ipl-logo

Comparing The Challenges Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islanders During World War I

877 Words4 Pages

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders faced many challenges during World War I, hardships were experienced during enlistment and combat. Laws and discrimination barred Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from enlisting in World War 1 (Deadly Story, 2015). Nonetheless, masses went to fight in the infamous campaigns of the war. Over 1,000 Indigenous soldiers travelled from Australia to fight the Central Powers (Australian War Memorial, 2019). These soldiers were courageous and tough, and many became renowned war heroes. The treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders during the enlistment process of World War 1 was contrasted greatly by their experiences and achievements in the campaigns of Gallipoli and the Western Front.

The biggest challenge for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders during World War 1 was …show more content…

So, many saw enlistment as an opportunity for better pay, employment, education, and travel (Deadly Story, 2015). Others wanted to prove themselves as equals to those of European background (Department of Veteran's Affairs, 2023). Yet, few got the chance to fulfill their desires by reason of the legislation in force. The legislation exempted “persons who [were] not substantially of European origin or descent” (Defence Act 1910, 1910) from military service. Men and women deemed insufficiently European could not serve. Due to this racist regulation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who sought to enlist were forced to hide their origin, travel elsewhere or win sympathy from the recruiters (Deadly Story, 2015). Private Richard Martin was an Aboriginal man from North Stradbroke Island who enlisted in World War 1. He misrepresented his origins and “declared on his attestation papers that he was born in Dunedin, New Zealand” for a chance of acceptance into the AIF (Australian War Memorial, 2019). This evidence was collected from the Australian War Memorial project focusing on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander soldiers

Show More
Related
892 Words | 4 Pages

WWI was one of the most brutal wars. The Western Front campaign overshadows the Gallipoli campaign when considering Australia’s involvement in and commemoration of World War I. Australia had only been a country for less than 13 years before it entered the war. The Western Front campaign took place around Belgium and France on the 1st of July 1916. On that first day there were 57, 470 casualties (troops killed or wounded).

Read More
704 Words | 3 Pages

Introduction Australia's involvement in World War I (WW1) is heralded as one of the most significant periods in its history and a significant turning point for a fledging country. It is indeed accurate to say that Australia's relationship with Great Britain explains why both the Australian people and nation supported Great Britain during the war. Australia's entry into WW1 was significantly influenced by its long-standing alliance with Great Britain, its former colonial overlord. The positive relationship formed during Australia’s colonial period played a significant role in shaping Australia’s national identity, inspiring a sense of duty and allegiance among the Australian people to protect the motherland of the British Empire. Australia joined

Read More
780 Words | 4 Pages

Only 13,900 of the prisoners of war survived. The Australian prisoners of war were often forced to live in uninhabitable places, perform exhausting manual labor, have no medical treatment, were starved, abused, maltreated, beaten and mocked by their Japanese

Read More
987 Words | 4 Pages

During World War 1, more than sixty-five million men from thirty countries fought. One of these countries was Australia, who joined not long after Britain. The Western Front campaign should not be over shadowed when commemorating Australia’s involvement in World War 1. A commemoration is remembering those who have passed away. The Western Front went from 1916 to 1918 and was situated from north-east France to Belgium.

Read More
185 Words | 1 Pages

World War One began on the 1914, which Germans and the Britain’s started. Australian and New Zealand troops known as the ANZAC, help fight with the British Army. Many Australians died fighting for the Britain’s, also many died in their own homes, or coming back. They died either from a disease, or they ended up taking their own lives with all the memories they had. Those who survived, didn’t live a happy life.

Read More
420 Words | 2 Pages

History notes • The feel in Australia was that the whole country was united in support of helping the British forces during the war, however there is some historical evidence that this is a biased opinion and that many people didn’t enlist and that the anti-war groups just had a hard time getting ways to get their message across • Both Prime Minister Joseph Cook and the Opposition Leader at the time Andrew Fisher, who were both fighting over an upcoming election, both said to support Britain in war • Bitterness and division throughout Australia, women abusing men who didn’t enlist and the general idea is that they were cowards and would be sent a white feather, the sign of a coward • At the beginning of war, many people rushed to enlist in

Read More
931 Words | 4 Pages

To what extent did Australians enlist in 1914 to defend the ‘Mother Country’? World War 1 plays a very significant part in Australia’s history. Over 50,000 men enlisted in 1914 after the war was declared in August. A lot of men enlisted in order to defend the empire and Britain as they felt like they had some form of attachment and to the Empire. Most Australians also saw themselves as British so they felt obliged to enlist in the war.

