The relationship between aborigines, islanders and the armed forces in the Second World War

Abstract

During the Second World War, the Services faced a dilemma concerning the enlistment of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders: would they conform to the Commonwealth government’s assimilationist policy and permit the enlistment of Aborigines who met enlistment criteria, or would they maintain their conservative ethos, arguing that Aborigines should not be admitted to military service? Aborigines and Islanders had much to gain from admission. Military service offered employment, overseas travel, trade training and other benefits. But most importantly, it offered a persuasive argument for the extension to Aborigines of ’citizens ’ rights'. While Aborigines and Islanders sought enlistment, the Services struggled with their dilemma. The absence of an Aboriginal representation within the digger myth suggests that Aborigines were generally unsuccessful in making a contribution to the war effort and that the Services resolved their dilemma by excluding Aborigines from service. To investigate this issue, the development of Service policies in regard to the enlistment of non-Europeans was examined and the extent of Aboriginal and Islander enlistment was assessed. The formation of other relationships between the Services and Aborigines was also examined. Aborigines and Islanders made a significant contribution to the war effort, but the moral value of this contribution as a means of securing improvements in conditions for Aborigines was not able to be translated into political pressure because of lack of publicity given to the Aboriginal contribution. Throughout the war, the Services remained undecided about the question of the admission of Aborigines. They resolved their dilemma by maintaining the fiction of opposition to Aboriginal enlistment in their official policies while at the same time enlisting Aborigines, forming segregated Islander units, employing Aborigines in de facto military roles and employing Aborigines as civilian labourers. Although formal Service policies denied Aborigines the right to enlist, many did so. Once enlisted, relations between black and white servicemen were marked by an egalitarianism seldom seen in pre-war race relations. Throughout the war, Service policy makers in senior Headquarters saw Aborigines as generally unsuitable for enlistment on the grounds that white Australians would not tolerate service with them. This perception was not shared by the common soldier who came into contact with Aboriginal servicemen or women. Despite their policies, the Services made significant use of Aboriginal and Islander manpower in a variety of ways. Aborigines and Islanders deserve to be recognised as having made a considerable contribution to the national war effort.