Conference Papers
Session CG3.1. ‘Recognition at last’*? Sharing histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Defence Service between younger and older generations
1.Glen Stasiuk: The Forgotten
Full paper | Audio | Video | Slideshow
This presentation will feature scenes from The Forgotten (2002), one of the earliest documentaries to look at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s service in the Australian Defence Force, followed by discussion by the filmmaker. Stasiuk will discuss his motivations for researching and producing the film, including his interest in his family member’s military service and the discoveries he made while researching it. Ten years on from when it was released, he considers the impact and legacy of the film for the Aboriginal veterans and others who appeared in it and how younger audiences in schools and other contexts have responded to the film.
2.Garth O’Connell: Too Dark for the Light Horse
Full paper | Audio | Video | Slideshow
Garth O'Connell will speak about how the Australian War Memorial through the Education Section and their Too Dark for the Light Horse/ ‘Museum in a Box’ used by schools help to educate students about the history and achievements of Indigenous Australians and their service in the Defence Force. This short talk will cover what’s in the box i.e. a resource book, case studies, and activities as well as the speakers experience with conducting personalised guided tours and talks on Indigenous service within the galleries. His presentation will consider how talking about past generations can help to guide the younger generation.
3. Gary Oakley: Indigenous culture and its role in the Australian Defence Force
Full paper | Audio | Video | Slideshow
Gary Oakley will speak about Indigenous culture and its role in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). His presentation will cover perceptions surrounding identity within the ADF and the role and impact that Indigenous Australians have had within the ADF. It will consider how the Australian War Memorial as a site of public information represents younger and older Indigenous generations involvement in Defence.
Author bio: Gary Oakley of the Gundungurra people is the first Indigenous Liaison Officer employed at the Australian War Memorial and is also the National President of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans and Services Association of Australia (ATSIVSAA). A member of the cadet corps at high school, he joined the Royal Australian Navy as a Junior Recruit in 1969. Gary later served at bases and on ships such as HMAS Perth, HMAS Stewart, HMAS Stalwart and the submarines HMAS Oxley and Ovens. Gary became curator of the 1st Australian Submarine Squadron Museum, and on leaving the RAN, took up a curatorial position at the Australian War Memorial in the 1990s. He has also been a curator at the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingolstadt, Germany and has studied Cultural Heritage Management and Museum Studies at the University of Canberra. Gary has been a member of the Navy Reserve for over eleven years and has worked closely with the Navy History section, documenting and researching naval history. He also assists with Indigenous Affairs–ADF helping with their Indigenous Pre-Recruitment courses as well as travelling to community to speak to Indigenous youth in relation to careers in the Defence Force.
4. Allison Cadzow: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Defence Service History Project
Full paper | Audio | Video | Slideshow
This presentation will explore recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s participation in Defence and cross generational connections through commemorations. Since the early 2000s there has been a growth in the number of public commemorations which prominently feature both veterans and younger people and which emphasise the importance of learning about previous generations war service. The prominent involvement of younger people within ceremonies, the selection of currently serving people as speakers as well as those who have previously served and the direction of their comments to younger people, all point to these ceremonies as an important means of communicating and sharing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history between generations. How Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and individuals have remembered the participation of relatives, even when national ceremonies and memorials have often failed to recognise their contribution will also be discussed. Ways in which younger generations are connecting with the experiences of their forebears through such events will also be considered.
Author bio: Dr Allison Cadzow is a Research Fellow at the ANU Australian Centre for Indigenous History and the National Centre for Indigenous Studies, where she is working on an ANU-DVA project researching the under-acknowledged history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s participation in Defence service. She is co-editing Nelson Aboriginal Studies (forthcoming 2011), a teaching resource for HSC level Aboriginal Studies in NSW with Professor John Maynard. Allison is co-author with Professor Heather Goodall of Rivers and Resilience: Aboriginal people and Sydney’s Georges River (UNSW Press, 2009) which was shortlisted in the 2010 NSW Premiers History Awards. She has worked as a researcher at the University of Technology, Sydney on a project which explored cultural diversity and use of the Georges River parklands in south west Sydney. Allison has also completed freelance research on aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories for the NSW Board of Studies, NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (now the Office of Environment and Heritage) and the City of Sydney.