Welcome to our website, and we hope you like what you see. Our website is now live and the only one of its kind in Australia. It is exclusive for Indigenous men and women who have served or are serving. It is a place where the families can tell the stories of their Veteran’s service. Our job is then to match your information with the official service records and show what your veteran has done for their country.
We will be working behind the scenes indefinitely to find, acknowledge and recognise the Indigenous men and women who have served in the Defence forces of Australia.
We would like to thank the Commonwealth Bank Indigenous Unit for sponsoring the site and supporting us with great news articles with Qantas and Indigenous Business Review.
This site is your place of pride and recognition for all those who joined up and went to war, and those who served at home. From the Boer War in 1899 up until now, your families have given everything to serve their country. Let’s tell the world what they have done and what it was like for them and their families.
Our project is National, and we will reach out across the country to link up with the families of veterans across Australia and its Islands.
Help get this project out there by sharing with your mob and asking them to share with their friends and other mobs as well.
We will be posting regular news and keeping you informed about what we find in our research, and sharing some super stories with you. Heroes' Tales will focus on many Indigenous Veterans and their stories.
Be back soon, Zita - Team Leader,
Our Indigenous Heroes - They Also Served National Project
The Black Prince
A RETURNED SOLDIERS PROTEST-THE BLACK PRINCE – written by Michael Bell – AWM – 30/5/2019
While working at the Australian War Memorial to support and promote an interest in the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders servicemen and servicewomen, an exceptional story has come across my desk. While it contains the familiar themes of hidden heritage, and the difficulty of navigating of social norms and government policy within the young nation of Australia, the remarkable achievements of the protagonist and the questions posed by the story render it unique.
The curious epithet of "Black Prince" was given to Charles Melbourne Johnston at Gallipoli, according to the oral history passed down through two branches of the Johnston family: Rachel Hindle (née Johnston, Charles' sister), and Ian Wyllie Johnston, Charles' son, whose own nickname (bestowed on him by his uncle, the late Hon Hugh Stevenson Robertson) was "the Black".
According to Peter Wyllie Johnston, Ian referred to his father as "the Black Prince". At the time it was unclear whether the epithet was bestowed because of Charles' dark features, his strong leadership qualities and heroism on the field, or some other reason. “Uncle Ian sometimes conveyed a sense of something 'mysterious' in relation to his father's heritage, without ever explicitly stating that he believed there was Indigenous heritage in our family.”
This story has been written with the assistance of family members Andy Johnston and Peter Wyllie Johnston in the interests of furthering the knowledge and awareness of the wartime contribution of people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage.
Charles Melbourne Johnston was born on 12 May 1892 in South Melbourne, the son of Adolf Charles Johnston, a Swedish-born engineer, and his wife Bertha Selvince Taglinoi Mignonneete (née Turner) from South Australia. He attended Melbourne Church of England Grammar School in 1907–1911 and at the outbreak of war in 1914 was studying law.
A group portrait of officers of the 4th Brigade Staff taken at Waterloo Camp in Belgium in March 1918.Charles Melbourne Johnston is pictured in the front row, second from left.
With his military experience as an officer with the Melbourne Grammar Volunteer School Cadets and the Citizens Military Forces, Johnston was commissioned in December 1914 as a second lieutenant. He was seconded to the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 16 April 1915 as an officer, and embarked from Brisbane with reinforcements for the 15th Battalion that very day. After reporting for duty on Gallipoli in early June, Johnston leadership qualities were noted. On 13 September he was made temporary captain and given command of C Company to replace a wounded colleague. He remained in this role until the 15th Battalion was evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915. In Egypt, the AIF went through a period of expansion and reorganisation. Johnston remained with the 15th Battalion, and his rank as captain was confirmed.
Captain Johnston embarked for France on 31 May 1916 and within a few months he was again promoted, this time to major, retaining command of his company. By the end of the year, Johnston had been promoted to Brigade Major of the 4th Brigade, under the command of Major General William Holmes. He retained this post until February 1918, despite being seriously wounded at Messines on 6 July 1917 when a stray shell landed in the mess tent, killing one man and seriously wounding others.
Among the “half-castes” who stood with Bennett and the 15th Battalion on Gallipoli and the Western Front was Charles Melbourne Johnston.
Later dubbed the “Black Prince”, Johnston was born in Melbourne in 1892 and educated at Melbourne Grammar.
