Invasion, resistance and the binary structure of Australia's military heritage

Tim Rowse, Emma Waterton

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

Abstract

In the official and popular memory of the Australian nation, the Anzac tradition is central. In 1915, Australian and New Zealand troops, part of a larger force under British command, attempted to invade Turkey, at Gallipoli. Though Turkey repulsed the invasion, the valour of the Australian and New Zealand troops in defeat became an important national myth for both nations. Australians built monuments and devised rituals that are performed annually on a national holiday, Anzac Day (25 April). Australia’s military commitments since the First World War have been evoked as continuing the Anzac tradition of patriotic heroism and unselfish service. But what is the Indigenous side of this national story? The custodians of the Anzac Legend have acknowledged the distinct contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and they have recently devised teaching materials that reinforce the idea that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians helped to make the nation through military service. Some have argued that if we are fully to acknowledge the Indigenous contribution to Australia’s military heritage, we must commemorate all wars that formed Australia’s nationhood – not only those fought overseas but also, prior to Australia’s federation in 1901, those fought between the colonising powers (in six British colonies) and Indigenous Australians. To omit these ‘frontier wars’, argues Henry Reynolds, is to forget that Australia is the result of violent colonisation (Reynolds 2013, p. 235). Including the frontier wars complicates our idea of ‘patriotism’ because it is to say that Indigenous Australians were ‘patriotic’ not only when they joined Australia’s military units, but also when they fought against British invasion in the frontier wars. Indeed, as ken Inglis noted in 1998, the idea of ‘fighting for your country’ means something different for Indigenous Australasians: not only fighting for ‘empire and nation’ against enemies of the British (such as Turkey in the First World War) but also fighting against the British occupation of Aboriginal ‘country’ (Inglis 1998, p. 447).
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Difference Identity Makes: Indigenous Cultural Capital in Australian Cultural Fields
EditorsLawrence Bamblett, Fred Myers, Tim Rowse
Place of PublicationCanberra, A.C.T.
PublisherAboriginal Studies Press
Pages265-284
Number of pages20
ISBN (Electronic)9781925302851
ISBN (Print)9781925302837
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • military history
  • Australia
  • Aboriginal Australians

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