The March of the Men of Gilgandra
This song first appeared in a column in The Sun by Sydney journalist Del. W. McCay in
October 1915, two days after the start of the march. It proved very popular and was reprinted
in several other newspapers which prompted several musical versions. One melody by a
Josephine Mary Coen of Randwick is included in John Meredith’s book “The Cooee March”.
and has been subsequently adopted by the 2005 Cooees.
They’re coming from Gilgandra, our soldier-men to be,
They sing along the Western Tracks: Who’ll come and fight with me?”
On the country roads they’re coming,
Can you hear the distant drumming,
Can you hear the message humming,
Over long, long miles of bushland from Gilgandra to the sea,
They are marching from Gilgandra, our soldier-men to be,
They sing along the Western Tracks: “Who’ll come and fight with me?”
On the country roads they’re coming,
Can you hear the distant drumming,
Can you hear the message humming,
Over long, long miles of bushland from Gilgandra to the sea.
The lone selector hears them and shades his straining eyes,
To watch the Great Adventurer go winding o’er the rise,
Who from every hill and valley,
From the mulga and the mallee,
To the call of England rally
From the dusty, distant corners where her Flag of Honour flies.
There are others who will join them as they make their way along,
And will help to swell the chorus of their mighty marching song,
For their ranks will keep on growing
\More with every mile they’re going,
And they’ll make a gallant showing
When through the streets of Sydney town they pass a thousand strong.
A column from Gilgandra – it has answered to the call,
That rings from far Gallipoli, where brothers fight and fall,
When recruiting, sadly slumping,
Stood in need of hefty bumping,
More than all your country-stamping
Was the column from Gilgandra with its shoulder to the ball