He was studying law when the war broke in 1914 and was determined to enlist. With his experience as an officer with the Melbourne Grammar Volunteer School Cadets and the Commonwealth Military Forces, Johnston was commissioned in December 1914 as a second lieutenant and embarked from Brisbane with reinforcements for the 15th Battalion.
After reporting for duty on Gallipoli, he was made captain and given command of C Company to replace a wounded colleague.
Following the evacuation of Gallipoli, Johnston was sent to the Western Front, where he was again promoted, this time to major, retaining command of his company. By the end of the year, he had been promoted to brigade major of the 4th Brigade, retaining this post until February 1918, despite being seriously wounded at Messines in July 1917.
From February to June 1918 Johnston served with the 14th Battalion, first as commanding officer and then as second-in-command. In July, he was appointed to command the 45th Battalion, taking part in the battles of Hamel and Amiens.
He returned to the 15th Battalion in September 1918 and was in command during what he regarded as “the 15th’s last fight, and their best”, when an outpost of the Hindenburg Line was taken on 18 September. He retained his command until the 15th Battalion was disbanded in March 1919.
In recognition of his dedication and bravery, Johnston was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and was Mentioned in Dispatches three times.
Michael Bell, the Indigenous Liaison Officer at the Australian War Memorial, said Johnston’s story was a remarkable one.
“His war service as an infantry officer was outstanding,” Bell said.
General Sir William Riddell Birdwood decorating an officer for bravery in the first attack on the Hindenburg Line. The ceremony took place at Ribemont.
Major Charles Melbourne Johnston DSO, 15th Battalion, stands on the far right up the back.
“He had risen through the ranks and by the age of 26 had commanded battalions in action with distinction.
“But behind all of this was the inconvenient fact that Charles Johnston, the ‘Black Prince’, was of Aboriginal heritage.”
For many years, the Aboriginal heritage of the Johnston family was known only to family members. “He’s an unusual story because he has the hidden heritage,” Bell said. “The family had long suspected their Aboriginal heritage, but it came to light through research …
“The Johnston family had retrospectively invented Spanish heritage in order to explain away their dark features and be accepted within business and social circles in Melbourne.
“When later generations asked why this deception was necessary, they received the same answer that so many before them have heard: hiding Aboriginal heritage was ‘a necessary evil’ and ‘a sign of the times’ – ‘it’s just what you did’.”
During the war, the Defence Act specifically exempted those “not of substantial European descent” from service, but many army recruiters chose to ignore the rule.
“For them, a potential soldier was a potential soldier, regardless of the colour of his skin,” Bell said.
“When recruiting guidelines in 1916 stated that ‘Aboriginals, half-castes, or men with Asiatic blood’ were not to be enlisted, this too was ignored by many.”
From 1917, the enlistment rules conceded that “half-castes” could be accepted if recruiters were satisfied that one parent was European.
“Because of the potential difficulties in enlisting, many Indigenous recruits made multiple attempts, travelling to other recruiting offices if rejected,” Bell said.
“Some tried four or five times before succeeding …In the Australian Imperial Force, everyone was paid the same, and the pay was good – six shillings a day for a private. That was comparable to a worker in Australia, and far better than the pay of British soldiers.
“As well as the allure of travel and adventure, soldiers could send money home to needy families … get out from under the yoke of the Protector of Aboriginals. “Another motive for enlisting was the warrior tradition: many enlistees were only a generation away from traditional life and took part in the tradition of protecting their Country.
“Not to mention that those who lived on mission settlements encountered the same propaganda that swelled recruiting throughout the war.”
'A returned soldier's protest' published in the Cairns Post in 28 January 1933.
More than 1,000 Indigenous soldiers enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, and around 147 made the ultimate sacrifice.
“We now know of at least 70 Aboriginal men who served on Gallipoli, 13 of whom were killed in action,” Bell said.
“In the service, Indigenous soldiers found that they were treated as equals.
“Sadly, this changed once they returned to Australia. Out of uniform and back in their communities, they resumed being second-class citizens. Most never marched on Anzac Day, they and their families were not allowed to enter RSL clubs, they were never offered assistance from Legacy, and many had their wages stolen, while others died and were never given a proper service grave.
“James Bennett’s letter to the Cairn Post in January 1933is significant because it is a non-Indigenous view looking at defending Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander service …
“He is writing to defend the Aboriginal people who served with him – who fought and died bravely – and his very vivid description is quite powerful.
“It protests against the denial of basic services that were denied Aboriginal people when they came back, and the right for an education and the right to get out from under the Protector, and that’s what’s significant about it; it’s a non-Indigenous man sticking up for Aboriginal people.”
