The Cooee March

In 0ctober 1915 a group of 35 men, organised by the Hitchen brothers of Gilgandra,  set out on a recruitment drive from Gilgandra to help in the WW1 effort. This was an attempt  to change the dwindling enlistment numbers of Australian men  following the  disastrous Gallipoli campaign.Calling out "Cooee" and enlisting men along the way. On 12th of December the Cooee's reached Sydney with 277 men. The Cooee March was the first of many recruiting marches in this country, with recruiting marches playing a vital role in Australia’s World War I effort. Another The Dungaree was started in Queensland.  The Annual Cooee Festival is  held in Gilgandra on the October long weekend. The Cooee Festival commemorates this proud and unique event in Australia’s history, the famous 1915 Cooee March. More Information about this festival can be found by following the link below.There is a book "The Coo-ee March, 1986, John Meredith’s which can be  purchased for $15 (inc postage and handling) from the Gilgandra Visitor Centre - email to:tourism@gilgandra.nsw.gov.au The Cooee Festival http://http://www.gilgandra.nsw.gov.au/cooee.htm More Information about the Cooee March http://www.peoplesvoice.gov.au/stories/nsw/gilgandra/gilgandra_m_cooee.htm

ORIGINAL PHOTOS OF THE COOEE MARCH

The Cooee March - 2003 All those in favour of peace, step right this way By Tony Stephens February 14 2003 Veronica Gilpin, distressed about the prospect of war in Iraq, asked her husband what she could do about it. David Gilpin suggested she go for a walk. She has. Mrs Gilpin, a mother of seven, gathered relatives and friends and set off last Saturday on a 400-kilometre "walk for peace" from Dubbo to Sydney. The core group of 10 adults and children, walking in relays and joined for some of the journey by citizens from towns and villages along the Great Western Highway, reached the Blue Mountains last night. They plan to be in Sydney for the Walk Against War rally in Hyde Park at noon on Sunday. "I've lost a little weight," Mrs Gilpin said. She drew on the Cooee March during World War I for inspiration. When the flood of enlistments to fight in World War I dried to a trickle after the waste of Gallipoli, 27 men marched 500 kilometres from Gilgandra to Liverpool, arriving with 263 men ready to enlist. More marches followed, from the South Coast, the Riverina, the Snowy River, Maitland and Parkes, and the Kookaburra March from Tooraweenah to Mudgee, all recruiting along the way. "The Cooee March was looking for people to go war," Mrs Gilpin said . "We don't want to go to this war. We don't want our troops killed and innocent Iraqi lives lost. We don't want war without a United Nations mandate." Passers-by joined the walk yesterday - for a short distance or for 20 kilometres. Others stopped their cars to sign a petition. Meetings have been held at every night stop - at the Country Women's Association Hall in Bathurst, the Catholic Church Hall in Lithgow, the Blue Mountains City Hall at Katoomba. Mrs Gilpin said an average of about 40 people had attended. Her grandfather, Laurence Le Breton, fought in France in World War I. Her father, John Le Breton, fought in World War II. Two brothers fought in Vietnam. Mrs Gilpin's nephew, Graeme McIntyre, and all her children, including two-year-old Andrew, have joined her for at least part of the walk. David Gilpin, a finance broker, will rejoin the walk tonight. Source - http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/13/1044927741120.html