On the 28th of October the Contingent dined at Government House, and after the meal the men were received in the great hall and thus eloquently addressed by Lord Tennyson: "Men of the South Australian Contingent of the British army in South Africa--I am proud of being your Commander-in-Chief because of your splendid patriotism, your alacrity in obeying the summons of the old country, your self-sacrifice in leaving your comfortable homes to fight for the United Empire, to maintain the Queen's position in South Africa, and to rescue the down-trodden Uitlanders from the political and social serfdom imposed on them by the Boers. When I was at home in 1897 I saw some of you in the Jubilee procession, and you were vociferously cheered by the millions of people in the streets. Why did they cheer you? Because they felt that you were our kith and kin, and that you were not only taking part in a triumphal procession in honour of the Queen, but that you were pledging yourselves that, if the needful occasion should arise, you would fight for our Queen and for our Empire. Your action now, and the action of all Australasia and of Canada, will make the nations of the earth hesitate before they strike at our Empire in the future, seeing our Imperial loyalty, our Imperial solidarity, our Imperial unity, our Imperial strength. I believe from my experience as your Governor that there is no man throughout South Australia who would not stand up in time of stress in defence of the Queen, the Empire, and the Union Jack. You are a gallant and stalwart body of men, and we rejoice in your soldierly appearance and your loyal enthusiasm. We feel sure that you will do your duty nobly, and return covered with honour and renown. Remember, my men, that obedience to discipline, and patience in enduring hardship, and promptitude in the performance of your military duties are the first steps towards the making of a victorious army. You are to be joined in South Africa to highly organised battalions of troops, some of the best in the world, commanded by highly trained and scientific officers. Obey these officers and your own implicitly, from the corporal to the Commander-in-Chief, whether on the field or in garrison, or wherever you are; and I need not tell you that, if you keep your eyes and ears open, you will learn a great deal that will be useful to you in the future. May Australia never be visited by war! If this ever happens, the British fleet will protect Australia in the first line of defence, but you must have an efficiently trained army as a second line of defence. Knowing this, the Federal Government of the future will, I am confident, put Australia in a proper state of military preparedness; and that is one of the