An Anzac Day event honouring the contribution of First Nations veterans and current members has been held in the inner-Sydney suburb of Redfern. The 'Coloured Digger Event', which began 18 years ago, heard stories of the sacrifices made by Indigenous people in World War One and two.
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00:00First Nations veterans, service people, families and their allies gathered in Redfern, the heart of Sydney's black activism, to pay tribute to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who've served in defence of their country.
00:15The Coloured Digger event began in 2007 and pays tribute to Aboriginal servicemen in World War II. Today began with speeches, many talking about their ancestors' bravery and how they weren't afforded the same resources that their peers were on their return home to Australia.
00:34The crowd then descended through Redfern, where they've ended up at this memorial. The theme today is Defending Country on Ancient Sands. It was inspired by Aunty Faye Clayton Moseley's family. The Stolen Generations survivor told of how her father was a rat of Tobruk in World War II.
00:56When he came home, they were not treated the same as non-Aboriginal soldiers. They missed out on the same services that the non-Aboriginal people received when they returned. My father was put back on a mission and had to get a certificate to say that he was allowed to go into town.
01:24Now, there's not a complete picture of how many First Nations people served in the Australian Defence Force because there were restrictions on their enlistment right up until 1949. Still, many did so. And identification didn't begin until the 90s.
01:42But it's believed around 1,000 people served in the First World War and around 5,000 First Nations people in World War II.
01:51Pastor Ray Minicon, who co-founded this event back in 2007, says this is all about truth-telling.
01:58All soldiers need to be identified on this particular day so that our nation can celebrate all of those soldiers.
02:07But we know what happened to our soldiers when they came back. They came back under the Aboriginal Protection Acts.
02:12They weren't allowed in the pubs nor in the RSLs and they marched in the back of the line if they ever did march.
02:19And a lot of our soldiers didn't march. And so we wanted to make sure that they get the honour of doing, of feeling that honour, as well as the respect from their community.
02:33The event also pays tribute to the loss of Indigenous people in what's known as the frontier conflicts or wars in the early days of colonisation and settlement.
02:44The day will end with the laying of wreaths to remember those who have died.