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Aboriginals and war
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Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders and war

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that these pages contain images and names of deceased people as well as links to pages containing such material.

War contribution by Aboriginals
Aboriginal war memorials
Activities for students
Music videos

Aboriginals in World War 1, and

War contribution by Aboriginals


involvement see our Aboriginal
Gallipoli and Gallipoli lists

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Defence Force (Australian War Memorial)
From the Australian War Memorial encyclopedia section. Especially see:
- Indigenous defence service

Indigenous Australians at war (dva.gov.au)
A history of the participation of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in war.

Indigenous servicemen: their contribution (australiangeographic.com.au)
Outlines how participation in World War 1 was an escape from racism for many Aboriginals, makes special mention of World War 2 soldier Reg Saunders and the strong contribution of Torres Strait Islanders.

Too Dark for the Light Horse: Resource Book [pdf file]
(To download, right-click here and choose Save Target As...)

Too dark for the light horse: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the defence forces [pdf] (awm.gov.au)
Memorial Box 03 examines the contribution of Aboriginal Australians during World Wars 1 and 2. Much of the content of the Resource Book would be useful in the classroom even without the actual materials it is primarily designed to be used with.

Anzac Day Coloured Digger March (creativespirits.info)
"This article focuses on Australia's Aboriginal war veterans and the Coloured Digger march which started in 2007." Includes the following poems:
- Black Anzac by Cecil Fisher
- The Coloured Digger by Sapper Bert Beros, a non-Aboriginal soldier in WWII. The poem is written about an Aboriginal soldier, Private West.

Indigenous Overview: A Proud History (archived from defencejobs.gov.au)
A summary of the history of the contribution of Aboriginals to Australian war and peace-keeping activities.


States Experiences of War: Aboriginals and War (samemory.sa.gov.au)  SA
Involvement of Indigenous South Australians in the two world wars, with links to further resources.

Tasmanian Aboriginal soldiers: contribution and sacrifice (centenaryofanzac.tas.gov.au)  TAS
Summary of the contribution of Tasmanian Aboriginal soldiers in the Boer War, WW1 and WW2.
See also
Indigenous Australians at War exhibition (premier.tas.gov.au)

Speeches Sally Thomas, Administrator of the Northern Territory, 10 July 2014
Commemorative service to honour the service and sacrifice of Indigenous veterans (NAIDOC Week).
Aboriginal war memorials Aboriginal Anzac Day war memorials (creativespirits.info)
Provides information about war memorials around Australia commemorating Anzac Diggers.

Indigenous Australians at War: Memorials (www.aiatsis.gov.au)
Australian War Memorial Cloisters, Canberra, Queensland, WA, NT.

Tribute at last to forgotten Aboriginal war heroes (adelaidenow.com.au)
Written report and video report that cover the past war service of some Aboriginal soldiers.

Boer War

This section is now on a separate page.
Activities for students Indigenous Australians at War: from the Boer War to the present (ex shrine.org.au)
Printable booklet of information, photographs of aboriginals and activities for students.

Forgotten HeroesForgotten Heroes: Honouring the Service and Sacrifice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples [pdf] (reconciliationsa.org.au)
South Australian Education Pack. Information, curriculum guidelines and activities using a very wide range of components of Indigenous history.

Indigenous Anzacs [pdf] (abc.net.au)
Provides discussion questions, activities related mainly to World War 1 and a research activity on Captain Reg Saunders who fought in World War 2.


Music videos

John Schumann - On Every Anzac Day (youtube.com)
Official music video. The song pays special tribute to Australia's indigenous soldiers, by John Schumann who is best known for his Vietnam song 'I was only 19'.

Resources and lists of links

Experiences of War: Aboriginals and War (State Library, South Australia)
A roundup of publications that focus on the participation of South Australian Aboriginals in war.

Aboriginal Anzac Day and Coloured Digger Resources (creativespirits.info)
Scroll to the bottom.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Soldiers of the First World War: Bibliography (Archived from aiatsis.gov.au)
Detailed list of references at end.

Black ANZAC: A resource collection (NATSVIEW, National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Educational Website).
This link was not working on 17 Oct 2012. Try this link to an archived page. If that doesn't work, use the instructions below on the following url:
a. Copy the above url.
b. Follow the steps under "How to go straight to an archived page"


Anzac Kids



See also

Aboriginals in World War 1
Aboriginals in World War 2
Aboriginals in war: Issues
Background to Anzac Day





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