Macarthur author researches the stories of local diggers from the First World War

Cover of Book by Lauren Hokin (L Hokin)

A local Macarthur author Lauren Hokin has just finished a major research and writing project on the First World War Anzacs of the Macarther region. 

Lauren Hokin writes about the First World War

Lauren writes about the impact of the First World War on the our region and why she decided to write about it:

The First World War devastated many communities throughout the country. And this was no different for the small rural population of what is now the Macarthur Region. The Great War was one of the most momentous incidences of recorded history, and a catalyst for much of the events of the 20th Century.

Thus, it has become an integral part of Australia's national narrative. Its impact on our history, society and culture cannot be denied and must be understood if we are to know who we think we are. 

The sacrifice of so many who left for the battlefields and those who gave everything on the home front must be remembered and commemorated. However, with the passage of time, the names and stories of the countless brave men and women who served in the war and those on the home front are becoming lost. 

Back cover of Lauren Hokin's Book

The book, 'Anzacs of Macarthur: The Men and Women Who Served in the First World War,' by Lauren Hokin attempts to remedy this. The book denotes the war time narratives of each of the 1100 plus individuals from the area whom decided to serve and those who stayed behind struggling to deal with a catastrophic world crisis unaware that many of their loved ones would not return home.

So as a community, lets honour and never forget our fellow townsfolk who left for war so long ago but remain in our hearts.

Author 

Lauren Hokin 

Lauren Hokin is a local historian and author of 'Anzacs of Macarthur: The Men and Women Who Served in the First World War.' The book is  for sale for $60 and details the wartime narratives of soldiers, sailors, and nurses from the Macarthur area including Camden. 

If you   interested you can find Lauren  on Facebook Anzacs of Macarthur @macarthur.anzacs or email her at anzacsofmacarthur@gmail.com

Camden Volunteers and the War Workers’ Gazette from the First World War

The cover of the War Workers' Gazette published in Sydney in 1918 as a wartime fundraiser for the War Chest Fund

1918 War Workers' Gazette

Camden volunteers in a variety of organisations were listed in  1918 when a Sydney publisher compiled the War Workers’ Gazette as a fundraiser for the Citizens’ War Chest Patriotic Fund. It was an important publication for the time and its importance has not declined over the years. Publications of this type are rare and despite some shortcomings it is a valuable addition to the historiography of contemporary wartime publications.

The full title of the gazette was The War Workers’ Gazette, A Record of the Organised Civilian War Effort in New South Wales and published by Winn & Co. It records thousands of names of volunteers across New South Wales for a host of wartime voluntary organisations.
It is a great resources for anyone researching war time history, family history or local studies. The lists of names provide a  rare and /invaluable asset to search names and voluntary organisations. There is no other equivalent elsewhere in Australia.

Example of information in War Workers’ Gazette 1918 p.67. There are individual names and organisational descriptions.

For more information on the story of the Gazette, who put it together and its success or not click here

View the War Workers’ Gazette on the National Library Website  Click here

Kangaroo March Re-enactment

War horses lead Kangaroo March Re-enactment at Camden Park

Kangaroo March Re-enactment approaching Camden Park House led by wagon with a 2-in-hand Percheron heavy horses.

The war horse

Percheron is a breed of heavy horse or draft horse that were used extensively during the First World War in France and were originally bred as a war horse. They were used on Camden Park in late 19th and early 20th century as a valuable farm work horse.

Percherons originated in Huisne river valley in France in the 17th century as part of the province of Perche.

Percherons are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work. They are an agile draft horse mostly grey or black and described as clean limbed, strong and have a good disposition. 

Originally bred as a war horse they were used to pull carriages and coaches, and then started to be used in farming as a work horse. In the 19th century they reportedly could travel up to 60 km at a trot in a day.

At the outbreak of the First World War the French embargoed their export to the United States after many years of successful sales.

During the fighting of the First World War their docile temperament made them useful for pulling guns carriages in forward positions. They were reportedly more useful than motorised transports on paved roads at a quick trot and they coped well in the mud.

