When Australia became involved in World War 1, patriotism was so high that there was no necessity for any recruiting organisations to function within the Defence Department.

Recruiting committees were elected in most towns, local government leaders aroused enthusiasm in their communities, and recruiting sergeants were appointed to make direct appeals to the men inthe agreed age group of 18 to 44. These efforst peaked in late 1915 and early 1916 when January saw a further 22,100 enlistments.

One movement to come out of this period was the "recruiting march", which evolved through Gilgandra plumber, William T. Hitchen, who was a captain of the local rifle club. With a group of about 20 men, he organised the Coo-ee March which travelled the 320 miles from Gilgandra to Sydney in October and November of 1915.

They started with 30 marchers, and in what was described as the "Gilgandra Snowball", picked up a further 233 along the way. The march engendered a great spirit of camaraderie, as farmers and graziers provided food for the Coo-ees, volunteers were recruited at impromptu meetings held at towns en route, and on reaching Sydney, the contingent was given a heroes' welcome.

While the Coo-ee March was wending its way to the city, plans were already under way for similiar treks from other parts of New South Wales. During December 1915, the Waratahs were travelling from Nowra to Sydney, the Kangaroos from Wagga Wagga to Sydney, and the Wallabies from Narrabri to Newcastle.

The marches inspired many more men to enlist, and they also provided an involvement for those members of the community who were not in a category for this type of active service - the women, the children and the elderly.