Indigenous Peoples in the
Australian Defence Force: (The forgotten Soldiers)
As
may still be unknown to many Australians, Aborigines and Torres Strait
Islanders have contributed to Australia’s military forces from the Boer War
to Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. Aboriginal trackers served in
the Boer War, and it is estimated that about 400 to 500 served in the First
World War. In the Second World War as many as 6000 Aborigines served as
enlisted servicemen, members of irregular units or in support units.
The
precise number of Indigenous Australians who volunteered in the Boer War,
WW1 and 2 is not known because ethnicity was not actually recorded on
personnel files and they were not recognised as Australian citizens until
1967. So why did so many enlist wanting to serve a country that did not
recognise them? The mean reason was that many experienced equal treatment
for the first time in their lives in the army or other services. They were
paid the same as other soldiers and generally accepted without prejudice.
Loyalty and patriotism may have encouraged Indigenous Australians to
enlist. Some saw it as a chance to prove themselves the equal of Europeans
or to push for better treatment after the war. However upon return to civilian
life, many also found they were treated with the same prejudice and
discrimination as before. But attitudes started changing and restrictions
on enlistment into the armed forces were abandoned in 1949. Since then
Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders served in all conflicts
in which Australia has participated and is still doing so (Source:
Australian War Memorial)
Time
has arrived to officially recognise the service of Indigenous Australians
in the Australian Defence Forces and the roll they played in making
Australia the country as it is now. The Griffith War Memorial Museum has
given special attention to the involvement of the Aboriginal people of this
area in the Armed Forces from the Boer War onwards and sought assistance
from their community to set up a display on this local involvement. This
display was, in presence of many Aboriginal people, officially opened on
Anzac Day 2013. The Museum invited the local Aboriginal community to become
involved in this project and asked those families to search their family
trees, to identify the family members/relatives/ancestors who served at any
time in the Australian Armed Forces and to pass this information on to the
Museum.
Copies
of service records (if available), photos, personal stories, artefacts,
memorabilia, ideas and assistance from Aboriginal people are always welcome
and will be added to the permanent display.
Listen
to Angus Houston
Please
contact the Museum:
In
Person:
Griffith War Memorial Museum,167-185 Banna
Avenue, Griffith NSW 2680
Open: Thursday, Friday
10am-2pm
Saturday
11am-2pm
Email: gwmmuseum@westnet.com.au
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