Marching in Memory
The village of Cobbora was one of a string of communities in the NSW Central West that paused during November 2015 to salute their heritage and celebrate the characteristic country willingness to volunteer.
In this centenary of the ANZAC conflict, communities along the Castlereagh Highway hosted a centenary re-enactment of the inspiring Kookaburra WW1 recruiting march which began in Tooraweenah north-east of Gilgandra. By the time the march reached Bathurst 20 days later, the initial contingent of 23 volunteers had snowballed to 100.
While the "snowballing marches" of 1915 focussed on recruiting members to the Australian Defence Force, the 2015 re-enactment march focused on directing today's volunteer spirit towards community service - building and strengthening communities through volunteer service organisations.
Local heritage and historic landmarks also attracted new attention. When the re-enactment marchers reached the village of Cobbora on November 3, they were greeted at the 100-year-old village hall which had just been completed when the original contingent of marchers arrived at Cobbora in 1916.
They had a rest stop and lunch at the hall before continuing on to Dunedoo where they were joined by members of community and service groups and local school children for a ceremony at the town’s cenotaph. The group then continued on through Gulgong, Rylstone, Capertee and Portland on its way to Bathurst, before travelling to Sydney for Remembrance Day ceremonies at Martin Place on November 11.
In this centenary of the ANZAC conflict, communities along the Castlereagh Highway hosted a centenary re-enactment of the inspiring Kookaburra WW1 recruiting march which began in Tooraweenah north-east of Gilgandra. By the time the march reached Bathurst 20 days later, the initial contingent of 23 volunteers had snowballed to 100.
While the "snowballing marches" of 1915 focussed on recruiting members to the Australian Defence Force, the 2015 re-enactment march focused on directing today's volunteer spirit towards community service - building and strengthening communities through volunteer service organisations.
Local heritage and historic landmarks also attracted new attention. When the re-enactment marchers reached the village of Cobbora on November 3, they were greeted at the 100-year-old village hall which had just been completed when the original contingent of marchers arrived at Cobbora in 1916.
They had a rest stop and lunch at the hall before continuing on to Dunedoo where they were joined by members of community and service groups and local school children for a ceremony at the town’s cenotaph. The group then continued on through Gulgong, Rylstone, Capertee and Portland on its way to Bathurst, before travelling to Sydney for Remembrance Day ceremonies at Martin Place on November 11.