A proud Ngunnawal/Gomeroi man, Bell is researching the extent of the contribution and service of people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent and is working to identify Indigenous Australian soldiers who have served and are currently serving.
“It is important,” he said. “We’re trying to encourage people to come forward and tell their stories … to help us tell the broader story of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experience …
“Because no-one saw them, perception of their service was skewed, and for a long time it appeared as if they had never existed.”
Michael Bell, a Ngunnawal/Gomeroi man, is the Indigenous Liaison Officer at the Australian War Memorial. He is trying to identify and research the extent of the contribution and service of people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who have served, who are currently serving, or who have any military experience and/or have contributed to the war effort. He is interested in further details of the military history of all of these people and their families. He can be contacted via Michael.Bell@awm.gov.au
Thomas Bungalene - Bungaleen 1847-1865
On the 12th August 2014 a story titled ‘The tragedy of Thomas Bungelene: Aboriginal Seaman in the Victorian Navy’ was posted on the blog of Indigenous Histories by Philippa Scarlett.
Let me tell you the story and add some to it. Philippa states that she believes it lives in the Stolen Generation History not that of Australian Aboriginal Service in the Defence Forces.
I believe that this story does belong in our Defence Force history as he was a documented serving member of the Victorian Navy. I agree with Philippa, he definitely should be in the Annals of the Stolen Generation, but also here.
Damien (Yarning Crescent) has recently pointed out that Thomas Bungelene was an Aboriginal man who served on Her Majesty’s Colonial Steamer Victoria from 1861 to 1864.
Peter Gardner who has written extensively on Thomas Bungelene and his family from 1978, was the first to draw attention to Thomas Bungelene’s naval service. He elaborates on this in Gippsland massacres: the destruction of the Kurnai tribes 1800-1860 first published in 1983. and in more detail in Through Foreign Eyes 1988 in which a chapter is devoted to the Bungeleen family. Information about Thomas Bungelene from archival sources as well as a photograph showing him in uniform was published in 1993 in My Heart is Breaking, a guide to records about Aboriginal people in the Public Record Office of Victoria and the National Archives of Australia’s Victorian Office.
Thomas Bungelene or Marbunnun was the son of Gippsland Gunai, Kurnai leader Bungelene (Bunjil-ee-nee) who with his children was detained by the Native Police during the celebrated/notorious search for the ‘white woman’ in 1847. His father, who was brutally treated, died the following year in the Native Police barracks. Attempts were made to ‘civilise’ Thomas who was sent to the Merri Aboriginal School at the junction of Merri Creek and the Yarra and later worked in the Lands Survey Office. Subsequently Thomas came under the control of the Victorian Central Board Appointed to Watch Over the Interests of the Aborigines.
In 1861 the Board, as a disciplinary measure, arranged for him to become a member of the crew of the Victoria with the rank of ‘seaman’. He spent three years on this ship during which time the Victoria travelled to the Gulf of Carpentaria seeking to locate evidence relating to the disappearance of the explorers Bourke and Wills. His service was punitive not voluntary and although he sought to leave the ship he was in effect a virtual prisoner. Not only that but he was not paid.
Bungelene may have been the earliest known Aboriginal member of a colonial force – naval – as opposed to the men who later served in military units – but his service differed from that of these men. It was coerced: he was in the power of the Central Board and he received no remuneration. His service was part of an attempt to control and civilise and bore no relation to the service of the Indigenous men who followed him, who served of their own free will as volunteers.
He died the year after he left the navy on 3 January 1865, aged 18. The Board noting his death in its annual report for 1866 recorded his short, stolen life as a failure.
Thomas Bungelene, an Aboriginal, who for some months was employed in the [Board] office in Melbourne, and gave evidence of some talent, is dead. A hope was entertained at one time that he would become a useful member of society; but, whether owing to defects in his early education or a natural propensity to evil, he became nearly as troublesome in the office as he was when on board the Victoria. He died of gastric fever.
Thomas Bungelene undoubtedly served in the Victorian navy and undertook on oath to serve the Queen ‘on board of any armed vessel belonging to Her Majesty’s local government of Victoria’. However his tragic story lies more appropriately with the story of the stolen generations than it does with that of Aboriginal service in Australia’s armed forces.
Philippa Scarlett 13 August 2014
The Victorian Naval Forces Muster for the Colony of Victoria 1853-1910, give a profile of Thomas Bungalene aka Bungaleen, Bungeleen or Marbunnun, with the rank of Seaman, Birth date c1847, as crew of the HMCS Victoria.
