Aboriginals of Australia: Candle-lit Anzac Day
Below is an article published by Business Day:
Australians marked their most sacred national holiday in memory of fallen soldiers today as Aboriginal veterans broke with tradition to hold a rival service and demand equality for "coloured" warriors.
Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders rose before dawn for candle-lit Anzac Day services in memory of their war dead 92 years after troops, or "diggers", from both countries landed at Gallipoli in
"Over there in the heat of the battle we were one, we were brothers," organiser Pastor Ray Minniecon said.
"When a lot of our men came back from the war, they came back under the white
About 500 Aboriginals fought in World War I and as many as 5 000 fought on World War II battlefields in Europe and in
Pastor Bill Simon, who was to lead a church service following the march, said for too long there was a military tradition to "send the little black fella out to do all the hard work".
"It’s sad that it’s deemed to be necessary by the indigenous community to have a separate march," RSL president Bill Crews told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
The controversy did not mar regular Anzac Day services, with crowds of 30 000 turning up for dawn ceremonies in
The eight-month British-led campaign involving Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) forces in
Services came a day after three Australian soldiers in
Howard urged Australians to visit the battlefields where their forebears died, with thousands expected at Gallipoli despite official warnings of a possible terrorist attack. In New Zealand about 15 000 people gathered at Auckland’s Cenotaph, while in Papua New Guinea, where Australians repelled Japanese invaders in a bloody 1942 battle, thousands held a service above rows of white tombstones.
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