[1] In 19th century Adelaide, after the Crimean War, Colonial Administrator Colonel Beauchamp trains a volunteer defence corps at the weekends, and worries about a Russian invasion.
Idealistic schoolteacher Higsen, who is in love with Beauchamp's daughter, is more concerned with free education.
When a Russian gunboat is rumoured to be near Adelaide, Beauchamp sets about whipping up the public into a frenzy in order to fund a standing army.
Variety said "What started out as an apparently serious and thought-provoking aplay quickly developed into rather pointless farce.
Higson wants the government to introduce compulsory education but Colonel Beauchamp wants to spend money on defence.
[8] The critic from the Sydney Morning Herald thought that "uniform competence in acting could not-altogether suggest the whimsy inherent in" the play, adding that "William Sterling's production was directed primarily at extracting every ounce of farce.