Aboriginals in the First Australian Imperial Force, a secret history

When: Wednesday 28 May 2014 at 12.30pm
Where: Parliament Theatre

Gary Oakley will give a lecture on the contribution of Indigenous military personnel in the First World War.

About the presenter:
Gary Oakley was born in Katoomba NSW and his people are the Gundungurra. He is the first Indigenous Liaison Officer employed at the Australian War Memorial and the National President of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans and Services Association of Australia (ATSIVSAA).

His connection with the military started as a member of the cadet corps at high school. He later joined the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as a Junior Recruit in 1969 and after twelve months at HMAS Leeuwin went on to serve in HMA Ships Duchess, Sydney, Perth, Stewart, Stalwart and the submarines Oxley and Ovens. While at HMAS Platypus he became curator of the 1st Australian Submarine Squadron Museum, and on leaving the RAN, took up a curatorial position at the Australian War Memorial in 1991. He has been a curator at the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingolstadt, Germany and studied Cultural Heritage Management and Museum Studies at the University of Canberra.

This is one in a series of events at the Australian Parliament to mark the centenary of the First World War. The series will include events, exhibitions and lectures that look at the war and its impacts, particularly on the role of the Australian Parliament in debating and legislating the big issues that confronted the nation as it participated in the biggest industrial war in human history.