TOPIC:

….A man named Melville, a resident of Cassilis, who was one of the candidates rejected by the examination board for the Imperial Contingent, on account of his short stature, created a sensation yesterday afternoon by jumping off the town bridge over the Mitchell into the river 30 feet below. John Morrison, employed on the steamer Charlotte Fenwick, saw the body strike the water, and, calling for assistance, put off in a boat. After great difficulty, he succeeded in getting Melville, who resisted violently, out of the water. The man was carefully attended to, and after time revived, when he said that, as the Government refused to allow him to fight for the Empire, he did not want to live any longer. Melville was subsequently charged with attempting to commit suicide, and was remanded till Tuesday. Beyond the fact that he is a splendid bushman and a good shot, nothing is known of Melville here. He rode from Cassilis, 70 miles, to be present at the muster of candidates, and his rejection ha evidently preyed upon his mind.
[It would be a pity if the services of such a man should be lost to his country. Valor is not to be measured by a foot-rule.]

The Age [Melbourne] , Monday 26th March 1900


Around the time of WW1 Cassilis became a ghost town. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassilis,_Victoria

Berenice
The selection for suitable bushmen was indeed rigorous. So many applied for the NSW Bushmen's contingent that a further Regiment (The NSW Imperial Bushmen) was formed a little later from those who missed the first ballot.
In terms of numbers, the Colonial States' public reaction to Chamberlain's cable (requesting two thousand more men of a similar kind to the Bushmen) added up to twelve thousand possible recruits. So the various Imperial Bushmen's contingents had a lot to pick from. Recruits were required to be capable shots, good horsemen, etc., and recruited from Country areas.
I have never seen any reference to the physical standards the NSWIB demanded from a possible recruit; as a matter of interest, Spiers (The Late Victorian Army) tells us that the height standard for British Army recruits in 1900 was five foot, three inches. So, the height requirement is assumed to have been similar.
His rejection must have wounded him deeply to take the action he did.
Best regards
IL.

I would think that if Melville was under 5 feet 3 inches he might well have had a few hurtful comments over the years, and to be rejected as a volunteer to fight because of his height could have been the final straw.

The Bairnsdale Advertiser (29.3.1900) covered Harold Melville's court appearance the following week. When they managed to get him into the boat, he shouted out, "For God Almighty's sake let me go, mates. You're no Britishers. The British Empire will want men to fight for it yet."

…."T. Crisp came forward and said accused was a hard-working young man. After being rejected as a candidate for the Australian Imperial Regiment on the previous Tuesday, and accused became depressed and got on spree, and had been under the influence of drink for two or three days. If he were liberated witness would see that he was started on his way back to Cassilis.
….The accused, who said he had work to go to on the Omeo road, and would proceed there at once, was discharged."


He shows up again at Melbourne City Police Court, in December 1900, described as a miner, and had fired a revolver in the street after having been drinking - fined £5. He was told "It is always in the hands of idiots and weak-minded specimens of humanity like you that we find firearms. Firearms in the hands of fools are always dangerous." [The Age, 28.12.1900]

Perhaps just as well that his application to join the Bushmen was rejected.