Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this Sub Collection contains images, voices and names of deceased persons.
The service of 13 Diggers, now honoured as Indigenous, original ANZACs, who served with the Australian Imperial Force in Gallipoli are commemorated by name in dioramas in the World War 1 Gallery at the Australian Army Museum of Western Australia.
The experiences of the thirteen Western Australian Aboriginal servicemen at Gallipoli were similar to most others who served. They embarked with all the bravado of boys on an adventure, returning as broken men. Their shared sufferings of war were indelibly etched within them. For those who survived the horror and returned home, the equality they experienced from the point of enlistment, to fighting shoulder to shoulder with their non-Aboriginal mates, was not accorded to them on discharge. Denied equal rights, their transition to civilian life was doubly traumatic, for military service had done little to enhance their ability to obtain full-time work and access the privileges available to wider society. Aboriginal soldiers too, were not alone in experiencing significant health issues for the rest of their lives.
