Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have served in every conflict Australia has been involved in since Federation in 1901. In fact, some served in colonial forces even before that, including in the Boer War (1899–1902). Over 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served in World War I, with around 70 fighting at Gallipoli. At least 3,000 Aboriginal and 850 Torres Strait Islander people served in World War II. In both World Wars, Indigenous Australians had the highest participation rates in the military as a proportion of their population.
Despite facing systemic racism, exclusion, and marginalisation at home, First Nations people enlisted in greater numbers, proportionally, than any other group.
In 1944, nearly every Torres Strait Islander man was a member of the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion. In proportion to population, no community in Australia contributed more to the war effort in World War II than the people of the Torres Strait Islands. Meanwhile, in 1942, the first Japanese Prisoner of War captured in Australia was taken by Aboriginal people after his plane crashed on Melville Island, north of Darwin. Aboriginal soldiers formed the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit, using traditional tactics and knowledge to defend the country's north. Today, NORFORCE, which relies heavily on the knowledge and skills of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, monitors the largest area of operations of any military unit in the world.
More than 800 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians currently serve with distinction in the Australian Defence Forces. There are up to 7,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans and war widows in the Australian community today.
These are not footnotes. These are the foundations of Australia's defence history.
Jack Alick (Yuin)
Jack Alick, a Yuin man from near Braidwood, NSW, served with the 1st Australian Horse in the Boer War. A skilled police tracker and horseman, he likely fought at Poplar Grove, Zand River and Diamond Hill. While recovering from illness in South Africa, he wrote home:
"I have seen quite enough fighting and have had some narrow squeaks." Despite this, he re-enlisted in January 1902, serving until the war ended in May. He was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal.
Corporal Harry Thorpe MM (Brabuwooloong)
Harry Thorpe, a Brabuwooloong man from Lakes Entrance, Victoria, enlisted in February 1916. He was wounded twice—at Pozières and Bullecourt—but returned to duty each time.
In October 1917, he led his section at Broodseinde Ridge with complete disregard for his own safety, earning the Military Medal for bravery. Harry was killed in action at the Battle of Lihons in August 1918 and is buried at Heath Cemetery, France.
Corporal Gordon Charles Naley (Western Australian Aboriginal)
Gordon Naley was born in 1884 on a remote WA station to an Aboriginal mother and
Scottish father. He enlisted in September 1914 and landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915.
After contracting typhoid, he spent months in hospital before rejoining his battalion in France.
Wounded by shrapnel at Bullecourt in April 1917, he was captured by the Germans and spent nearly two years as a prisoner of war. He returned to Australia in 1919, married, raised six children and farmed at Winkie. He died in 1928, aged 44.
Trooper Willie Allen (Larrakia)
Willie Allen, a Larrakia man born in Darwin in 1884, initially served with the Northern Territory Cable Guard protecting vital communications infrastructure. In December 1917 he enlisted in the 11th Light Horse Regiment.
He saw action at Semakh in Palestine, initially fighting on horseback with swords before transitioning to rifles and bayonets. After the Ottoman Empire surrendered, he helped control an uprising in Egypt before returning to Australia.
He married, settled in Brisbane and was awarded three service medals.
Sister Marion Leane Smith (Darug)
Marion Smith, born in Liverpool, NSW in 1891, is believed to be the only Australian Aboriginal woman to serve in WWI. Her grandmother Lucy Leane was a proud Darug
woman. Marion's family moved to Canada when she was two, possibly fleeing the government's removal of 'half-caste' children.
She trained as a nurse in the USA and in March 1917 joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service in France, working on ambulance trains treating wounded soldiers in cramped, challenging conditions. Her service record praised her as "a very good surgical nurse, most attentive to patients."
After the war she moved to Trinidad, co-founded the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross and received the Distinguished Service Medal in WWII. She died in 1957, aged 66.
Private Roland Winzel Carter (Ngarrindjeri)
Roland Carter, a Ngarrindjeri man born at Goolwa in 1892, was the first from Point
McLeay Mission to enlist in 1915. By war's end, sixteen Aboriginal men from the mission had served—four never returned. Roland was wounded at Mouquet Farm during the Somme, then again at Noreuil in April 1917 where he was captured along with 80 others.
As a German POW at Halbmondlager camp, he and fellow Aboriginal soldier Douglas Grant were studied by German scientists and anthropologists who photographed them and recorded their voices. Repatriated in June 1919, he married Vera Rigney, raised eight children and in 1925 helped raise funds for a memorial honouring the four local Indigenous men who died.
He passed away in July 1960.
Driver Charles 'Charlie' Burns (Kimberley Aboriginal)
Charlie Burns was born in 1896 on a Kimberley cattle station. Orphaned at six, he travelled 3,000km south to live with surveyor Frederick Drake-Brockman and his wife, becoming the first Aboriginal student at Guildford Grammar School in 1909. He enlisted in late 1915 and served as a driver in Egypt, Sinai and Palestine.
In September 1917 he rescued drowning NZ soldier Trooper George Moffat from a rip, despite the lifeline breaking—a feat officially recorded as "gallant conduct." In WWII, aged 45, he enlisted with the 3rd Railway Construction Company, serving in many of the same locations.
He lived in Pemberton, WA until his death in 1990, aged 94. The Pemberton Hotel honours him with a named room and a bust.
