Those Who Have Lost Because of War

Will we continue to leave the stories about war and Australia’s identity to others to create and interpret?

Or will we get together to share and record our own stories of those who have lost their lives or quality of life because of war.

Joy Murphy Wandin:

'When my Dad, as an ex-serviceman of WW1, returned to Coranderrk, (his home) and like so many of our Aboriginal men at that time, who served not only for their country but for their families so that there might be some equality in life later on ... he’d hoped that when he got back that his Mum would still be there and she was.
And she was one of five people, elderly people who said, “I’m not going. This is my place, I’ve had all my children here, I’ve brought all my children up here, I’ve raised them here. This is my country, this is my home, this is my husband’s place. I want to die here”.

And so they were granted leave to stay. But on return from the war, my father had to get permission from the police to visit his Mum and then he had to be escorted onto Coranderrk, and he was only allowed one half an hour with her before he was sent off to Lake Tyers in Gippsland...

So, Coranderrk was closed then officially in 1923 ... the land was supposedly sold up for soldier settlement. http://www.abc.net.au/missionvoices cited in womenworkingtogether.com.au (underlining mine)

This is Australia’s identity, too. This other account, this other heritage, is seldom told.