What was the Cooee march?

Answer 1

1915, recruiting committees were formed in nearly every town throughout Australia. In the central west of New South Wales a movement began which became known as the "Gilgandra snowball". Under the leadership of Mr W.T. Hitchen, 20 or so men who had determined to enlist marched to Sydney, gathering other recruits along the way. This was known as the Coo-ee march and comprised about 300 men by the time the contingent reached Sydney. Their example was soon followed by other marches from around New South Wales and Queensland: Waratahs, Kangaroos, Wallabies, Dungarees, Men from Snowy River, Kurrajongs, Kookaburras, Central West Boomerangs and North Coast Boomerangs. The total of men who marched was only about 1,500 but some historians consider the marches successful in influencing many other men to enlist. Twenty six men left Gilgandra on 10 October 1915 on the 'Cooee March', led by the Captain of the local rifle club, William Thomas Hitchen. At each town on the route the marchers shouted "cooee" to attract recruits and held recruitment meetings. By the time they reached Sydney just over one month later on 12 November, the numbers had swelled to 263 recruits, marching a total of 320 miles and being welcomed by large crowds along the way. The Cooee Festival commemorates the famous 1915 Cooee March. After the Gallipoli disaster and the first casualty lists were published the number of Australian men enlisting to go to war dwindled. In an attempt to change this trend, thirty-five men set out on a recruitment drive from Gilgandra to help in the WW1 effort, calling out "Cooee" to encourage men along the way to come and enlist also.