, each state had their own military. The districts pretty much encompassed a state each which didn't change the structure of each much, but removed the state name form their title- becoming "Australian Military District XX". I don't know if the boundaries of these districts have altered over time. Most references you get when searching "military districts" seem to relate to September 1939- where they stood at the outbreak of WW2 perhaps, but definitely well before any perceived Jap threat.

Looking for references to confirm or refute what I have written here..... as usual, any and all please add to this- It's a very interesting point....

edit... The "Broad Arrow" lists the "military district" markings as post 1901, but does not say when... I also infers the districts were strictly state boundaries, with names like "Southern Command" for Victoria and "Central Command" for SA... etc.

From the book "Redcoats to Cams" by Ian Kurring

"The Commonwealth took control of all the Colonial defence forces on 1 March 1901, the date now celebrated as the birthday of the Australian Army. However, soldiers continued to be administered under the six separate sets of Colonial Legislation until the proclomation of the Defence Act on 1st March 1904. This act and it's Military Regulations and Orders provided the army with the legal machinery to operate."
it goes on to say....
"The Australian Army of the early 1900's was primarily a volunteer , part time service force. It was administered through military districts whose boundaries more or less corresponded with those of the six states..."

[colonel blimp]

Seems military districts came in with the 1903 Defence Act. Interesting history of the reorganisation of the Australian army and the formation of Military Districts here:

Major General Edward Hutton

Paul

[Lance]

My 1915 Lithgow hookie is marked to either the 3rd or 5th MD (hard to read, light stamp and pitting) and a pommel number of 16768. Of interest is that it is also marked to "6KKR" over "324", The Kings Royal Rifle Corps, aka 60th Foot. Oh the stories she could tell.

[Surpmil]

my 1915 Lithgow hookie is marked to either the 3rd or 5th md (hard to read, light stamp and pitting) and a pommel number of 16768. Of interest is that it is also marked to "6kkr" over "324", the kings royal rifle corps, aka 60th foot. Oh the stories she could tell.

"6krr" (Oh, I see we've/I've got a little software feature that thinks it knows capitalization better than I do... )