Of South Sea Islander, Indigenous and European descent, Cecilia Stanley Taylor and Dorothy Murphy speak about their family’s history of service - Dorothy’s father and two brothers served in the army, and Cecilia herself served in the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF). Cecilia remembers only one other indigenous member of the WRAAF when she joined up, and she speaks about the good times and great friends she made in the air force but also the racism and sexism she witnessed. While she was sad to do so, Cecilia had to leave the WRAAF once she was married, and she has always encouraged friends and family members to join the services.

This interview took place on 16 April 2014 in Townsville and was conducted by Dr Allison Cadzow as part of the Australian Research Council-funded research project Serving our Country: a history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the defence of Australia.

The interview recording above is made available to be viewed here by permission of the interviewee(s), Cecilia Stanley Taylor and Dorothy Murphy. The recording may not be copied, reproduced or communicated in whole or in part without the prior permission of the interviewee(s). Requests for permission for use of this material should be made to the Serving our Country research project: our contact details.

• Return to Cecilia Stanley Taylor or Dorothy Murphy’s participant page.