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The Black Diggers: Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the Second World War
Hall explores the war effort of Aboriginal and Islander Australians during the Second World War and the reasons why their contribution was unrecognised for so long.
228 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
About the author
Robert A. Hall
4 booksLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
December 17, 2017
I first read Hall's book not long after its release, and to my shame I don't think I really grasped its importance or understood the issues relating to how white Australians have failed to acknowledge our racist past, as addressed in 'The Black Diggers'. The fact of the matter is that when most Australians think about our military history we have air brushed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service out of the collective memory, and to make things worse not enough has been done to demonstrate an acknowledgment of what was done to these men and women was part and parcel of a blatantly racist culture.
Hall does a first rate job of addressing the history of indigenous peoples and their service in, with or for the Australian Army, RAAF and RAN, with specific attention paid to the relationship between these people, the armed forces and civilians in northern Australia during the period 1941-45. At a time when the Japanese threat to Australia was at its highest the reliance on and interaction with indigenous Australians was a key part of the national war effort. Reading 'Black diggers' one is struck time and time again about the exploitative and discriminatory nature of this relationship. To be fair the military appear to have a more positive part in this story than civilians and their authorities (such as state governments, native boards and the various Christian missions). The author makes it abundantly clear that certain white individuals did try their best to engage in more productive relationships with indigenous Australians as part of the war effort, yet the overwhelming cultural, economic and political attitude was to use and abuse Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders due to inherent racist ideas.
'Black Diggers' may be nearly 30 years old, and I expect much has been done to fill in more gaps about this regrettable period in our national history. I do know that more work has been done by agencies such as the Australian War Memorial to highlight the role played by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in our military history. Names like Reg Saunders and Len Waters are recognised, though perhaps still not as highly thought of as should be. However none of this would have been possible without Robert Hall's book.
Before I close this review, it does require mentioning that Hall doesn't spend as much time as (arguably) may be required on writing about the active service of indigenous soldiers, sailors and airmen, or for that matter indigenous women. To some extent the book is more concerned with broader issues, such as the service of the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion. It is not a failure of the book per se, however it would have added more personal engagement with the stories of indigenous service personnel during WWII if their combat or other military activities were recorded in more detail.
Hall does a first rate job of addressing the history of indigenous peoples and their service in, with or for the Australian Army, RAAF and RAN, with specific attention paid to the relationship between these people, the armed forces and civilians in northern Australia during the period 1941-45. At a time when the Japanese threat to Australia was at its highest the reliance on and interaction with indigenous Australians was a key part of the national war effort. Reading 'Black diggers' one is struck time and time again about the exploitative and discriminatory nature of this relationship. To be fair the military appear to have a more positive part in this story than civilians and their authorities (such as state governments, native boards and the various Christian missions). The author makes it abundantly clear that certain white individuals did try their best to engage in more productive relationships with indigenous Australians as part of the war effort, yet the overwhelming cultural, economic and political attitude was to use and abuse Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders due to inherent racist ideas.
'Black Diggers' may be nearly 30 years old, and I expect much has been done to fill in more gaps about this regrettable period in our national history. I do know that more work has been done by agencies such as the Australian War Memorial to highlight the role played by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in our military history. Names like Reg Saunders and Len Waters are recognised, though perhaps still not as highly thought of as should be. However none of this would have been possible without Robert Hall's book.
Before I close this review, it does require mentioning that Hall doesn't spend as much time as (arguably) may be required on writing about the active service of indigenous soldiers, sailors and airmen, or for that matter indigenous women. To some extent the book is more concerned with broader issues, such as the service of the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion. It is not a failure of the book per se, however it would have added more personal engagement with the stories of indigenous service personnel during WWII if their combat or other military activities were recorded in more detail.
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