The first official Aboriginal Remembrance Service took place at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne in 2007 and services have been taking place throughout Australia ever since.
For years the Victorian aboriginal community had been calling for formal recognition of the service of indigenous service men and women, but certain individuals within Victorian State Branch and RSL membership maintained a strong opposition to reconciliation to honour the “Black Diggers” *
The course of history was changed when Wurundjeri elder Aunty Dot Peters and Sam Halim, then President of Healesville RSL sub-branch, joined forces.
Together, they initiated the first remembrance service to honour Aboriginal servicemen and women.
A didgeridoo was played alongside the ode as a way of honouring Aunty Dot’s father, who had died as a Prisoner of War on the Thai Burma railway.
This was the spark that ignited the flame.
On May 31st every year, remembrance services take place in every state in Australia to honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women. At these services, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are proudly raised alongside the Australian flag.
Aunty Dot Peters and Sam Halim continue to dedicate their lives to this cause. With the help of the Victorian Aboriginal Remembrance Committee, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, the Governor of Victoria, the Minister for Education, and countless other departments and organisations, Aunty Dot and Sam Halim have realized a big part of their dream to honour the black diggers and to advance the cause of indigenous people in general.
* (names withheld but can be revealed if no apology to Aunty Dot and Sam Halim is forthcoming).
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