It comes from the call “Coo-ee!!!” that Australians either actually or mythically called out in the bush, when they were searching for or trying to meet someone else. The sound carried a long way, so “not within cooee” means a long way off.
Example: He tried to get even on the last race, but at the end of the day he wasn't within cooee.
figuratively a long way away, far off – England weren’t within cooee of beating Australia at cricket
It comes from the call “Coo-ee!!!” that Australians either actually or mythically called out in the bush, when they were searching for or trying to meet someone else. The sound carried a long way, so “not within cooee” means a long way off.