Anzac Day ceremonies to pay tribute to Indigenous veterans

Anzac Day services in Cairns this year will acknowledge an important anniversary and pay tribute to Indigenous veterans.

The Anzac Day Dawn Service will be held at the Cairns Centopath on the Esplanade from 5.30am Thursday. Picture: Brendan Radke

The Anzac Day service in Cairns this year will pay special tribute to Indigenous veterans of World War I.

At least 100 Indigenous soldiers served in the Light Horse division and many more fought on the Western Front.

Signalman Paul Walker, who will host Thursday’s Dawn Service in Cairns, said not only did the soldiers go without acknowledgment, they were kept “very much in the shadows”.

“I think this is very fitting to be talking about not only their service but acknowledging they were treated differently back then.”

Mr Walker, a descendant of the Waanyi people, said this year’s theme would resonate in Far North Queensland.

Former signalman in the Royal Australian Navy Paul Walker will deliver the keynote address at the Cairns RSL Dawn Service this Anzac Day. Picture: Brendan Radke

“I think it’s great to be doing it here (in Cairns) as well, because we’re the gateway to the Cape and the Torres Strait so there are many Indigenous current serving (personnel) and veterans here as well,” he said.

Anzac Day 2024 will also commemorate 25 years since Australia led the peacekeeping efforts in East Timor following a pro-independence vote in 1999.

Having also served in East Timor, Mr Walker was part of the second wave of Australian military personnel to serve in the country when he was deployed in 2000 to support a United Nations mission overseeing the transition to independence.

Mr Walker suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following his service, but said the army had also turned his life around.

“I feel like in some ways the army really saved me, because I’ve got such amazing friends that I served with who are now like family to me,” Mr Walker said.

Mr Walker was preparing for Thursday’s service outside the Cairns RSL earlier this week, the same building where he signed up for the Australian Defence Force in 1996.

“I always wonder where I’d be if I never came in here that day,” he said.

The Dawn Service will be held at 5.30am Thursday at the Cairns Cenotaph.

Originally published as Anzac Day ceremonies to pay tribute to Indigenous veterans