The first men to leave for the front

I’ve written before about the excitement in Coburg as the first recruits paraded down Sydney Road to the newly established Broadmeadows Camp.

In the Coburg Historical Society collection is a series of Geo. Rose stereographic photos, which have now been digitised and printed out to reveal an amazingly detailed picture of those first few months of the war.

As you look at the photos, you move back in time and become part of the scene. You are there among the crowds watching the troops set off down Collins Street. You are there as they eat lunch at Royal Park. You are in the crowd at the side of the road as they march down Sydney Road, Coburg on their way to Broadmeadows Army Camp. And you are there in the tent city that had arisen at Broadmeadows, watching as the men assemble their camp kitchens or train in the art of attacking in short rushes. And finally, you are there, looking on as the men eat their last meal before breaking camp and departing for the front.

This is just one image from the Coburg Historical Society collection. It was taken in October 1914 as the troops moved down Sydney Road, Coburg towards Broadmeadows Army Camp. You can also find a digital copy of this image in its original stereographic form on the Australian War Memorial website, image P00852.002.