Aboriginal Australian at World War 1
By Lilly Reading
Aboriginals that fought in War
During World War 1 their was an estimated 1000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served with the Australian Imperial Force in World War I. Ethnicity wasn't really recorded throughout the recruiting process, accurate figures are impossible to come by. People who were not largely of European origin or descent were prohibited from joining under the Defense Act of 1909.
Where they fought
One thousand of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people served in World War 1 (1914-1918). Seventy people fought at Gallipoli. During the war, 118 of these soldiers, or little over 20%, served with the Australian Light Horse. Seventy Aboriginal men served on Gallipoli, 13 men whom were killed in action. (57 survived)
They weren't acknowledged much because by in the first few years of the war, Aboriginal soldiers had trouble enlisting and most were rejected as they were not ‘substantially of European descent’. As the war continued and the Army needed more recruits, restrictions were eased. They weren't acknowledged much because of discrimination of their culture.
Why Aboriginals have not historically been acknowledged.
1. According to current estimates, roughly 1,000 Indigenous Australians participated in the First World War, out of a population of 93,000 in 1901. (though the real number is probably higher).
2. Indigenous Australians were present in practically every Australian campaign during the war, although the actual number of volunteers is unknown due to the lack of ethnicity records in personnel files.
3. Indigenous veterans discovered that their participation in the First World War did not eliminate prejudice. Only one Indigenous person is known to have acquired land as part of the "soldier settlement plan" after the war.
4. People who were not largely of European ancestry or extraction were barred from joining under the Deference Act of 1909. This legislation was meant to be enforced by medical officials during World War I, but they didn't always follow it especially as the war progressed and more men were needed.
5. An estimate one thousand Indigenous served in Gallipoli (WW1).
Facts/Statistics
Douglas Grant was born in the early 1880s into a traditional Aboriginal community in Northern Queensland's Bullenden Kerr Ranges. In 1887, his parents and much of his Aboriginal village were slaughtered in what was thought to be a tribal conflict, shattering his early family life. Scientist Robert Grant, a Scottish immigrant exploring the region at the time, saved him just seconds before he died. He gave him the name Douglas and reared him as his son.
In January 1916, as the First World War broke out, Grant joined the 34th Battalion. The Aborigines Protection Board intervened as he was ready to depart Australia, stressing that rules banned Aboriginals from leaving the nation without official clearance. Grant persisted in enlisting, and in August he successfully departed with the 13th Battalion.
His service, however, would be brief. Grant was taken at the first battle of Bullecourt on April 11, 1917, only two months after landing in France. At least 3,300 soldiers were killed or injured in this conflict, with another 1,170 taken prisoner.
Grant was returned to Australia after 22 months, where he resumed his career as a print-maker before working as a laborer at a paper mill and subsequently a small-arms manufacture. He advocated for Aboriginal rights and became involved in the issues of returned troops. Grant died in 1951 at the age of 65 and was buried at Sydney's Botany Cemetery.
Story/Information