Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan

01 July 2019 – 31 December 2021

The Memorial is currently implementing our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2019-2021 to further drive our contribution to reconciliation within our workplace and in the communities in which we operate. The Innovate RAP 2019-2021 was endorsed by Reconciliation Australia and the Memorial’s executive. Our Innovate RAP 2019-2021 provides us the opportunity to improve relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians through increased understanding and respect gained from recognising diverse experiences of war and its aftermath.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2019-2021 has been extended to June 2023.

Our vision for reconciliation

To continue the commitment of the Australian War Memorial to raising awareness of, and to acknowledge and respect, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service for Australia and experiences in all wars and conflict.

Our business

The Australian War Memorial commemorates the service and sacrifice of Australian men and women who have died in the wars and conflicts in which Australia has participated. It is a cultural institution of international standing and one of Australia’s leading tourist attractions. 

The staff and volunteers of the Australian War Memorial come from a wide range of professional, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. They undertake a diverse range of activities.  Every effort is made to create an environment that enables staff to develop their talents, contribute to the best of their ability, use their creativity and initiative, and be acknowledged and respected for what they achieve.

The Memorial combines a shrine, a world-class museum, and an extensive archive. The institution assists Australians to remember, interpret, and understand the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact by maintaining and developing the National Memorial and its collection and exhibition of historical material, commemorative ceremonies, and research. The Memorial’s collection is an invaluable resource comprising the historical and cultural artefacts of Australia’s experience of war and our involvement in peacekeeping, humanitarian, and other operational service. It underpins the Memorial’s capability to tell the stories of Australian service in exhibitions and other public programs, to educate and inform its visitors, and to meet the information needs of public enquiries, researchers, and academic and official organisations.

The Memorial has around 350 staff members comprising of on-going, non-ongoing and casual staff and over 200 volunteers. The Memorial has currently two identified positions and four staff members that have identified themselves as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

The Memorial is located in Canberra ACT, the main site at Campbell and Treloar Technology Centre at Mitchell.

Our RAP

The Memorial is developing its RAP to increase awareness and understanding of issues that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and peoples. The Memorial already contributes in a number of ways to Indigenous issues. Formalising this next stage of the RAP is a way to document and recognise our First Nations Peoples. 

The RAP Champion is the Assistant Director, Branch Head, National Collection, Major General Brian Dawson AM CSC (Retired).

The RAP Working Group consists of:

•   Brian Dawson, Assistant Director, Branch Head, National  Collection (Chair)
•   Michael Bell, Indigenous Liaison Officer
•   Jennie Norberry, Manager, Information Services
•   Carlie Walker, Assistant Manager Education
•   Philip Nelson, Recruitment Team Leader
•   Emily Gibbs, Acquisitions Officer
•   Camille McMahon, Executive Officer National Collection  (Secretariat)

The RAP Working Group includes two members who are from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

•   Michael Bell (Ngunnawal), Indigenous Liaison Officer

The Memorial began the Reflect phase in 2015 and is now ready to embark on the next phase for Innovate. Some of the Reflect RAP achievements are:

• Introducing Wing Commander Jonathon Lilley RAAF (Worimi), an Aboriginal serviceman, to play the didgeridoo at the commencement of Anzac and Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Memorial.
• Aboriginal author and historian Dr Jackie Huggins (Bidjara/Birri Gubba Juru) delivered the commemorative address at the Remembrance Day ceremony in 2015.
• The research and display of stories and representation of Indigenous servicemen in the Galleries.
• The display of a number of photographic portraits and short stories of Indigenous soldiers within the Galleries, including: William Punch (Wiradjuri); Reginald Hawkins (Bidjara); and Frederick Prentice (Tjingili/Jingali) ; and Pte Alfred Jackson Coombs (Kulin).
• The commissioning of Aboriginal Artist Daniel Boyd (Kudjala/Gangalu/Kuku-Yalanji/Waka Waka/Gubbi Gubbi/Wangeriburra/Bandjalung) for the design of For our Country , a sculptural pavilion in the Memorial’s Sculpture Gardens commemorating  the contribution of service and sacrifice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen and servicewomen in all conflicts and operations in which Australia’s military has been deployed. It is also a place to contemplate the sacrifice that they have made and continue to make.
• Uploading Dr Chris Clark’s Indigenous service in Australia’s armed forces in peace and war: an overview, that explores the breadth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s service in every conflict and commitment involving Australia since Federation, including all conflicts and peacekeeping (located on the Memorial’s website at https://www.awm.gov.au/indigenous-service/report-executive-summary/).
• Undertaking detailed research into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service during the First World War, identifying approximately up to 1,100 attestations.
• The appointment to Memorial staff of a full-time Indigenous Liaison Officer who has been engaged with many of the projects listed here, notably the development of the Indigenous service database and the Indigenous service exhibition For Country, For Nation, as well as providing advice and leadership to Memorial staff on Indigenous culture and service history, developing productive relationships with Indigenous veterans and communities, and providing support and direction for the Memorial’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
• The Memorial named a prominent gallery and meeting venue in honour of the late Captain Reg Saunders (Gunditjmara), an Aboriginal Australian who fought in both the Second World War and the Korean War, and who was the first commissioned Indigenous serviceperson. This is the only part of the Memorial named in honour of any single person.
• Participation in a national collaborative research project, ‘Serving Our Country’, in partnership with The Australian National University and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, to identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service to our nation in the Australian Defence Force and auxiliary services from the 1890s to 2000. See more  at https://aiatsis.gov.au/research/research-themes/education-and-cultural-transmission/serving-our-country-history-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people-defence-australia .
• Issuing an acknowledgment statement on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dispossession.
• The inclusion of an acknowledgement of Country in the student orientation presentation in the Education Orientation Space.
• The acquisition and installation in the Memorial’s colonial gallery of Ruby Plains Massacre I by Rover Thomas [Joolama] (Kukatja/Wangkajunga).
• Commissioning and the installation of Kulatangku angakanyini manta munu Tjukurpa [Country and Culture will be protected by spears] in the orientation Gallery of the Memorial. This painting was created by 19 senior male artists of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, commissioned by the Memorial to tell their story of Aboriginal Australians defending Country https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2597926.

