The Coo-ee marchers, marching from Miller Street, Gilgandra

...at the beginning of their march to Sydney on 10 October 1915

A plaque in Bridge Street commemorates the starting point of the first of the recruiting marches, the famous Coo-ee recruiting march, organised by the Hitchen brothers of Gilgandra.

The news of Australian casualties in Gallipoli had caused enlistment figures to dwindle and the brothers decided to organise a "snowballing" recruitment march to Sydney. Their plan was to 'Coo-ee' local men to recruitment meetings at each town they passed through.

The march left Gilgandra on 10 October 1915 and by the time they reached Sydney on 12 November their 'Coo-ee' bush call had rallied about 300 men. Their idea caught the imagination of other communities and recruitment marches began in other areas of New South Wales.

(The Coo-ee March, by John Meredith gives full details of this historic event.
A supplement published by Gilgandra Newspapers Pty. Ltd. also provides information regarding the march).

The large Garling store on the left would later become the Western Stores.

A comprehensive history of the Kytherian presence in Gilgandra

Next to Garlings, (with the elaborate "turretting" on the upper facade), stands Kytherian Stavros Baveas's ABC cafe. Stavros began the ABC cafe in 1910. Does anyone have any "frontage" or internal photographs of the ABC cafe in 1915? in 1925?

For further information on the ABC cafe in later years:

ABC cafe in the 1940's

ABC cafe in the late 1950's, with Paul Kelly and George Lorandos "on the counter"

Robyn Waltons appraisal of Paul and Chris Kelly's, and the ABC Cafe's influence on the town of Gilgandra

The store on the front left hand side, where many by-standers are congregated would later become Kytherian "Jack" Pentes General Store.

The verandah roof, extant in 1915, would later be removed.