When activists interfere with proud diggers

 Canberra tent embassy founder, Michael Anderson, wants Aboriginal people from across Australia to use the city’s Anzac Day march to protest against the massacres committed during the ‘frontier wars’.   Mr Anderson is one of the founders of the ‘tent embassy’ and a leading Aboriginal rights activist.  He lives on and runs a sheep and cattle property on his ancestral lands on both sides of the New South Wales and Queensland border in the lower Ballone river system.

‘‘Our country was taken by superior force at gunpoint,’’ he said. ‘‘Blood has been spilt on the wattle and this war of attrition against Aboriginal people is continuing.’’ Mr Anderson said a well supported ‘‘Lest We Forget The Frontier Wars March’’ had joined on behind the Anzac Day March in Canberra last year. ‘We received enormous support from the public at the time, now we intend to keep it growing.’’ He has urged Aborigines who cannot travel to Canberra to stage similar protests at Anzac commemorations in their own home towns and communities. ‘‘We are subject to continued war of attrition, including urban warfare. Our people are dying in custody for crimes white people don’t usually go to jail for, minor driving offences.’’ These ‘wars’ were a conflict between the Aboriginal and white settlers of Australia and not a war where Australia was fighting against another Nation, therefore it does not meet the same criteria as the ANZAC day march, nor does it belong on the same day as this.    Mr Anderson, the last of the four men who founded the tent embassy in 1972 still alive, now lives in Goodooga in north western NSW. He is the leader of the Euahlayi people.

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He has called on former Aboriginal servicemen to boycott the RSL march and, instead, take their place alongside their own people. ‘‘Those interested in joining us can gather at the lower end of Anzac Parade, Canberra, at 10am for the 11am March on April 25 and carry a banner for one of the wars or massacres that have occurred,’’ he said.  He said Mick Thorpe, the leader of last year’s ‘‘Frontier Wars’’ march in Canberra had worn his grandfather’s service medals, although this may well have been against what his grandfather fought so gallantly for. The Australian Defence Force honours past and present Aboriginal service personnel at a special ceremony in Canberra every year. Mr Anderson, wants Aboriginal people from across Australia to use the city’s Anzac Day march to protest against the massacres committed during the ‘frontier wars’. ‘‘Our country was taken by superior force at gunpoint,’’ he said. ‘‘Blood has been spilt on the wattle and his war of attrition against Aboriginal people is continuing.’’  Mr Anderson said a well supported ‘‘Lest We Forget The Frontier Wars March’’ had joined on behind the Anzac Day March in Canberra last year. These ‘wars’ were a conflict between the Aboriginal and white settlers of Australia and not a war where Australia was fighting against another Nation, therefore it does not meet the same criteria as the ANZAC day march, nor does it belong on the same day as this.    Throughout history around the world superior forces fought for pieces of land, it wasn’t a matter of colour, it was a matter of fighting for what they needed and believed in then. This has nothing to do with the ANZACS or any soldiers since, for they did not fight against anyone that was not an enemy of Australia or UK. In Australia the ‘ANZACs’ have hero status and Anzac Day is a day of many commemorations where Australia’s ex-servicemen and servicewomen march the streets.

This article focuses on Australia’s Aboriginal war veterans and the Coloured Digger march which started in 2007. 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joined in World War I, Sydney Morning Herald, 17/4/2007, An estimated number of 33% of Aboriginal soldiers who served overseas and were killed in action or died of wounds or disease . ‘Special recognition at Adelaide service’, Koori Mail 400 p.37,  it is in their name also that ANZAC day commemorates, or does Michael Anderson claim they don’t count and the effort and bravery they exhibited does not deserve proper recognition ? Accurate numbers might never be known as no record is known of how many Indigenous Australians served in the armed forces.

Many Aboriginal Diggers did not identify themselves as Indigenous when they joined the military because as Aboriginal people they may not have been allowed to join, or they wanted to avoid exposure to racism.  Instead they pretended to be Maori or Indian. When Aboriginal men and women who tried to enlist were rejected they were sent back to their communities and often arrested because they were not allowed to leave their prescribed area.  This was a sign of the times, however, regardless of this in WW1 500 Aboriginal diggers joined to fight for Australia, and they deserve the equality people like Michael Anderson is not allowing them by denigrating the war and trying to hijack ANZAC day celebrations of these war heroes . Now these Aboriginal diggers did not return to the respect and praise they should have, and people through their ignorance of the time, ignored their efforts, failing to recognise the fighting spirit and bravery they showed in war. Aboriginal people decided to draw attention to their history and organised Australia’s first Coloured Diggers March on Anzac Day (25th April 2007) in Redfern, Sydney, with hundreds of Indigenous veterans and their descendants marching along Redfern Street to St Saviour’s church in Sydney’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anzac Day parade. They were criticised for this as they could have participated in the main march, however, due to the past lack of acknowledgement a Coloured Diggers March was thought to be a good vessel to make the general population aware of the merits of Indigenous war veterans.   What they need most is honour, recognition and respect.

However, the good this has done, the awakening of people to the plight of these diggers which is being hurt through the actions of a few that want to dredge u the Frontier Wars at this time, instead of celebrating Australia’s heroic ANZACS For those who aren’t aware they refer to

War                                                             Year                    Region

Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars        1790-1816        New South Wales

Black Wars                                              1803-1830       Tasmania

Port Phillip District Wars                     1830-1850       New South Wales

Kalkadoon Wars                                    1870-1890        Queensland

Western Australian Conflict               1890-1898       Western Australia

National Aboriginal wars (‘Frontier Wars’)

Read more: http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/anzac-day-digger-march.html#29#ixzz1reRoYv6b

All of this is prior to 1900 and the times and people were vastly different.  We cannot move ahead if we focus on the ignorance of the past, instead of the progress of the times since then. ANZAC Day is not the day for this argument !  ANZAC Day is a day to celebrate the Australian Diggers who showed us the spirit, determination, skill, laconic attitudes and the resilience to move forward even after such horrific wars, for it is their Legacy we must respect, not use this important day that celebrates both black and white diggers achievements. On a personal point I feel it disappointing that black and white Australians should need separate marches or to protest against a fight between black and white Australians, due to out dated beliefs and opinions that existed prior to 1900′s.  This type of dysfunction is being garnered by Socialist elements that work behind the scenes to separate the Australians by having them fight among themselves and separate into their own smaller groups.  The sooner the us and them mentality is put behind us and activists, pull their heads in, the sooner we  find the opportunity to overcome this division in our Country.  Only then  we will truly meld together as the one Nation of Australians willing to move forward and improve Australia for the benefit of all Australians