sentences:  By 1891–92, the colony's military force consisted of 91 permanent soldiers, 3,133 militia and 841 volunteers.This progress was lost, however, in the early part of the following decade as the Australian colonies were gripped by an economic depression which had the effect of reducing the amount of money spent on defence.Although the defence force was mobilised in 1891 to quell a shearers' strike, austerity measures resulted in the cancellation of the annual camp in 1893 and the disbandment of a number of units.