Gilgandra, NSW.

In Gilgandra, we stayed at the Royal Hotel, established in 1892 as the single storey Bridge Hotel, made from mud bricks dug from a pit in the hotel’s back yard. 

In 1904 the second storey was added, along with the verandas and the wrought iron balconies.  This must have made such a difference to the modest Bridge Hotel that its name was changed to the Royal.


In 1955, the hotel was badly damaged by flood waters.  Here, the barmaid is showing the mark where the flood waters reached.  After this, the hotel was extensively renovated, with the exterior walls being replaced by brick – maybe the original mud brick ones melted.


Royal Hotel garage – not sure if this also dates back to 1892 – it’s quite possible!


Royal Hotel garage, side view, basking in the afternoon sun.


I picked some fruit from this stunning looking mandarin tree over the back fence of the Royal Hotel.  Unfortunately, they were so sour as to be inedible.


The beer garden of the hotel boasts a grape vine, still bearing fruit, which is over 100 years old – apparently it was well established when the 1904 renovations were carried out.  A little cage has been built around its massive base to protect it from fierce drinkers.


Under the spreading grapevine tree….


Gilgandra veranda – early morning.

Gilgandra is proud of being the point of origin of the Coo-ee Recruitment March.
From John Meredith’s book The Coo-ee March:
“Following the disaster of Gallipoli and the heavy casualties in France in the latter half of 1915, recruiting figures for enlistment in WW1 had dwindled.  Numerous recruiting rallies became increasingly ineffective.  It was at this dark hour that Gilgandra’s butcher R.G. Hitchen and his brother Bill, the local plumber, had the idea of organising a route march of volunteers to Sydney, enlisting recruits as they marched.
The idea caught the imagination of the public, and the Coo-ees (as the volunteers were known) became national heroes.”
35 men left Gilgandra and the number grew to 263 by the time they reached Sydney.  This action was responsible for a dramatic upturn in recruitment numbers.


Picture of the tumultuous welcome received by the Coo-ee Marchers when they reached Sydney.



Plaque which marks the spot where the Coo-ee March began, opposite the Royal Hotel.


On the right is the plaque which marks the spot where the Coo-ee March began, and on the left is the Royal Hotel.


Picture taken from the veranda of the Royal Hotel of a mural  celebrating the beginning of the Coo-ee March.  I didn’t feel I could ask the man making a phone call to move, or that I should uproot the street sign casting a shadow on the wall, for the sake of my picture.