anzac

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island war heroes ‘vanished’ from the Anzac legend Don't miss out on the headlines from City East. Followed categories will be added to My News. Follow Horace Dalton was so keen to fight for his country in 1918, he lied about his “substantial European” origins in order to enlist. The 19-year-old Queenslander signed up in May, and by August was disembarking in Suez, Egypt, to begin training for the Australian Light Horse Remount Unit. The young indigenous trooper would fight in the 11th Light Horse Regiment in Egypt for the next year before he was hospitalized with an ear infection and discharged. It was a short service, but one he gave proudly for the rights and freedoms of his fellow Australians. Sadly, when he returned home in 1919 he found he had few of his own. Like so many indigenous diggers, Trooper Dalton’s homecoming was marred by racism and inequality. It would be 56 years after his death that his contribution would be honored in military service in Ipswich. Some came back to find their children had been taken away or their homes on mission stations were carved up for soldier settlements and distributed to white war veterans – only three Aboriginal servicemen who served in World War I received a land grant. They were not even allowed into their local RSL to buy a beer and many were prevented from marching on Anzac Day. “It’s like we vanished,” Gary Oakley, indigenous liaison officer for the Australian War Memorial, said. “Many (soldiers) came back from war, took the uniform off, hung it up in the wardrobe and went back to work. Most indigenous people came back to no job.” Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/city-east/aboriginal-...

Remembrance Day: Tragic story of WWI veteran Albert Burke who died alone in the bush Albert Burke may have served his country and fought on the Western Front but when he returned home, he was forced onto a mission and later died in the bush — alone. He was one of 850 Indigenous men who fought in WWI thinking their loyalty would be rewarded with better treatment. Instead, they returned to the same oppression. There was no freedom for Burke upon return from the war, except for a brief few years when he was granted an exemption from Queensland's Aboriginal Protection Act, but this was revoked. He was then sent to Woorabinda, a mission in central Queensland known as a punishment place in the 1930s. Records show Burke worked as a gardener for the school's headmaster from then until his death in 1954. Refused a lift so he walked 50km Burke was returning by train to the nearby town of Duaringa, a 60-kilometre drive from the mission. He phoned the mission's superintendent to ask if the local truck driver who transported goods between the town and Woorabinda would be able to give him a lift back. The answer was 'no'. "Then that old fella, he decided to walk, right there to Charley's Creek, and he must have felt crook or something and went and had a spell and sat on a log," Mr Munns said. "He must have got sick, and people were saying they saw him — an old Aboriginal fella sitting on a log just through the fence." That is where Burke's body was found, by an old woman mustering cattle, 10 kilometres from Duaringa. No one could identify his remains but he must have been wearing his military medals because these were sent to Canberra for identification and came back as Al Burke. "The man fought for his country, and they left him to die in the bush, that's what my dad said," Mr Munns said. "He was swearing like hell when he found out: 'My old brother fought for this bloody country and they let him die in the bloody paddock like a bloody animal'. "Poor old fella." Source: www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-09/armistice-day-tragic-story...

Charles Baird His birth year was indicated to be 1889 having given his age as 26 years when he enlisted for Military Service in Cooktown on 5 May 1915. He also gave his Next of Kin as Norman Baird (his brother) and his occupation as a Miner. His Service No. was 1234A. Charles was one of many, including Norman, from the Cooktown area who enlisted and served overseas in World War One. He was awarded The 1914-1915 Star, The British War Medal and The Victory Medal. In 1913 and 1915, Charles Baird had been on the Electoral Roll at Bloomfield River in the Subdistrict of Cooktown, giving his occupation as a MIner. In 1916 and 1919, Charles and Norman were both on the same Electoral Rolls at Bloomfield River giving their occupations as Miners. Noel Pearson referred to Norman and Charles as "TWO of my maternal grandfathers, each of whom I would call Ngaji in our Kuku Yalanji language, and great-uncle in English, served ... in World War I" [6]. This article also gives Charles as "Charlie (1890-1966)" for a probable death year about 1966. Source: www.wikitree.com/wiki/Baird-4931