ANZAC Day has passed for another year, but for some of our local Biripi and Worimi families, the official recognition of their ancestors’ military service has brought a sense of pride that was historically denied.
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Old Bar man, Ray Saunders’ great uncle Harold Maher was a Biripi man and a veteran of World War I. But when he returned home from battle, his service was not recognised by the Australian government.
Records show that up until the 1940s, Aboriginal soldiers were excluded from formal ceremonies because of their ethnicity and were often rejected when they tried to sign up for military service.
However, as the war on the western front continued to take many Australian lives, service restrictions were lifted.
About 500 Aboriginal people served in World War I.
In World War II there were about 5000 Aboriginal Diggers, but accurate numbers may never be known because the official lists of enlisted men contain only names, not cultural backgrounds.
In fact, many Aboriginal men who enlisted had to denounce their Aboriginal heritage, claiming to be Maori.
Harold was a decorated soldier, but when he returned home to Taree, he was not allowed membership into the RSL and he was not eligible to apply for the returned soldier’s land grant.
Although many years passed between Harold’s military service and his great-nephew’s Ray Saunders, Ray’s experiences as an electrical engineer stationed in Malaysia during the Vietnam War, revealed the prejudice lingered.
“When I joined the Australian Air Force in 1966 I wasn’t even a citizen of Australia. It was only after the referendum in 1967 that Aboriginal people became citizens in their own country,” Ray said.
For this year’s Anzac Day, Ray looked up Harold’s war record and discovered he had fought in several battles including Frommelles.
“He would’ve been terribly disappointed when he came home. He couldn’t even access the Soldier’s Land Grant Scheme like many of his mates could. Aboriginal people were not allowed to own land then,” Ray said.
Ray recalls a similar feeling, when he wanted to bring his brothers down to the RSL for a drink and a game of pool, but his brothers were refused entry at the door. At least this time Ray’s military service was recognised and he was allowed in.
“All these things happened not so long ago. We’ve only just started to talk about it and I think that’s important,” Ray said.
