“When the great conflict in Europe broke out, Mudgee, like many another place, was in colloquial language, ‘taken on the hop’.
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“The people did not realise the extent to severity of the world shaking conflagration. They were, perhaps, stunned with the enormity of the crime against humanity. But it wasn’t for long.”
If the people in Mudgee and surrounding district were slow to respond to the declaration of war on August 4, 1914, as the Mudgee Guardian claimed, they soon made up for it.
In the final months of 1914, the region’s previously quiet towns were thrown into a whirlwind of activity.
Within months of the declaration of war, Red Cross branches had been formed in Gulgong, Rylstone, Mudgee, Cassilis and many of the smaller villages, collecting clothing and essentials such as writing materials for departing soldiers and raising money for the war effort.
A string of patriotic events, gala concerts, and Belgian Days culminated in a grand Patriotic Carnival, attended by more than 2500 people.
Meanwhile, a steady stream of volunteers was leaving Mudgee to join the flood of men enlisting in Sydney, serenaded by the music of the Mudgee Town Band as the trains pulled out of the Mudgee Railway station.
Recruiting for the Australian Expeditionary Force began on August 11 and by August 20, more than 10,000 men had enlisted in Sydney.
Whether from a sense of duty, a desire to “do their bit” for Australia or to fight for the British Empire they had been raised to revere, hatred of Germany fuelled by reports of atrocities in Belgium, fear of being thought cowardly, or for the chance of a “great adventure” with brothers and mates, Mudgee and district men joined the throngs at the recruitment centres.
The rush to enlist allowed recruiters to set high standards for the 1st Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Nearly three in five of the first enlistments had previous experience in the regular army or in the militia, but recruits came from all walks of life.
Among those who enlisted in the first few weeks of the war were Alfred Robbins, a 34-year-old Rylstone horse-breaker who had previously enlisted for the Boer War; Lt Oliver Nickoll, 24, son of Mudgee’s doctor; Buckaroo miner Jack Wright, 27, who already had five years experience in the civilian Light Horse; 22-year-old Mudgee printer Ernest Tubbenhauer; and Kenneth Keech, a 28-year-old Rylstone farmer, Laurie Ruhan, a 31-year-old Piambong labourer.
Departing volunteers setting off for training camp were farewelled ceremoniously at crowded Mudgee Town Hall functions and in country halls.
Private Ruhan, writing from training camp at Rosehill in a letter dated October, 1914, seemed to be enjoying the experience.
“I was allotted to the infantry in Roseberry Park, where I was in constant drill for over a week, when, the whole camp was transferred to Rosehill where I am at present engaged 'forming fours’, etc,” Private Ruhan wrote.
“Our camp constitutes about 1100 men, and as the greater part of them come from the 'back blocks,' I am, you will understand, mixing with my own class.
“There is still a constant flow of men enlisting, and practically every afternoon the train drops' from 100 to 250 here, where they are again drafted, to the ALH (Australian Light Horse), AMC and various other corps, according to their professions.
“Save for colds, the health of the camp is good. The Salvation Army is making a name for itself here. They have a huge marquee erected within our camp, and the following amusements are provided free of cost: — 'Bobs,' draughts, ludo, shooting gallery, quoits, etc. A brand new piano is also at the pleasure of the men. The Salvation Army also provide writing material, ink, envelopes, seats and tables, free of cost ,and I can tell you business is brisk at the price.
“There is a rumour in camp that we entrain for Melbourne on Monday next, but we are never sure of what we have to do until that moment arrives.”
On November 1, the first convoy of 38 Australian and New Zealand ships sailed from Albany, Western Australia, for Egypt.
Private Tubbenhauer, now with the 1st Company Engineers, wrote from on board the Afric, en route to join the convoy.
“We expect to be at Albany for a couple of days,” he said in what would be the first of many letters to the Mudgee Guardian over the next four years.
“All the transports meet there, and leave together under escort. There will be 28 transports from Austr (20,000 troops)and 11 from New Zealand (9000 to10,000 troops)— 39 transports altogether: it will be a grand sight, and only seen once in a lifetime.”
Sources: Mudgee Guardian, 1914; Australian War Memorial; The Broken Years by Bill Gammage.