Aboriginal troops tribute

By Kath Gannaway
THE dream of Healesville Aboriginal elder, Dot Peters, to have the contribution of Victorian Aboriginal service men and women formally recognised was fulfilled both at Healesville and in Melbourne during Reconciliation Week.
At Healesville RSL, a special recording of The Ode, with a didgeridoo in the background, was played at the traditional time of 6pm.
An Aboriginal painting was presented to RSL president, Sam Halim, to mark the occasion.
And, at the Shrine of Remembrance, on Wednesday, 31 May, Ms Peters was joined by number of Aboriginal former servicemen, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gavin Jennings, senior Defence Force personnel, RSL and Legacy representatives, and Shrine Trustees and Life Members for a special ceremony.
It is the first time in Victoria that the contribution of Indigenous service men and women has been recognised at a formal ceremony.
An estimated 300 to 500 Aboriginal Australians fought in World War 1, and 3000 to 4000 in World War II.
Many more have served in conflicts since, including wars in Korea, Vietnam and East Timor. Miss Peters was nine years old when her father, Vincent, and brother, Harry, 16, signed up for WWII.
“Like a lot of young boys, Harry put his age up to 18,” she said.
Her father was 39. He never saw his family, wife, Daisy, and five children again. After serving in the Middle East, he was taken prisoner in Java and died as a prisoner of war on the Thai-Burma Railway.
As Indigenous Australians did not get the vote until 1967, they joined other Australians as volunteers. “They just went to fight for freedom, and that’s what it’s all about,” Ms Peters said.
Chairman of the Shrine Trustees, John Taylor, said he hoped the ceremony would become an annual tribute.
Miss Peters said she had been working for over a year with Healesville RSL and Aboriginal Affairs Victoria on contributions which she believed needed to be acknowledged.
She said the precedent had been set for the Aboriginal flag to be raised alongside the Australian flag at the Shrine ceremony and was hopeful that it would also be raised next year at Healesville RSL.