They Were There! There! There!

Harley Cohan, from Mudgee, NSW, studied drama and elocution before enlisting in 1915. In August that year he was wounded at the Battle of Lone Pine, Gallipoli and returned to Australia, where he wrote the patriotic lyrics to ‘They Were There! There! There!’

Set to music by Bert Rache, the song first became a hit for singer Peter Dawson on the Tivoli Circuit. Cohen found success in concert appearances and advertising, and continued to write lyrics, with his last known works published in 1954. In 1916 he co-founded the Gallipoli Strollers, a variety troupe of wounded veterans who toured Australia until the early 1920s. This recording is performed by English radio and concert singer Foster Richardson and was released on the Zonophone label.