The district’s contribution to the Kangaroo March 100 years ago has been acknowledged.
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By early 1915, despite fewer men joining the Great War, the country pledged to provide 5000 Australian men to Britain every month.
One idea to round up the troops was the establishment of a recruitment march.
In NSW nine marches were organised, stretching up the coast, to the Snowy River, Wagga Wagga, Yass and Goulburn.
These men, all from rural areas, joined the 55th and 56th Battalions and were known as the Kangaroos.
The march spanned 36 days and ended in the first week of January, 1916, in Sydney.
At the centenary the march was re-enacted to acknowledge those who stayed behind and to educate those unaware.
The district, which was a critical training area for soldiers, has now received a plaque in commemoration of this courage.
Accepted by Goulburn Kangaroo March Committee chair Jacki Waugh and RSL sub-branch president Gordon Wade, the plaque will be added to the Memorial Wall in Belmore Park.
“I pay homage to these intrepid mostly-young lads who left their farms, and their mums, or their railways-constructing, and hied off for an adventure on the other side of the world expecting to be home in time for Christmas,” Kangaroo March Committee member Angela Williamson said.
“It is our permanent thank you and appreciation to the communities who contributed so much to the success of the re-enactment in 2015, and a reminder for the local participants of the contribution they made to a valued cohort of their society a century earlier.”