Since the publication in April 2018 of Edition Four of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander volunteers for the AIF: the Indigenous response to World War One, more names of Aboriginal volunteers have come to light, from various sources. These include those with an ongoing interest: Sandra Smith of Dubbo, Des Crump and Marg Powell of the State Library of Queensland – and above all Leura historian Christine Cramer whose consistently detailed research has resulted in recent years in the inclusion of many who would otherwise have been unrecognised; also of  course the diligence of Michael Bell, Indigenous Liaison Officer at the Australian War Memorial, aided by his community contacts and position as a natural recipient of information from relatives. On the other hand the past year has witnessed the removal of a small number men from the list. This has usually been because, although not of European origin, their heritage has not been Aboriginal. In some of these instances the supposed Aboriginality of a man stems from marriage into an Aboriginal family, something which can obscure actual identity to descendants. In compiling the Indigenous Histories list Christine Cramer and I have endeavoured to maintain an independent position and have been acutely aware of the need to locate documentary evidence for Aboriginality (some of it an intersecting set of sources) rather than hearsay advice or acceptance based on the misinterpretations alluded to above.

Below are the names of 61 volunteers discovered in the last eighteen months. These, added to those listed in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander volunteers for the AIF take total volunteers to date to 1,127 men. Other totals often quoted are in excess of this number and the implication too is that all fought for their country. However  It is important to remember that not all volunteers were accepted into the AIF or if accepted served overseas. Those with N/A or Depot instead of a service number or a service number with a letter prefix, fall into these categories.  These men still deserve recognition because of their willingness to serve and are an integral part of the Indigenous response to World War One. Others currently counted in some publications on and off line, include those eliminated by Indigenous Histories because of identification issues already discussed.  Another relevant factor affecting number counts is that the Indigenous Histories list is one of volunteers for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and excludes the handful of Aboriginal men known to have served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) or in Australia’s navy. These are referred to in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander volunteers for the AIF but not counted in the AIF volunteer list. The Indigenous Histories list also does not include men of South Sea Islander origin who by definition are not indigenous to Australia, although in many cases they have strong Aboriginal family ties. For all these reasons Indigenous Histories’ numbers are in some cases not as high as those often popularly quoted for Aboriginal service.

Despite the fact that they are  small in number in relation to AIF total enlistment, all these men are important because of the context in which they volunteered – that of racism and discrimination reflected in the Defence Act. Enlistment provisions were relaxed in May 1917, when a regulation was introduced to allow the enlistment of men with one white parent. However this did not increase Aboriginal enlistment, which like general enlistment was decreasing. Nor did it alter the racist intent of the Defence Act which remained unchanged. Known Aboriginal volunteers have increased dramatically in the last two decades, more than tripling in number. It is more than likely that additional names to those listed here will be located in the future.

NAMES OF VOLUNTEERS LOCATED SINCE APRIL 2019

 NOTE
The details in this list are based on National Archives of Australia record descriptions from NAA series B2455 and series MT1486/1.  Volunteers named in MT1486/1 are indicated by an asterisk:  the symbol *.  Descriptions of records in these series are available online at www.naa.gov.au.  All records in series B2455 have been digitised but only a small proportion of those in MT1486/1.  (Where a record has not been digitised, a digital copy can be ordered on the NAA website.)

Service numbers are based on an examination of the entire contents of a service record.  Where a service number named here differs from the number named in an NAA record description, the NAA number is shown in brackets.  Place names are spelled in the conventional manner.  Where this differs from the record description, the latter also appears in brackets – for example Maloga and (Malaga).  In some cases a place of birth or enlistment is not included in the service record, or has been found to be spelled incorrectly or simply to be incorrect.  Where it is known, the correct information is provided in square brackets – for example Auckland NZ [Emmaville NSW].

Philippa Scarlett and Christine Cramer

5 October 2019