• The long-term loan and installation of the second Kulatangku angakanyini manta munu Tjukurpa [Country and Culture will be protected by spears] painting in R1 Russell Offices, Department of Defence. This is the sister painting acquired as part of the above commission.  
• The Memorial has commenced a national tour of our special exhibition on the history of Indigenous military service. The exhibition includes recognition of the Aboriginal warrior tradition in both the title, ‘For Country, for Nation’, and its central theme of the transition of warriors to soldiers in service to the nation. The displays and relics tell the stories and experiences of Indigenous servicemen and servicewomen. It has been developed by a broad range of Indigenous people, artists and veterans in collaboration with Memorial curatorial staff. The exhibition has already received generous support from Indigenous communities across the country and praise from senior Indigenous community leaders and veterans, as well as general visitors.
• The accompanying publication For Country, For Nation, the first Memorial publication co-edited by a person of Aboriginal descent has been released to highlight the research and elevate the representation and acknowledgement that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a long-standing tradition of fighting for Country, and they continue to serve with great honour in the Australian Defence Force. For Country, for Nation: an illustrated history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander military service tells the story of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ service in the defence of Australia, dating back to before Federation. It includes service in all conflicts and operations in which the nation’s military forces have been involved. Richly illustrated with over 230 images, For Country, for Nation uses artworks, photographs and objects from the Memorial’s collection, combined with the voices of Indigenous men and women, to reveal their experiences of war. In doing so, For Country, for Nation considers why so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders volunteered to serve when faced with entrenched discrimination in wider Australian society.

Relationships

Building strong relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians is imperative to the core business of the Memorial in order to provide a comprehensive and equal overview of the Australian experience of war. It provides the Memorial the opportunity to debunk historical myths about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly within the Australian Defence Force, and it also encourages conversations about the contributions that they made. It is also important that the Memorial interact with these relationships as often as possible in order to incorporate a wide variety of internal and external advice that can then contribute to the Memorial’s governance, communications and exhibition planning.

The Memorial recognises that relationships are important between external stakeholders to connect everyone together and share experiences during National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week events, along with other relevant celebration events. They are also important to raise internal awareness about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural history and the reality of what Indigenous people experienced pre, during and post-war.

Currently, strong relationships exist with the United Ngunnawal Elders Council, the APY Art Centre Collective (and the APY Lands Council), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans Services Association (ATSIVSA), the Australian Defence Force, and Defence Indigenous training recruits. The progression of Defence’s RAP assists the Memorial to plan a similar, natural progression to move forward into this new Innovate RAP.

Emerging relationships exist with the For Country, for Nation commissioned artists, Charlie Company, 51 Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment and their Sarpeye dancers, and NORFORCE/Buku-Larrnggay Mulka. The Memorial also has strong relationships with other Curators of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art (Independent and Institutional) and organisations whose core business is also to tell stories and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

These relationships also help the Memorial connect Australian and International visitors with each other, bringing everyone together into a culturally safe meeting place where open and frank discussion can happen.

