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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island war heroes vanished from the Anzac legend
Trooper Horace Thomas Dalton who served in 11th Light Horse Regiment in WWI. Source: Supplied
Horace Dalton was so keen to fight for his country in 1918, he lied about his substantial European origins in order to enlist.
The 19-year-old Queenslander signed up in May, and by August was disembarking in Suez, Egypt, to begin training for the Australian Light Horse Remount Unit.
The young indigenous trooper would fight in the 11th Light Horse Regiment in Egypt for the next year before he was hospitalised with an ear infection and discharged.
It was a short service, but one he gave proudly for the rights and freedoms of his fellow Australians. Sadly, when he returned home in 1919 he found he had few of his own.
Indigenous serviceman Private Alfred Jackson Coombs (front centre) of the 59th Battalion, pictured with fellow Australian soldiers after a snowball fight at a training camp in England. Source: Supplied
Like so many indigenous diggers, Trooper Daltons homecoming was marred by racism and inequality. It would be 56 years after his death that his contribution would be honoured in a military service in Ipswich.
Strong efforts have been made in recent years to right the wrongs of the past and write our black Diggers back into Australias military history.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were present in almost every Australian campaign during WWI and their contribution was even greater during WWII but they received little or no recognition on their return and in the decades to follow.
Australian servicemen 1915-1916. Picture: Australian War Memorial Source: Supplied
Some came back to find their children had been taken away or their homes on mission stations were carved up for soldier settlements and distributed to white war veterans only three Aboriginal servicemen who served in World War I received a land grant.
They were not even allowed into their local RSL to buy a beer and many were prevented from marching on Anzac Day.
Its like we vanished, Gary Oakley, indigenous liaison officer for the Australian War Memorial, said.
Many (soldiers) came back from war, took the uniform off, hung it up in the wardrobe and went back to work. Most indigenous people came back to no job.
A 2009 march in Redfern on Anzac Day march to commemorate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who served Australia in the armed conflicts overseas. Source: News Limited
He has the names of 1300 indigenous World War I soldiers including 40 who were at Gallipoli despite being banned from military service before 1917.
Many were knocked back for being Aboriginal and unfit to serve so they lied about their background, saying they were Italian, Spanish, South African or Maori.
Mr Oakley believes many more indigenous Diggers served and he is still collecting names as their descendants come forward.
This scene from the play Black Diggers, which premiered at Sydney Festival, shows the camaraderie between indigenous and white Australian WWI soldiers. Picture: Jamie Williams Source: Supplied
He said this was difficult as many indigenous people still did not trust government authorities, as a result of years of harsh policies targeting* their communities.
Were like the Jews, we dont like people making lists, Mr Oakley, a Vietnam War veteran, said. If youre on a list, they come and take your kids and give you a hard time.
Its only been the past two or three years that indigenous Australians are not scared of the government anymore, theyre not scared to stand up and talk.
We want to be able to say to our children: We served too, against the odds.
Mr Oakley, who is calling for a monument to honour indigenous people in the military at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, said it is believed World War I Diggers signed up for an adventure, to earn a good wage of six bob a day while some were one generation from tribal had a sense of: I have to prove who I am.
In the defence force, no one sees your colour, they still dont, he said. It was the first equal opportunity employer of indigenous Australians.
Many had the view: When we come back to Australia, people will look at us differently because we have defended our country.
But sadly the opposite was true.
etc.
#####
Today we, including the federal and state/territory govts, live in more enlightened times.
Well most of population, and those in govt, anyway.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island war heroes vanished from the Anzac legend
Trooper Horace Thomas Dalton who served in 11th Light Horse Regiment in WWI. Source: Supplied
Horace Dalton was so keen to fight for his country in 1918, he lied about his substantial European origins in order to enlist.
The 19-year-old Queenslander signed up in May, and by August was disembarking in Suez, Egypt, to begin training for the Australian Light Horse Remount Unit.
The young indigenous trooper would fight in the 11th Light Horse Regiment in Egypt for the next year before he was hospitalised with an ear infection and discharged.
It was a short service, but one he gave proudly for the rights and freedoms of his fellow Australians. Sadly, when he returned home in 1919 he found he had few of his own.
Indigenous serviceman Private Alfred Jackson Coombs (front centre) of the 59th Battalion, pictured with fellow Australian soldiers after a snowball fight at a training camp in England. Source: Supplied
Like so many indigenous diggers, Trooper Daltons homecoming was marred by racism and inequality. It would be 56 years after his death that his contribution would be honoured in a military service in Ipswich.
Strong efforts have been made in recent years to right the wrongs of the past and write our black Diggers back into Australias military history.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were present in almost every Australian campaign during WWI and their contribution was even greater during WWII but they received little or no recognition on their return and in the decades to follow.
Australian servicemen 1915-1916. Picture: Australian War Memorial Source: Supplied
Some came back to find their children had been taken away or their homes on mission stations were carved up for soldier settlements and distributed to white war veterans only three Aboriginal servicemen who served in World War I received a land grant.
They were not even allowed into their local RSL to buy a beer and many were prevented from marching on Anzac Day.
Its like we vanished, Gary Oakley, indigenous liaison officer for the Australian War Memorial, said.
Many (soldiers) came back from war, took the uniform off, hung it up in the wardrobe and went back to work. Most indigenous people came back to no job.
A 2009 march in Redfern on Anzac Day march to commemorate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who served Australia in the armed conflicts overseas. Source: News Limited
He has the names of 1300 indigenous World War I soldiers including 40 who were at Gallipoli despite being banned from military service before 1917.
Many were knocked back for being Aboriginal and unfit to serve so they lied about their background, saying they were Italian, Spanish, South African or Maori.
Mr Oakley believes many more indigenous Diggers served and he is still collecting names as their descendants come forward.
This scene from the play Black Diggers, which premiered at Sydney Festival, shows the camaraderie between indigenous and white Australian WWI soldiers. Picture: Jamie Williams Source: Supplied
He said this was difficult as many indigenous people still did not trust government authorities, as a result of years of harsh policies targeting* their communities.
Were like the Jews, we dont like people making lists, Mr Oakley, a Vietnam War veteran, said. If youre on a list, they come and take your kids and give you a hard time.
Its only been the past two or three years that indigenous Australians are not scared of the government anymore, theyre not scared to stand up and talk.
We want to be able to say to our children: We served too, against the odds.
Mr Oakley, who is calling for a monument to honour indigenous people in the military at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, said it is believed World War I Diggers signed up for an adventure, to earn a good wage of six bob a day while some were one generation from tribal had a sense of: I have to prove who I am.
In the defence force, no one sees your colour, they still dont, he said. It was the first equal opportunity employer of indigenous Australians.
Many had the view: When we come back to Australia, people will look at us differently because we have defended our country.
But sadly the opposite was true.
etc.
#####
Today we, including the federal and state/territory govts, live in more enlightened times.
Well most of population, and those in govt, anyway.