Read More
538 Words | 3 Pages

The Australian government control on the home front in World War one differed to the second World War in a variety of ways. In Australia, the home front played a significant role in both World Wars, with the citizens contributing to the war effort in a variety of ways. Three ways they differed were through enemy aliens, rationing and censorship. During World War one the Australian government used the war precautions act in 1914. This allowed the government to intern anyone that was suspicious or an “enemy alien”.

Read More
697 Words | 3 Pages

Before 1914 Australia had had very little experience of warfare. They had supported Britain in previous conflicts in New Zealand, Sudan and during the Boer war. Seeing as Australia was still very much connected with Britain during the time, when war was declared on Germany on the 4th August 1914 Australia was ready to fight alongside their ‘mother country’. The main reason that Australia was part of World War 1 was because of their loyalty to Britain.

Read More
924 Words | 4 Pages

Although the defeat, the bravery and sacrifices associated with the eight month struggle that had profound Australians views during this period. The first newspaper report on the Australian landing in Gallipoli was published. This created and audience of those who were, about Australian soldier’s reputation for being undisciplined, concerned that Australians behaved poorly during military engagements, wanted to see Australian at soldiers’ least equal effort to British troops. Pride in the Anzac’s showed propaganda poster. For nearly hundreds years Australians promoted the Anzac’s legend concept of Gallipoli as ‘baptism of fire’ and the Australian soldier at Gallipoli has created Australia’s national

Read More
834 Words | 4 Pages

Australia’s experiences of World War II were significant for Australia and impacted on the shaping of our national identity. Australia 's response to entry into World War II in 1939 differed from Australia 's entry into World War I in 1914. Reasons for this includes attitudes towards war changing after gaining the knowledge and experiencing consequences of World War I, the conditions and lead up to World War II as well as Australia’s strong support for Britain. Firstly, the attitude of Australians changed due to World War 3I proving that war was not glamourous or exciting like it was assumed. During the lead up to World War II Australians had already struggled to survive through the depression and were now required to survive at war.

Read More
509 Words | 3 Pages

Boote argues that the act of allowing conscription would ‘ruin the country’. He says that the removal of ‘16,000 men a month’ would be ‘disastrous’, and would result in the jobs of hundreds of thousands of white Australian men being lost. Boote is deeply concerned by the possibility of ‘colored labourers’ replacing white labourers if the people vote yes to Prime Minister W. M. Hughes’ policy of compulsory military participation. The document explores two dominant issues in Australian

Read More
1303 Words | 6 Pages

How was conflict created between the Australians and Germans? (Intro) When WW1 was announced in Australia on the 4th of August 1914, every German person living in Australia was treated with hostility and suspicion as Germany was an enemy to Australia, all Australians thought that the Germans would support Germany, thus the conflict was created. Focus questions: 1. What was the impact for Germans living in Australia during WW1?

Read More
788 Words | 4 Pages

The war had a great effect on the place of the Indigenous in Australia. Great numbers of men and women joined the services that associated with helping out for the war. The Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders received greater training, pay and social contacts than many had obtained before. An Aboriginal poet and political figure at that time, Oodgeroo Noonucal said, 'There was a job to be done... all of a sudden the colour line disappeared. '

Read More
700 Words | 3 Pages

A large majority of Australians have been presented with a version of Australian history that has minimised and ignored important events regarding Aboriginal people that include many violent and painful deaths that until recently have been hidden quietly. History is extremely important in forming cultural identity which in turn leads to an increased sense of security and belonging. Therefore a need for shared history is required in Australia for recognising the history of both Aboriginal and non-aboriginal people (Gore, 2008). When studying the history of Australia it is important to recognise that it is a shared history. The shared history of Australia acknowledges that the history of Australia began long before the British started to

Read More

More about Comparing The Challenges Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islanders During World War I

Related Topics

Open Document