First peoples war efforts to be acknowledged

For many in our community, the dedication of a war memorial specifically for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers has been a long time coming and thanks to a grant from the Victorian State Government, it will soon become a reality.

 

Mildura Rural City Council’s Aboriginal Action Committee (AAC) has been working on the design for the new memorial and is looking for feedback and comment on the story to be engraved on the new monument.

 

AAC Chairperson Norsiyah Mokak said the group had spent a lot of time working on the sentiment for the memorial, wanting to acknowledge the hardships faced by our original Indigenous diggers also to look to the future.

 

“It’s hard to imagine what it must have felt like for our World War I and World War II Aboriginal men and women, who enlisted to join the army at that time,” Ms Mokak said.  

 

“They weren’t considered citizens, they had to often renounce their Aboriginality and then they went and did their duty just the same as any other soldier or nurse.  They lived and died alongside their fellow white soldiers. However when they came home, they went back to a life of inequality and no recognition of their sacrifices.”

 

Over time, stories of the bravery and camaraderie of our Indigenous diggers have slowly become known, however there are still very few War Memorials acknowledging their sacrifice.

 

“It’s fantastic that Mildura Rural City Council will be one of a very few regional cities to have a memorial such as this,” Arts and Culture portfolio Councillor Jill Joslyn said.  

 

“Acknowledging the part our Aboriginal men and women played in granting us the freedoms we enjoy today is the very least we can do.”

The memorial will be made of solid granite and the AAC is looking for feedback on the proposed wording for the engraving.

 

“We’ve looked at other memorials and have come up with something we think acknowledges the part our peoples played in many wars,” said Ms Mokak.

 

The proposed wording is currently available for consideration on Council’s Have Your Say webpage at www.mildura.vic.gov.au/haveyoursay or in hard copy from any of Council’s service centres.

 

Feedback must be submitted by 6 May 2016 and can be emailed directly to saurav.shrestha@mildura.vic.gov.au 

Angela Umback

(03) 5018 8689

angela.umback@mildura.vic.gov.au