Seminars

Indigenous Service in the Australian Defence force by Gary Oakley - 18/04/2013

Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders have served Australia in the military from before the Boer War to the present day. It will probably never be known how many Indigenous Australians have served in the ADF - this is due to the fact that ethnicity was never required to be documented when joining up. Even today in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) it is only voluntary to tick the box marked “Are you Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander”? Gary Oakley, the Australian War Memorial’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Liaison Officer , will explore Indigenous service in the ADF focusing particularly on the First World War but covering to some extent all conflicts and today’s Indigenous personnel. To finish, Gary will discuss how you can use war records to help find Indigenous relatives.

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