Private Maitland Madge MM (Cape York Aboriginal)
Maitland Madge was born in Cooktown in 1894 to Aboriginal mother Ella and English father Richard. His father obtained an exemption from the Aboriginals Protection Act
to prevent Maitland's removal.
He enlisted in August 1915 and served as a runner for the 15th Battalion—extremely dangerous work carrying vital communications across battlefields under heavy fire. In August 1916 at Pozières, he and fellow runner Private Sydney May showed "utter disregard of their own safety" and were awarded the Military Medal—Maitland believed
to be the first Indigenous soldier to receive it.
In WWII he enlisted again, changing his birth year at age 45. He survived fierce fighting in Malaya but was captured when Singapore fell in February 1942.
He died as a Japanese POW on 7 June 1944 and is buried at Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore.
Sergeant Leonard Victor Waters (Kamilaroi)
Len Waters, a Kamilaroi man born in 1924 on Euraba Aboriginal Mission, NSW, joined the RAAF in August 1942 as an aircraft mechanic. After working on Kittyhawks, Boomerangs
and Spitfires at Mildura, he applied for pilot training in 1943.
He became Australia's first and only Aboriginal fighter pilot of WWII, flying campaigns over Noemfoor, Morotai and Tarakan. He was discharged in 1946, married his fiancée and returned to shearing—never flying again.
Lance Corporal Kath Walker / Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Noonuccal)
Oodgeroo Noonuccal was born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska on 3 November 1920 on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). In 1942, after her brothers Eric and Eddie became Japanese POWs in Singapore, she enlisted in the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS).
She trained as a signaller, was promoted to Lance Corporal in April 1943 and worked in administration until discharge in January 1944. She famously said:
"I joined the AWAS because it was also a good opportunity for an Aboriginal to further their education. In fact there were only two places where an Aboriginal could get an education, in jail or the Army—and I didn't fancy jail!"
After the war she became a renowned poet, children's author and Aboriginal rights activist. She was appointed MBE in 1970 but returned it in 1988 in protest of bicentenary celebrations. She changed her name to Oodgeroo Noonuccal that same year. She died in September 1993.
Private William Reginald Rawlings MM (Gunditjmara)
William Rawlings, a Gunditjmara man born around 1890–91 at Framlingham Reserve, Victoria, enlisted in March 1916 despite legislation prohibiting Aboriginal enlistment. His paperwork identified him as "half-caste aboriginal" but he was accepted. After suffering trench foot and ill health, he received treatment in England before returning to duty.
In July 1918 he led his team in a grenade attack on enemy trenches at Morlancourt Ridge, earning the Military Medal for leadership and courage. On 9 August 1918 he was killed by a shell at Vauvillers. His mother Bessie wrote: "my darling son who gave his dear life for his King and country… he told me if he should fall to always think of him in a soldier's grave, oh my darling brave son."
He is buried at Heath Cemetery, France, near his friend Harry Thorpe.
Driver Walter Christopher George Saunders (Gunditjmara)
Chris Saunders, a Gunditjmara man born in Warrnambool in 1895, was a talented sportsman who captained cricket and football teams and played for North Melbourne in the VFA. He enlisted in February 1916 and served with the 10th Machine Gun Company in France and Belgium, operating the powerful Vickers machine gun.
He was appointed driver and served until war's end. His sister Elizabeth requested the Female Relative Badge after their mother died in 1919—she received it for Chris but was denied bars for her two sons who also served. Chris returned to Australia, married Mabel Arden and had sons Reginald and Harry. After Mabel died in 1924, he moved to Lake Condah Mission, remarried and raised nine more children.
He died in the late 1970s.
Captain Reginald Saunders MBE (Gunditjmara)
Reg Saunders, born 7 August 1920 at Framlingham Reserve, Victoria, was named after
his uncle William Reginald Rawlings who served in WWI. He enlisted and first saw action in Libya, then fought in Greece and Crete. When Crete fell, he refused to surrender and spent eleven months hiding from Germans with local help before escaping to Libya. In 1943 he returned to New Guinea as a sergeant.
His commanding officer recognised his leadership and nominated him for officer training. He graduated as a lieutenant in November 1944—the first Aboriginal commissioned officer in the Australian army—and commanded No. 10 Platoon until war's end. When the Korean War began in 1950, he served as a captain in the 3rd Battalion at the Battle of Kapyong. He left the army in 1954, worked in Aboriginal affairs and was awarded an MBE in 1971. He joined the Australian War Memorial council in 1985.
He died 2 March 1990; his ashes are scattered at Lake Condah.
Private Henry (Harry) Saunders (Gunditjmara)
Harry Saunders, born 13 May 1922 in Allansford, Victoria, was Reg Saunders' younger brother. After their mother died when Harry was two, they moved to Lake Condah Mission. In 1940, aged only 18, Harry altered his birth date to 21 on enlistment forms and joined the 2/14th Battalion. He served in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, and was wounded in July 1941—shot in his left chest, arm and face. After two months' recovery he returned to duty.
In August 1942 the battalion went to New Guinea and advanced along the Kokoda Track. During fierce fighting at Isurava, Harry was separated from his unit and reported missing. Seven weeks later he returned to Allied troops, exhausted and suffering from malaria. On 26 November he joined the Battle at Gona and was killed a few days later. He had been writing to girlfriend Dorothy Banfield (WAAAF). In his last letter, after being missing in action, he asked for replacement photos of her as he'd lost
his pack.
After Harry's death, Dorothy corresponded with Reg about their shared loss. Reg and Dorothy fell in love and married in April 1944.
