Bush Folk's Historic March Remembers Digger's Cooee Call To Arms

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday January 25, 1996

By DANIEL LEWIS

In January 1916, the normally quiet, dusty tracks of outback NSW came alive as hundreds of men left their farms and trades in the bush to march to a war longer and harder than most.

Australia was a nation in turmoil 80 years ago.

The initial flood of enlistments to fight in World War I had dried to a trickle once Australians realised the dreadful carnage of Gallipoli.

The Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, however, was determined to raise a new army of 50,000 and was threatening conscription.

A man who became known as the "pied piper" of Gilgandra took the task upon his own shoulders. Bill Hitchen, a shy but fiercely patriotic man, organised what became known as the famous Cooee March.

With 26 men, he left Gilgandra on foot in October 1915, and marched more than 500 kilometres to the Liverpool Army camp in Sydney, arriving a month later with 263 ready to enlist.

Hitchen deducted eight years from his true age of 50 to get in.

The Army was impressed and sent him back to the bush to start more marches.

Next came the Waratahs from the South Coast and by January the Kangaroos were marching from the Riverina, the Wallabies from the north, the Men from Snowy River from the high country and the Boomerangs from Parkes - all recruiting in towns along the way.

"Follow After! Follow After! For the harvest is sown," was their motto, which helped enlist 2,000 new country recruits.

On January 12, the Kookaburras started out from Tooraweenah with 23 men and marched more than 400 kilometres through the blistering summer heat to the Bathurst Army camp via Mendooran, Dunedoo, Gulgong, Mudgee, Lue, Kandos, Capertee, Portland and Sunny Corner, ending up with 101 men.

The Herald of January 8 trumpeted its pride in the marchers: "The men from the country, thinking of the harvest of death that has cut down so many thousands of the Empire's bravest sons, march forth to the field over yonder. They have put their hand to another plough."

This Saturday, 31 men and women dressed in period costume, with flags waving, drums beating, bugles blowing, swags on their backs, blisters on their feet and supplies pulled by a team of horses, will march into Bathurst, having faithfully re-enacted every kilometre of the Kookaburra march, including the fiery speeches delivered in each town to sometimes "shame" the locals into volunteering.

Some are descended from the original Kookaburras, but most are marching, said the organiser, Mr Brian Bywater, simply "out of respect for those who originally made the sacrifice".

Mr Bywater said: "If I can just get one or two more Australians to value their history, I'll be happy. This is the best country in the world, but for some reason or other Australians are trying awfully hard to change their past."

© 1996 Sydney Morning Herald

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