Five brave Lovett brothers among the WWI diggers to be commemorated for centenary celebrations

A DAWN service at the Aborigines Advancement League on Anzac Day will commemorate those who fought for Australia before they were even counted as citizens.

Studio portrait of 2919 Private (Pte) Alfred John Henry (Alf) Lovett, of Hamilton, Vic, an Aboriginal serviceman, with his wife Sarah and two sons. A rifle is propped up against Mrs Lovett's leg. Pte Lovett ,a member of the 6th Reinforcements of the 26th Battalion, embarked from Melbourne on 27 October 1915 aboard HMAT Ulysess. He later transferred to the 12th Battalion and returned to Australia on 10 March 1918. *MUST CREDIT* Courtesy Australian War Memorial (P01651.001)

A DAWN service at the Aborigines Advancement League in Thornbury on Anzac Day will commemorate those who fought for Australia before they were even counted as citizens.

On April 25 every year at the crack of dawn, Preston resident Georgina Lovett Williams conducts the service at a shrine she and a team of Koori Community Development and Employment Project participants built, commemorating indigenous servicemen and women.

Mrs Williams, 72, is a member of the Lovett family, Gunditjmara people from Victoria’s western district who served in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, East Timor and Afghanistan.

“They weren’t tall men — the Lovett men were small in stature but had big hearts. They were always looking to get things done and were not frightened of hard work.” - Georgina Lovett Williams, family member

From a long line of heroic warriors who saw conflict from the earliest days of white settlement, the Lovett’s official service record began with brothers Alfred, Leonard, Edward, Frederick and Herbert who were among more than 800 indigenous soldiers who enlisted in World War I.

“They weren’t tall men — the Lovett men were small in stature but had big hearts.”

Mrs Williams said.

“They were always looking to get things done and were not frightened of hard work.

“They were called the Fighting Gunditjmara.”

All five brothers survived the First World War and all apart from Alfred (he was too old) re-enlisted in World War II and again lived to tell the tale, as did the other 16 family members who subsequently served in Australia’s armed forces.

“Our people refused to die in any war overseas,” Mrs Lovett said.

“They would only die on their own land.”

A studio portrait of Private Alfred John Henry Lovett with his wife Sarah and two sons. Courtesy Australian War Memorial

Private Alfred Lovett was awarded three service medals after fighting in the Somme in France, including in the bloody battles for Pozières and Mouquet Farm, where more Australians were killed and wounded than on any other battlefield of World War I (23,000 casualties).

His brother Leonard was awarded two service medals after fighting on the Western Front.

Frederick Lovett was part of the Light Horse Regiment fighting in Palestine and Edward Lovett, patrolled the Western Front. Both earned two service medals.

Youngest brother Herbert participated in the famous attack that broke the Hindenburg line, which was reportedly the last and strongest of the German Army’s defence. He also was also awarded two medals for his efforts.

Mrs Williams said despite their outstanding service record, the brothers, her great-uncles, were denied the recognition and benefits white soldiers got on their return.

“Their land was divided up and given to white people who’d returned from the war,” she said.

“They (the Lovett brothers) applied for it but they didn’t get it.”

Mrs Williams and other members of the Lovett family, many of whom live in Darebin, continue the warrior line, fighting for land rights, constitutional recognition and justice (former Essendon AFL footballers Nathan Lovett-Murray and Andrew Lovett are two prominent family members).

Georgina Lovett Williams with an image of the Lovett Tower in Canberra, named in honour of the Lovett family’s war service. Picture: DENNIS MANKTELOW

Mrs William recently led a successful battle to get some of their tribal land back.

The Lovett family is also finally getting recognition on indigenous honour rolls and in military histories for their outstanding service.

In May 2000, Canberra’s tallest office block was named Lovett Tower in honour of the family’s war service. Mrs Williams and Korean War veteran Mick Lovett were there to witness the long deserved acknowledgment of a family who gave so much for their country and got so little back.