![]() There was a substantial group who left the islands, Cape Barren and Flinders, it was the biggest journey of their life just to get to Hobart," Mrs Gerrard said.Īt least one died when meningitis killed more than two dozen during a Claremont training camp. For every fellow who's enlisted there is a different story. She said one motivation may have been equality - unlike in civilian life, pay was the same as non-Aborigines. Lieutenant Hearps died at Mouquet Farm at Pozieres after being hit in the neck by a shell. It is possible the first Aboriginal officer in Australia might have been Lieutenant Alfred Hearps who served in the 12th Battalion and fought at Gallipoli. These men served at Gallipoli, on the Western Front and died on the Somme. Researcher Andrea Gerrard has documented the history of 65 Aboriginal men who enlisted, despite the fact it was illegal until 1915. The sacrifices made by Tasmanian indigenous troops in World War I must not be forgotten.
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