Focus areas:

Relationship aligns to the following Memorial Strategic Priorities:

• Ensure the ongoing relevance of the Memorial’s vision and mission to the nation
• Maintain government and increase stakeholder support for the Memorial
• Maximise the value of and access to the National Collection and military history

Respect

Respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures, lands, waters, histories and rights are important to the Australian War Memorial and its core business. That Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people volunteered their services to the Second South African War and the First World War efforts at a time when enlistment was prohibited is a testament to their resilience and this history should not be overlooked. The Memorial presents this early historical struggle for rights and equality through the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories in the Soldiers of the Queen and First World War galleries, highlighting that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a long-standing tradition of defending Country. Similarly, respect for this long history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and connections to lands is acknowledged in the display of Kulatangku angakanyini manta munu Tjukurpa [Country and Culture will be protected by spears] in the Orientation gallery. Later histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are also embedded throughout our other Second World War and Post-45 conflict galleries.

The Memorial will undertake a major redevelopment project over the period 2019-2028 which will see the renewal and development of new gallery spaces. Unlike their day-to-day experiences in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people found that during their service they were treated equal amongst Anglo-Australian soldiers. In respecting the wishes of our current and former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ service ,and upon their recommendations, there is no one defined space to tell the story of the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ service. In curating exhibition displays this way, the Memorial can discuss the pride felt by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service persons and facilitate conversation and understanding for other Australians as to why this equality in service exists and why it is so important to Indigenous Australian history. The Memorial respects secret/sacred Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and in 2018 drafted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collection protocols regarding the handling, display and storage of Indigenous collection material. The Memorial respects Sorry Business and the importance this plays in the display of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artistic and/or object material, the display of makers/artists names and the display of images of deceased persons. The Memorial endeavours to withdraw items/text from public display during Sorry Business and will alter textual information in keeping with these cultural protocols around depicting deceased persons. The Memorial also acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff may be involved in Sorry Business and supports them to work flexibly and/or take leave when necessary.

Water is also an important connection to Country for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Although not directly related to the Memorial’s core business, the Memorial did highlight this pride of Country as a celebration within For Country, for Nation, using water patrol stories from NORFORCE and C Company, 51 Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment. The Memorial also respects that AWM buildings stand on Ngunnawal lands and acknowledge the importance the four rivers play to their long history of living on these lands.

Focus areas:

• Respect aligns to the following Memorial Strategic Priorities:
• Ensure the ongoing relevance of the Memorial’s vision and mission to the nation
• Maintain government and increase stakeholder support for the Memorial
• Maximise the value of and access to the National Collection and military history

Opportunities

Opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, organisations and communities are important to the Australian War Memorial and its core business. This includes employment, procurement, professional development and retention.

Whilst the Memorial recognises that the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples currently employed is below the whole-of-Commonwealth Indigenous target of 3%, each agency however has a separate identified target, with the Memorial’s being 2.5%. In 2018, the Memorial created its second Identified/Special Measures position to encourage the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to enter into positions where they can develop their skills and later move into non-Identified positions.

The Memorial encourages interaction between itself and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities. The 2018/19 Art commission with Aboriginal artist Daniel Boyd presented opportunities for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander businesses to work on the project; these organisations were either sourced from Supply Nation or recommended by community and the Indigenous veteran and Elder advisory group. The Memorial will endeavour when possible to collaborate and involve Indigenous enterprises in procurements in the future.

Professional development is integral to the future of the Memorial and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff are encouraged and supported to attend learning and development events that are relevant to their roles. In taking into account respect and relationships, the Memorial acknowledges that these professional development opportunities do not always take the generally accepted form of attending conferences or courses as often Indigenous development opportunities are community orientated. Examples include supporting the Memorial’s Indigenous curators to attend gallery and/or exhibition launches that tell the stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, or supporting the Memorial’s Indigenous Liaison officer to attend Native Title and Traditional Owner events. The Memorial also supports its non-Indigenous staff to attend professional development opportunities that will facilitate their learning and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history.

Retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff is important to the Memorial. The Memorial endeavours to create a culturally safe space for its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to work from. The Memorial supports the Canberra cross-cultural institution mentoring network for internal and external Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to also feel culturally safe when visiting.

Focus areas:

Opportunity aligns to the following Memorial Strategic Priorities:

• Ensure the ongoing relevance of the Memorial’s vision and mission to the nation.
• Improve the sustainability of the Memorial to achieve its mission.
• Maintain government and increase stakeholder support for the Memorial.
• Maximise the value of and access to the National Collection and military history.

Governance

Contact details

Name: Major General Brian Dawson AM CSC(Ret’d)
Position: Assistant Director, Branch Head, National Collection
Phone:  02 6243 4297
Email: brian.dawson@awm.gov.au