The Farmer and Settler newspaper reported their arrival on November 4, 1915 this way - "the first of the chain of Blue Mountain towns, Mt Victoria, welcomed the Cooees right royally, and for the men it must be said that they looked worthy of their reception".
Exactly a century later, 34 Cooee re-enactment marchers enjoyed a similarly warm Mt Victoria welcome.
They were loudly cheered upon entering the packed Imperial Hotel, decorated for the occasion with Union Jack flags.
Janet Cheal, who hails from Gilgandra, played the old piano in the hotel's lobby to the tune of God Save the King, sung in jolly good spirit by all.
Mrs Cheal then shared a special thank you letter sent to her only the week before from Buckingham Palace.
She'd posted the book The Cooee March by John Meredith, and a CD of marching songs called Gilgandra Begins It, because she thought the re-enactment would be of interest to Elizabeth II.
Turns out it was.
The mood changed to one of reflection and remembrance when a minute's silence was observed for the Coo-ees who were killed in action. Historians know of at least 41 Cooees who never returned.
As the rain continued to fall, the re-enactment marchers made for the centre of Mt Victoria Park where the Cooees had once camped, performed drills and enjoyed a concert featuring harmonies and recruitment speeches.
They formed two rows beside the war memorial and raised their wet caps in unison as wreaths were laid.
The weather could not have been more different for the Cooees. According to the official newspaper of the farmers and settlers of NSW, "the day was as warm as it ever could be in the Mountains" and bushfires were raging near Medlow Bath.
Back in the hotel, marcher Deborah Hitchen from the Sunshine Coast said she joined the re-enactment with the simple intent of following the route her great grandfather Bill Thomas Hitchen - the Captain of the Cooee March - and her great granddad Cobby Hitchen, had taken 100 years ago.
"But I got so much more out of it than that.
"Through meeting so many people along the way, there was a wealth of extra information to discover and it just kept growing.
"In Wallerawang I met Danny Whitty who gave me a copy of a photo of the Cooees marching through that town and at the front on the left side you can see Cobby Hitchen with his pushbike - I was amazed.
"Then here in Mt Victoria I bumped into Trish Ryan (from Hartley) and found out we are relatives, great cousins, as her grandmother was Cobby's sister.
"At all the towns people came together in support of what we were doing and gave this energy that you just can't replicate. It was a wonderful experience."