Read more about the war horse, the Percheron click here
Read about the Percheron breed of horses click here
Read about the role of Percheron horses in the TV show Gallipoli click here
Reada about the role of the heavy horses in the First World War click here

Kangaroo Recruitment March Re-enactment 2015

Kangaroo Recruitment March Re-enactment - Menangle to Camden Section - 9 October 2015

Read more @ Kangaroo Re-enactment

Read more @ Camden - Menangle Section of March 

Angels of Mercy

Whether as ‘Angels of Mercy’ or ‘Ministering Angels’, from 1914 women joined local Red Cross branches and their affiliates in the towns and villages across the state and the country.  They sewed, knitted and cooked, ran stalls and raffles, and received considerable community support through cash donations from individuals and community organisations for patriotic Red Cross activities.

The Red Cross was national federation of state-based divisions, with a place-based branch network that attracted women as volunteers. Under the enlightened leadership of founder Lady Helen Munro Ferguson, local branches across the country harnessed and thrived using parochialism and localism for national patriotic purposes. The society re-enforced this with an iconography that presented the organisation as mothers and guardian angels to wounded soldiers on the battlefield.  The Red Cross encouraged  women  to immerse themselves in the mythology and serve  ‘their boys’ by volunteering at branch sewing circles and fundraisers, and as voluntary aids at military, civilian and Red Cross hospitals.

Edwardian women provided leadership at a local, state and national level.  These women were intelligent, wealthy and powerful with extensive transnational networks between country towns, provincial Sydney and metropolitan London. Their families provided their fathers, sons and brothers for Australia’s overseas military excursions from the time of the Boer War, and local women worked to support ‘their boys’. The leadership group created ground-breaking opportunities that empowered women and allowed them to exercise their agency by undertaking patriotic activities for the first time.

In their wake the women created the most important homefront voluntary organisation of the war, a small part of the narrative of the Australian Red Cross, arguably the country’s most important not-for-profit organisation. Their stories were the essence of place, and the success of the local  branches meant that over time homefront volunteering became synonymous with the Red Cross. Local Red Cross volunteering in war and peace provides a small window into the national and transnational perspectives of one of the world’s most important welfare organisations.

Cobbitty Sports Day Helps Patriotic Causes

Cobbitty's St Paul's Anglican Church 1910 (Camden Images)

A major event on the social calendar of a number of picturesque villages in the Camden district were the annual New Year’s Day Sports Carnivals. They were part of the English traditions brought to the area by colonial immigrants, and in 1915 they were held in the villages of Cobbitty and The Oaks. Sports carnivals were wonderful community events that included all classes of villagers regardless of their station in life and during the First World War they held special appeal for patriotic fundraising.

The New Year Sports Day in the village of Cobbitty was a hallowed community event which started in 1866. The day included a variety of athletic and novelty events and finished with a gala concert in the evening.

The Camden News reported that there was a ten event programme starting with the major event of the day the ‘Narellan and Cobbitty Handicap Footrace’ over 125 yards for male competitors. There was a valuable purse for the winner.

Village women were allowed  to take part in ‘nail driving’.

Village elders held positions of importance as starters, judges and referees and supported their social status by donating appropriate cash prize for races. 

The Red Cross benefited from a host of community fundraisers during the First World World War like these carnivals.

Read more on this and other local New Year's Day Sports Carnivals at Cobbitty NSW

Camden Museum

Brunero Spinning Wheel c.1916 (Camden Museum)

Brunero Spinning Wheel

The Camden Red Cross workers used the Brunero spinning wheel to make wool yarn for knitting soldier’s socks in the First World War. While the Industrial Revolution replaced hand-spinning by the 1914 Camden women retained this traditional craft skill and put it to patriotic purposes.

The hand-spinners at the Camden Red Cross supplied hand-knitters with yarn to make woollen socks, which were then sent off to Red Cross headquarters in Sydney. Soldier’s woollen socks lasted about 2-3 weeks in the trenches of the Western Front and stopped the soldiers from getting trench foot. The Red Cross supplied patterns for knitters, and the Camden News occasionally published the patterns as well.

The spinning wheel has its origins in the Middle East in the 12^th or 13^th centuries and replaced hand spinning with a spindle. In European cultures it was replaced by mechanised spinning in the Industrial Revolution in the 18^th century. Spinning is the subject of fables, fairy tales and stories going back to the Middle Ages. They also appear in music, legends and myths with symbolic political meanings.

The spinning wheel in its various forms has a domestic utilitarian status. Spinning is a tedious craft that takes time to master. 

The Camden spinning wheel was made by Domenico Brunero, a Camden inventor and manufacturer, sometime around 1916-1917. Brunero’s spinning wheels were of a unique design because of his invention with the skein-maker, wool-winder and spool-stands conveniently placed so that the wool was quickly ready for knitting. There are very few of Mr. Brunero’s cleverly designed spinning wheels still in operation.