1853 is given as the commencement date for the Victorian Navy as this is the year that Commander Lockyer (RN) went to Britian to superintend the building of HMCA Victoria. Although the Victorian Navy ended in 1901, the career of Cerberus continued. In 1910 the new ships started arriving and manning levels increased.
"Thomas Bungaleen was the son of a Gippsland headman whose family was brought to Melbourne by the Native Police in 1847. After his father’s death, the boy was placed in the Merri Creek Aboriginal School under the supervision of Assistant Protector of Aborigines William Thomas. Carol Cooper
"In 1860 the Victorian Board for the Protection of Aborigines (BPA) became interested in the 14 year old boy called Thomas Bungalene, who was working in the survey office. The BPA decided that he should be sent to St Kilda Grammar School in order that he would "receive a good education and become fitted for some profession". When the principal of St Kilda Grammar School refused to admit him, Scotch College was approached; again he was turned away. Bungalene was placed in the charge of a schoolmaster, Robert Doig, who was paid an annual fee to look after the boys education and board. After six months the arrangement faltered, and the board decided Bungalene should go to sea. He died only a few years later."Source: Taking Assimilation to Heart, Katherine Ellinghaus.
Thomas (squatting) & other crew members of HMCS Victoria receiving their rum ration ca 1861. Photo from the State Library of Victoria, Picture Collection.
"Thomas Bungaleen was the son of a Gippsland headman whose family was brought to Melbourne by the Native Police in 1847. After his father’s death, the boy was placed in the Merri Creek Aboriginal School under the supervision of Assistant Protector of Aborigines William Thomas. Carol Cooper
"In 1860 the Victorian Board for the Protection of Aborigines (BPA) became interested in the 14 year old boy called Thomas Bungalene, who was working in the survey office. The BPA decided that he should be sent to St Kilda Grammar School in order that he would "receive a good education and become fitted for some profession". When the principal of St Kilda Grammar School refused to admit him, Scotch College was approached; again he was turned away. Bungalene was placed in the charge of a schoolmaster, Robert Doig, who was paid an annual fee to look after the boys education and board. After six months the arrangement faltered, and the board decided Bungalene should go to sea. He died only a few years later." Taking Assimilation to Heart, Katherine Ellinghaus.
"In its first report, issued in 1861, the Board went so far as to express its hope that the boy Thomas Bungalene captured as an infant in 1847 by white raiding parties in search of the mysterious "white woman of Gippsland" and fostered by various officials of the Protectorate and Guardian ever since, might yet become a good citizen." White without Soap, Marguerita Stephens, 2003 Melbourne University
In 1861, Bungaleen was bonded to work on the steamship Victoria, where he won approval following a trip to the northern coast in search of the missing Burke and Wills Expedition. Bungaleen died in 1865 and was buried in the Melbourne Cemetery." Carol Cooper
"Thomas received no wages in the navy but was outfitted at the expense of the Board for the Protection of Aborigines." Victoria. A History of Her Majesty's Steam Sloop Victoria, Ian MacFarlane unpublished manuscript.
Thomas Bungeleen (an anglicised version of his father’s name, Bunjil-ee-nee) was "a lonely lad who spent his life among alien people" (Barwick and Barwick, 1984: 9). He was kidnapped from his tribe in 1847 by Police officers and taken to Melbourne with his father (a ngurungaeta of the Waiung clan, of the Brabralung group of the Kurnai of Gippsland), mother, brother and other family members.
Thomas was two years old at the time and his brother, Harry, aged six months. His father died at the Narre Narre Warren Native police barracks. Thomas' mother died 3 years later, and in 1851, he and his brother were placed with a Melbourne schoolteacher and taught European habits. They were publicly baptised. Harry died in 1856, and Thomas, now aged 11, was said to have become increasingly uncontrollable.
He was made a messenger for the lands department, and visited Simon Wonga (ngurrungaeta (clan head) of the Wundjeri-balak clan of the Woiworung of the Kulin) on several occasions. However, Thomas was said to be "getting into bad company" after hours (Barwick & Barwick, 1984: 10), and in 1861 was bonded to service on a steamship.
Thomas was bitterly unhappy and asked to be sent to live with Simon Wonga and his people. His request was refused and he continued to serve on the steamship until 1864, when he was sent to train as a draftsman. Thomas Bungaleen died in January 1865 of gastric fever, aged 18 years. He was buried with his brother in the Melbourne cemetery. Simon Wonga made a wood carving in memory of Thomas Bungeleen.
