Little Aussie battlers: ‘Secret service’ of Indigenous soldiers

Indigenous solider

Miller Mack was one of the first Indigenous Australians to fight in the First World War. He was one of at least 1000, according to Gary Oakley.
Source: Supplied




VIETNAM vet Gary Oakley is not surprised few people know about a “secret service” of indigenous Australians who fought in wars dating back to colonial times.


As many as 1000 indigenous people fought for Australia during World War.

While there is not a single photo to prove it, some were part of the Gallipoli military legend.

Now a curator at the Australian War Memorial, Mr Oakley is researching the involvement of Indigenous Australians in all major battles in which Australia has participated, from the Boer War (1899-1902) to modern times.

The Anzac legend always seems to be about white people, says Mr Oakley, who is from the Gundengurra tribe of Katoomba, in the NSW Blue Mountains.

However, at least 11 Aboriginal men were killed at Gallipoli and 21 survived the battle.

Because they were not legally allowed to wear an Australian military uniform until 1949, the year they officially became citizens, they tended to quietly return to their communities after serving their country. They would “disappear” and not even resurface for ANZAC Day marches, he says.

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“We don’t know how many joined. We probably never will know,” he said during a talk at the memorial.

Mr Oakley believes the Australian Defence Force turned a “blind eye” when they signed up.

“If you were willing to fight for your country, most recruiters didn’t notice your colour,” he said.

Benefits included reasonably good pay, and being in the unique position of being just like their fellow countrymen.

“When these men got into the defence force, they were soldiers, they got paid the same, they got treated the same, they could drink with their mates … We had chances to win medals, just like everyone else,” he said.

Mr Oakley says many were able to naturally adjust to the defence force.

“In some ways, army, navy and airforce groups were just like tribal groups,” he said.

Life changed, however, when they returned home.

“You went back to being a second-rate citizen.”

Mr Oakley’s task of tracking indigenous involvement in wars involving Australia is all the more difficult because the defence force did not record ethnicity when people signed up.

Records do indicate whether recruits had dark hair, brown eyes or a dark complexion, giving him some idea of whether they were Indigenous.

He also relies on being contacted by relatives of Indigenous ex-servicemen and women.

Since the Northern Territory intervention, he believes Indigenous communities have grown to respect the defence force “because army engineers turn up and they build things for them”.

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