Too Aboriginal for the AIF? Aboriginal South Australian Soldiers and the First World War.
Melanie Clark is a recent Flinders University PhD graduate and Study Advisor at Yungkurrinthi, Flinders University’s First Nations Centre. Holding a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) and a Bachelor or Arts (Honours), majoring in Australian Studies, she has always been passionate about learning and curious about Australian historical contradictions.
An extension of her Honours research, Melanie’s PhD thesis was titled, Too Aboriginal for the AIF? Aboriginal South Australian Soldiers and the First World War. Prioritising Indigenous methodologies, her doctorate explored Aboriginal inclusion/exclusion from Anzac remembrance and Australian national memory.
Her presentation draws on the research of this PhD thesis, which utilised previously unexamined and underutilised archival documents as well as military and newspaper archives, government legislation, Aboriginal testimony, family anecdotes, and mission and government correspondence to inform a collective Aboriginal South Australian biography that explored the unique experience of 90 Aboriginal First World War volunteers.
Reviewing Anzac from the bottom-up, this research unsettles celebratory renderings allowing for broader conclusions to be made about the inclusion/exclusion of Aboriginal volunteers in the AIF, ultimately aiding truth telling and (re)conciliation.
All details of this presentation are on the flyer below. Please RSVP as requested.
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