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RSL event pays tribute to Indigenous veterans’s service
The contributions of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have served and sacrificed for Australia were recognised at RSL Queensland’s annual Indigenous Veterans’ Ceremony in Brisbane late last month.
In line with National Reconciliation Week, the Indigenous Veterans’ Ceremony has become an integral part of the RSL Queensland calendar.
RSL Queensland State President Major General Stephen Day DSC AM said the ceremony was an opportunity for the entire community to acknowledge that many Indigenous veterans were treated neither equally, nor fairly, during but particularly after their return from service.
“RSL Queensland aims to create a deeper understanding of our military history by helping to tell the story of indigenous veterans,” Maj Gen Day said.
“We continue to acknowledge that Indigenous veterans made a significant contribution in serving our nation, yet many were denied the same pay or entitlements as other Australian veterans who fought for their country in the same wars.”
Navy veteran Marsat Ketchell addressed the ceremony as the keynote speaker.
After his 26 years of service, Mr Ketchell played a key role in advocating for Indigenous service men and women, and said he was committed to supporting veteran wellbeing and integration into the community.
“Today is an opportunity to share my story and to share the truth,” he said.
“The truth that we are still here despite the fact that in the past, both during and after their service, Indigenous and some non-Indigenous personnel and veterans were not treated equally.
“We did serve and we’ll continue to serve.”
He said he hoped the importance of culture and tradition, and how it can be integrated into the Commonwealth Defence Force, was what people at the ceremony would remember.
“It is time join together and recognise the strength of uniting in our differences,” he said.
“For us to be fully operational, in Defence Force terms, we’ve need to understand each other and the importance of our culture and tradition integrated into the Commonwealth Defence
Force culture and tradition.”
For more information on the Indigenous Veterans’
Ceremony, visit www.rslqld. org/whats-on/indigenousveterans-ceremony