The story told in the carving was summarised later by surviving Yarra people as:
...the men represented in the upper part ...are friends who have been appointed to investigate the death of Bungeleen; the figures of the birds and animals....indicate that he did not die for lack of food; and the strange.....forms below the hollow band are those of Mooroops, or spirits who have caused the death of the Koori by their wicked enchantments (Barwick & Barwick, 1984: 9). [It is thought the Mooroops referred to here are the lohan (white men).]
The Mental Health of Indigenous Peoples, editors - Laurence J. Kirmayer, Mary Ellen Macdonald & Gregory M. Brass.
Transcription from the Ballarat Star 4th February 1865
‘The death of Thomas Bungalene forms a melancholy addendum to the lately issued fourth annual report of the Central Board appointed to watch over the interests of the Aborigines of Victoria, in which document it is intimated that “every care will be taken to teach him useful knowledge and to qualify him for a higher position that has yet been attained”
Thomas Bungalene, whose death from gastric fever took place on 3rd January was the son of Bungalene, the celebrated chief of Gipps Land, who with his wives and children were taken into captivity in 1845, as hostages for the production of a white woman whom the old warrior was supposes to have abducted. Bungalene was brutally chained to a gum-tree for many days and nights and otherwise ill-treated, and though afterwards meeting with greater consideration, soon died of grief.
His younger wife deserted her two infants, and they were removed in 1846 to Port Phillip. In 1848 they were placed in the mission station at Merri Merri Creek; and on the breaking up of that establishment in 1850, admitted, with consent of Government, to the National School, Moonee Ponds.
In 1852 they were publicly baptised at Trinity Church, Pentridge, but the death of his brother in 1856 left Thomas Bungalene the last of his line. In 1860 the board took his case into consideration – he then being employed in the Crown Lands Office. Some attempts had been made to teach him drawing, and he occasionally employed in copying letters and in other clerical duties ; but all those who took an interest in his welfare, and endeavoured to teach him, concurred in stating that his want of application rendered any great improvement quite hopeless.
He was found to be averse to labor, and all those inducements which operate on the European, were wanting in him. He had acquired a respectable knowledge of reading and writing, and had even mastered a little arithmetic. Further, he exhibited a quiet unembarrassed manner, and replied to every question calmly but promptly.
Here an opportunity seemed to be presented to the board of proving to the world that aborigines of Australia are degraded rather by their habits than in consequence of the want of mental capacity, and though the boy showed only an average ability, it was thought that by careful education and instruction, he would probably become a good citizen, and of the highest usefulness as an agent in dealing with his race.
With this in view, the board sought admission for him at the Grammar School, St Kilda Road. This was refused, and a proposal to have him educated at the Scotch College was abandoned on the recommendation of Dr Cairns, at whose suggestion he was placed under the care of Mr Robert Doig, a schoolmaster, who took charge of him at once.
It was found that the ordinary means of coercion were quite ineffectual to compel habits of obedience and industry, and under the eye of Commander Norman, of the Victoria war sloop, it was hoped that he might be taught the duties of a seaman. While on board that vessel he was noted for his habits of industry and sobriety ; but circumstances made it desirable that he should be removed, and in September last the Minister of Mines found him employment as a draughtsman.
While thus engaged, and having a few weeks previously joined the society of Oddfellows, his sudden death in his eighteenth year occurred.
Thus has been frustrated an experiment of the board which at one time was surrounded with a good deal that was hopeful. It had been found latterly that Bungalene wrote very well, was generally attentive to instructions, and was making fair progress in learning. He was gradually gaining a knowledge of mathematical instruments, could plot from a simple field-book and draw tolerably well. He appeared to when younger, his temper retained its half-savage peculiarities. But habits of perfect obedience seemed to be quite forgotten to his nature, and without them, little advancement was expected.
Well poor Thomas was not given a chance to even consider following his cultural instincts, instead constantly being moulded to the way of the white man. Such a sad story and to lose a lad so young, especially being the last in his line.
(courtesy of the National Library of Australia)
Sources:
Indigenous Histories by Philippa Scarlett
Friends of the Cerberus
National Library of Australia
Australian War Memorial
University of Newcastle
SBS Australia
Parliament of Victoria
ANU
Defence Reserves Association Newsletter April 2022
Mapping Australian History and Culture – TLCmap.org