The State Library of New South Wales has the records of Irene Read and her collection of knitting patterns for socks that were knitted for Australian soldiers. She said that the best socks were seamless and comfortable. Click here to view Irene Read's records @ SLNSW

View spinning in operation 

Thanks to Julie Wrigley, Exhibition Curator, The Camden district Red Cross in war and peace.

Camden Military History

First World War Memorial at Macarthur Park Camden (Camden Remembers)

Camden district Military History

There are many aspects to military history of the Camden district that start in the colonial period and are part of current events. They can be categorised under a number of heading and they include:
(1) conflicts
(2) wartime homefront.
(3) military establishments
(4) memorials
(5) organisations
(6) cemeteries
(7) local identities

Conflicts

There have been local residents who have participated in a host of military conflicts since the 18th century. For details of some of these see Camden Remembers

The Homefront

There was lots of activity on the Camden homefront especially during the conflicts of the first half of the 20th century.

The most important homefront organisations in the history of the Camden district was the Red Cross. There were branches across the district as well as a number of auxiliary organisations including Voluntary Aid Detachments, and the Junior Red Cross. 

Read about the Red Cross in an exhibition at the Camden Museum
Read a story about Grace, a Camden volunteer on the homefront during the Second World War.

Military establishments

There were a host of military establishments across the district were part of the larger Australian military effort. 

Read a story about an air raid shelter that was uncovered at Camden Airfield

Memorials

Read more @ Camden district memorials

Cemeteries

Camden War Cemetery (I Willis)

The Camden War Cemetery is located on the outskirts of Camden township adjacent to the Camden General Cemetery.

Read more on Camden War Cemetery

Further reading and helpful resources @

Camden Remembers
Camden RSL
Camden History
The Australian War Memorial
National Archives of Australia
Gallipoli and The Anzacs
Spirits of Gallipoli
Australians on the Western Front 1914-1918

Tough times for Camden band

Camden District Band c1911 (Camden Images)

Camden Band strikes tough times

The Camden band was re-formed in 1911 as the Camden District Band after the closure of the Camden Town Brass Band in the late 1890s. The band was very active during the First World War playing at a host of wartime patriotic community events. The annual general meeting in 1920 outlined the perilous financial state of the band following the First World War. It was not the only Camden community organisation that suffered from a collapse of support after the war. The band needed to consolidate its position for the peacetime ahead during the Inter-war period. At the time the band was holding rehearsals in the auction rooms of William G Watson in Argyle Street, Camden.

  

Camden District Band AGM 1920

The annual meeting of the Camden District Band was held on Monday, February 9^th. The balance sheet and auditor’s report for the first half of the year was read. The present officers and committee were asked to retain their respective positions for the ensuing six months. It was the wish of the members  to convey a vote of thanks to the business people of Camden and other who kindly contributed  to the band funds; also  to Mr WG  Watson for the use of his auction room and gas light for practices. Owing to the influenza epidemic the band is not in the financial position it might have been. If it had not been for the kindness of the Goulburn Band in lending some of their music, and the help of their bandmaster, Mr Frost, who has had to write a lot of manuscript for the use of the members, the Band would have had to continue with their old pieces alone. The hon. Secretary, Mr AE Doust, is his report, adds, ‘If any of our worthy citizens would care in help this cause by sending  along a donation, the Band would only be too pleased to accept. Seeing that the Band has been in existence for nine years this month, I think it is worthy a little financial sympathy’. The half-yearly balances sheet read as follows:

Receipts: Monthly subscriptions from business people and street collections £11/3/3½d, proceeds of social £4/14/7d; hire of instruments 13/9; balance in bank from last audit £9/13s – Total £26/4/7½d.

Expenditure: Bandmaster, salary from July 2, 1919 to Dec 31, 1919, £16/5s; Furner Bros key and torch wicks, 2s; NA Whiteman, candles and kerosene, 3/9d, music 10/5d, attendants’ pay  £2/12s; rent of hall, social £1/7/6p; tax on social tickets, 7/3d; C Butler, repairs, 3/3d; Yorks prop., instruments, 14s; Camden News 6s; bandmaster’s expenses 10s; money in hand £3/3/5½d – Total £26/4/7½d.

The accounts were audited by Mr AJ Doust.

Source: Camden News 12 February  1920