Mothers and girlfriends were not so happy as their men started their voyages to Wagga for their preliminary army training.
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Tickets to ride a bus and train, heading to Kapooka Army Camp, were issued to 13 young Canberra men The Canberra Times reported on the day 56 years ago.
The youths, their family and friends began gathering at the Canberra Tourist Bureau about an hour before the bus was due to leave at 10:30am.
Gradually, the crowd swelled. The odd passing motorists tooted their car horns. The privates-to-be seemed happy about being the first men from the ACT to be called up under the conscription program.
The 13 youths had to wait until they reached Kapooka for their first taste of army life.
Well before the deadline, J.C. Austin, D.G. Cribb, D. Gordon, W.C.N. Hopkins, B.M. Houston, P.F. Lonergan. R.W. Luton, Fix this textL.C. McGee, D. Hazel, B.F. Lavering, T.A. Johnson, P.W. Kingston and B. Campbell had reported for travel duty.
They stood hand-in-hand with their girlfriends, or chatted with their parents, relatives and friends. Then the voice on the loudspeaker called them away.
A last kiss, and they were gone. The faces of the women were grim. Some cried as the bus slowly pulled away from the Canberra Tourist Bureau.
See trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/105758531