Indigenous Australian soldiers in the First World War and their place in Australian history BY AMY ZHANG, YEAR 8, 2021 In this essay, I examine the significance of Indigenous Australian soldiers within WWI and the circumstances behind their absence from the pages of Australian history. Through this, I prove that history matters, as I argue an understanding of this aspect of Australian history is necessary to advance the reconciliation process. The ANZAC has immense significance in the Australian national story. Many believe Australia was born at Gallipoli1. Indeed, the image of the ANZAC is fairly uniform: a young man, stoic but selfless, with discipline and a sense of humour, who is, overwhelmingly, white. Many people may not realise that over 1000 Indigenous Australians served in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during the First World War2. Their contributions have been forgotten and erased from Australian history, and only recently have been recognised.
Knight was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for Conspicuous Gallantry during the war, receiving an honour and recognition, at the time, equal to other ANZACs (See: Appendix B)8. This demonstrates that the contributions of Indigenous Australian soldiers were not marginal or arbitrary, but instrumental to Australia’s war effort. Indeed, Indigenous soldiers offered unique contributions to the successful execution of military strategy. The Charge of the Light Brigade, one of Australia’s biggest successes in the war, would have been impossible without the horsemanship skills of Indigenous Australians. Former Australian Ambassador to Israel, Chris Cannan9, and Australian Light Horse Director, Barry Rodgers10 have recently acknowledged this. One such contributor was William Rawlings, who led a bayonet charge in Morlancourt and received the Military Medal (See: Appendix C)11. This indicates Indigenous Australians were offered leadership
This essay argues Indigenous Australians provided unique
roles in the war due to their unique skills. Therefore, history
tactical and military contributions to Australia’s war efforts
matters, as revisiting history helps unveil the contributions
in WWI and were not sufficiently recognised. Indeed,
of Indigenous Australians to the Australian national story.
sufficient recognition is necessary to aid the reconciliation process today, as only a truthful account of history will assist in reckoning with the errors of the past. It is for this reason, I argue, that history matters: the revision of history is significant, as historical knowledge allows us to challenge Australia’s dominant narrative and dismantle the structures of white supremacy.
1. CONTRIBUTIONS MADE While the war efforts of Indigenous Australians have been erased from the dominant narrative of the ANZAC, their service within the AIF had demonstrable impacts. As Indigenous Australians were present in almost every branch of the AIF3, it is clear these soldiers conquered the significant barriers imposed upon their capacity to serve. The discrimination meant that many soldiers had to claim to be ‘half-caste’ to be permitted to enlist (See: Appendix A)4. Indeed, as many Indigenous Australians were refused entry to the First AIF5 hundreds served in the Second AIF6 as well as militias later in the war, when Imperial reinforcements were depleted7. Indigenous Australian soldier Albert
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2. CONTRIBUTIONS IGNORED The absence of Indigenous stories from the dominant record of Australian history can be attributed to two factors: the prejudices established in the community; and the political effort to minimise their achievements and uphold the unjust norms of White Australia. Despite the valency Indigenous soldiers showed, the structural injustices within their home states ensured their contributions were insignificant to wider society. For many Indigenous soldiers, the chance to serve in the AIF offered an escape from the prejudice in the homefront12. A nurse who served in the war recalled there was “no discrimination on the battlefield [nor] in the military hospitals,”13 and a veteran claimed an Indigenous soldier from his unit “was his brother still.”14 This suggests Indigenous Australians were often considered equal to other ANZACs during their service; however, the cultural attitudes of wider Australian society guaranteed their efforts were ignored. These attitudes can be traced in the parliamentary acts of the time: the Aboriginals Ordinance Pymble Ladies’ College
