Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people please be aware that this resource contains images and names of deceased persons.

“They were discriminated against.”

“People were racist.”

 “People in charge didn’t think that they could do a good job.”

“They didn’t have rights.”

“To protect the Aboriginal people that were left.”

These are some of the responses that Memorial Educators receive from children when asked why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were not allowed to enlist in the First and Second World Wars.

When school groups visit the Australian War Memorial – onsite or through a virtual excursion – they discuss the diverse men and women who have served for Australia. Some are surprised to learn that people with Chinese, German, and Japanese heritage enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force. Others question why, despite laws not recognising them as Australian citizens, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples still volunteered to serve.

Education programs are aligned with the Australian curriculum. To enrich traditional learning areas such as English, Mathematics, Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Arts, cross-curriculum priorities have been identified, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. This priority is incorporated into every learning area, to deepen students’ knowledge of Australia, and to better understand their world.

So how do educators link Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures to military history?

Works of art

In the galleries, students can see Ruby Plains Massacre 1 by Rover Thomas, the son of a Wangkajunga man and Kukatja woman. They are encouraged to share ideas as to why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples volunteered to serve for Australia, even after their communities had been decimated by frontier violence.

While Girramay/Kuku Yalanji artist Tony Albert’s work, Be Deadly - NORFORCE is not currently on display, students can engage with it in virtual excursions. They might spend time exploring numerous references to superheroes, or the connections that the artist has to service people. Students discuss the diverse roles that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have undertaken in defence of Australia, including reconnaissance as part of NORFORCE.

Education staff also use art by non-Indigenous artists to explore the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service people. Students might hear about George Aitken of the Waka Waka nation, at Menin Gate at Midnight by Will Longstaff. Aitken’s name is listed on the Menin Gate Memorial, as his gravesite was not recovered after his death at Broodseinde Ridge.

Perhaps students will stop at Anzac, the landing 1915 by George Lambert, and find out about Alfred Hearps, the son of a Palawa man, who served on Gallipoli. They might discuss the inequalities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, as well as examples of shared experiences on the battlefields.

Objects

Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander perspectives are explored through many objects in the collection.

The story of Gomeroi man and Second World War fighter pilot Len Waters is often shared with students. Although the Kittyhawk is not currently on display, the Education team can still share Waters’ story through virtual excursions, or through exhibits focusing on the Pacific theatre of war. A replica set of medals, including a Distinguished Flying Cross, introduces students to pilot David Paul, also of Gomeroi descent.

A jacket from the Australian Women’s Army Service is used to share the story of Noonuccal woman Oodgeroo Noonuccal (formerly known as Kath Walker), and a display on the bombing of Darwin allows students to discuss the direct impact that the bombings had on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

To piece together the story of Harry Thorpe, the son of a Brabuwooloong man, students may stop at multiple exhibits, including the diorama representing Pozières, where Thorpe was wounded, and the diorama depicting fighting in Ypres, in which his great courage and leadership resulted in the awarding of a Military Medal. Visitors can view a photograph of Thorpe, next to his headstone. Thorpe died of wounds in August 1918 and was buried in France.

Photographs

There are photographs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have since passed away on display in the galleries. Where possible, educators provide a warning before exhibiting these photographs. As students walk past the Orientation Gallery towards the First World War galleries, they pass a photograph of members of the 60th Battalion in freezing conditions during the winter of 1916. In the middle is Alfred Jackson Coombs, from the Wotjaboluk clan of the Wergaia language group.

Known as “Jack”, he served on the Western Front. Coombs was hospitalised with mumps in 1916, wounded in action in 1918, and returned to Australia in 1919. When asked how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples served if the rules said they had to be “substantially of European origin”, students provide a range of ideas, including the use of make-up, hiding on the ships, denying their heritage, or finding enlistment staff who were less strict. Education staff can provide examples of Aboriginal people such as Douglas Grant (presumably a Ngadjonji man), who got special permission to travel overseas.

A portrait of William Punch (presumed Wiradjuri man) is displayed in the First World War gallery. Punch’s family was murdered as a result of frontier violence, and he was taken in by a Goulburn family. He was working as a station hand before enlisting in 1915. Punch was wounded in action twice during his service, later dying from illness in 1917. Senior artist of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands Witjiti George said, “if he was the last one from his mob that survived, that’s special. It means he’s a Ngankari [powerful spirit]”.

Visitors can find a portrait of Reginald Hawkins in the First World War galleries. This photograph shows Hawkins with an identity number given to him when he became a prisoner of war in 1917. Hawkins was repatriated in 1919. Students wonder why many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples did not return home to the same rights and privileges as other Australians, even after they had served.

Towards the end of the Second World War galleries, there is a quiet, dark, contemplative area to remember Australians who died during the Sandakan death marches. A large amount of portraits are displayed, commemorating those who died and demonstrating the scale of the atrocity. Three of those in the photographs have been identified as Aboriginal men: Gunditjmara man Wallace Alberts, Yugambeh man Colin Ball, and Gomeroi/Gumbaynggirr man John Jackson.

Commemoration

The Roll of Honour records the names of over 102,000 men and women who have died during or as a result of their service. School groups walk past these names on the way to the Hall of Memory, where they can see the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier. Unless they know about the individuals on the Roll of Honour, students cannot tell which names belong to men or women, which names belong to young or old people, or which names belong to Australians of British or Aboriginal heritage. Listed by just a surname and initials, these people are remembered equally.

Educators might point out the names of Aboriginal people on the Roll of Honour, including Gunditjmara men William Rawlings and Harry Saunders, Quandamooka/Noonuccal man Richard Martin, or John Hill, a descendant of the Wardandi Nation.

The Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier can be a confusing concept for some students. They question why a known soldier was not returned home, or why DNA technology is not used to identify the Unknown Australian Soldier. The man buried in the Hall of Memory may be an Australian born overseas, he may be Indigenous. Regardless, he represents all those who have died serving for Australia, with no known grave. “He is all of them, he is one of us.”

Online resources

Teachers regularly get in touch to enquire about the Memorial’s resources, which can help them include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in classroom studies. Resources include:

Anzac diversity: 13 case studies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen, in addition to activities exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, the Soldier Settlement Scheme, service records, and the Defence Act.

Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wartime service: This hub brings together a selection of art, articles, film and sound, and case studies relating to Aboriginal service people.

Memorial box program: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wartime service box contains 15 case studies and 20 objects relating to Indigenous service. If Memorial boxes are booked out, teachers and students can still access the online content.

Story telling through art: this resource for younger students includes information about Miriam Mer Kapuan Gutchen Senior, and his work Koskergiz Kaubu Kerkerr ge [TSI Womenfolks of the War Era].

Publications: Stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be found in many of the Memorial’s publications for students, including the Century of Service books Ancestry, Comradeship, Resource, Patriotism, Decision, Candour, and Control.

Summary

While visitors can see a growing range of art, photography, and objects relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wartime service when they visit the Australian War Memorial, collection material does not exist for every individual who served. Education staff weave stories through the galleries, pointing out exhibits that are representative of the service of all Australians who have served. The stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service people are becoming known. They are shared. They are remembered.