Serving their Country: A Short History of Aboriginal ... - Australian Army

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HISTORYServing Their Country:A Short History of Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderService in the Australian Armyand policy matters. The Indigenous Employment Strategy also promises that‘each Commanding Officer has the responsibility to ensure that his/her personnelhave access to an environment that is genuinely committed to diversity in theworkplace and accepts the differences that set each person apart from the next.’ 26The long history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the Armyhas benefited the Indigenous service personnel themselves, the Australian Armyand indeed all of Australia. In early conflicts the Army provided a glimpse ofequality; after both the First and Second World Wars Indigenous veterans wereat the forefront of the fight for Indigenous civil rights. As Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander men and women continued to serve, they forged friendships withnon-Indigenous personnel. Interpersonal relations such as these broke downstereotypes and turned non-Indigenous service personnel into allies in the fight forIndigenous rights. Until recently, the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islandersoldiers have been overlooked. As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ex-servicepersonnel have fought for recognition, the Department of Defence, Departmentof Veterans’ Affairs, Australian War Memorial and historians have all come toappreciate the significant role Indigenous Australians have played in the ADF,and likewise the significant status of military service within Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander communities. Diversity in the Australian Army — and the place ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander personnel in that diversity — has not beenwithout its challenges, but permeating the stories of Indigenous ex-servicemen andwomen is a sense of pride in their service defending kin and country.Australian Army JournalCulture edition 2013, Volume X, Number 3 Page 20
HISTORYServing Their Country:A Short History of Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderService in the Australian ArmyTHE AUTHORDr Noah Riseman, recipient of the 2009 C.E.W. Bean Prize in Military History,completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2008. His thesis presenteda comparative analysis of Yolngu, Papua New Guineans and the Navajo CodeTalkers in the Second World War and was revised and published in 2012 by theUniversity of Nebraska Press as Defending Whose Country? Indigenous Soldiersin the Pacific War. Dr Riseman is currently a Senior Lecturer in History at theAustralian Catholic University in Melbourne. He is a Chief Investigator on twoAustralian Research Council projects examining the history of Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander military service, with a particular focus on the post-SecondWorld War era. Any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander current or ex-servicepersonnel who are interested in participating in these projects are encouraged tocontact Noah at Noah.Riseman@acu.edu.au.ENDNOTES1 David Cook, interview with Noah Riseman, 20 January 2010, Raymond Terrace, NSW; NoahRiseman, ‘The Stolen Veteran: Institutionalisation, Military Service and the Stolen Generations,’Aboriginal History 35, 2011, pp. 57–77.2 Gary Oakley, interview with Stan Grant, Awaken, National Indigenous Television, 12 April 2013.3 Department of Veterans’ Affairs, ‘Indigenous Commemorative Events,’ online, available from:http://www.dva.gov.au/BENEFITSANDSERVICES/IND/Pages/ice.aspx (accessed 10 July 2013).4 Hugh Smith, ‘Minorities and the Australian Army: Overlooked and Underrepresented?’ in ACentury of Service: 100 Years of the Australian Army, proceedings of the 2001 Chief of Army’sMilitary History Conference, Peter Dennis and Jeffrey Grey (eds), Army History Unit, Canberra,2001; Anthony Bergin, Robert Hall, Roger Jones and Ian McAllister, The Ethnic Composition ofthe Australian Defence Force: Management, Attitudes & Strategies, Australian Defence StudiesCentre Working Paper No. 11, University College, University of New South Wales, AustralianDefence Force Academy, Canberra, 1993.5 Patrick Mitchell, ‘Hamilton historian proves Aboriginal soldier served in Boer War,’ ABC Ballarat,online, available from: http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2012/11/12/3630724.htm (accessed31 March 2013).6 ‘Claims 50 Aboriginal trackers left behind during the Boer War,’ PM with Michael Colvin,ABC Radio, 31 May 2010, online, available from: http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s2914322.htm (accessed 23 August 2012); Stefan Ambruster, ‘Hunt continues for AboriginalBoer trackers’, SBS World News Radio Australia, 28 May 2012, online, available from:http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/217171/Hunt-continues-for-Aboriginal-Boer-War-trackers (accessed 23 August 2012).7 Timothy C. Winegard, Indigenous Peoples of the British Dominions and the First World War,Cambridge University Press, UK, 2012, p. 230.Australian Army JournalCulture edition 2013, Volume X, Number 3 Page 21
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Serving their Country: A Short History of Aboriginal ... - Australian Army

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