Yarn Up participants

Edward Bailey

Edward Bailey

Edward Bailey discusses his time in the air force in Townsville in the 1990s, including why he enlisted and his experiences with racism.

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John Baron

John Baron speaks about his family history and growing up in Sydney unaware of his aboriginality. John’s non-indigenous father served in both World Wars, for the British Army in World War 1 and the Australian Army in World War 2. John himself was interested in the army from school days where he...

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Laura Bell

Laura Bell

Laura Bell discusses her childhood memories of family members who served in World War 2 including her father.

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Tyronne Bell

Tyronne Bell

Tyronne Bell speaks about the history of Ngunnawal service in the defence forces, which he traces back as far as World War 1 if not the Boer War. In particular, he speaks about his cousin Gus Briar who served and was killed in World War 2. Tyronne also discovered the story of Samuel ‘Protest’...

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Mial Bingarape

Mial Bingarape

Mial Bingarape was born and raised on Thursday Island to an Indonesian father and Torres Strait Islander mother. As a 9 year old boy during World War 2 he was fascinated by the soldiers and air force planes he saw daily and even then he thought ‘That’s it, I’m going to join the army!’ Further...

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Bob Blair

Bob Blair

In 1961 Bob Blair joined 1RAR at Holsworthy in NSW, and after rising quickly through the ranks, he was deployed to Vietnam in 1967 where he served for over one year and was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant. Following Vietnam, Bob served primarily as an RSM and left the Army in the early...

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Irma Blitner

Irma Blitner

Sisters Irma Blitner and Annie Lange talk about their father Gerry Blitner who served in the Air Force on Groote Eylandt during World War 2, where he and other indigenous men worked building airstrips and undertaking coastal air and sea surveillance.

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Chick Booka

Chick Booka

Chick Booka tells a brief story about finding Solomon’s Row in Murwillumbah, the street where his grandmother lived and where his uncle Arthur Benjamin Brown enlisted during World War 1.

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Trish Borg

Trish Borg

Trish Borg and Jackie McDonald discuss the ‘Men from Solomon’s Row’ in Murwillumbah who enlisted and served in World War 1, including Trish Borg’s grandfather Arthur Sinclair.

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Phillip Bowie

Phillip Bowie

Phillip Bowie was born on Thursday Island, and has family connections to Badu Island in the Torres Strait. Phillip joined the Navy in 1965 after recruiters visited Thursday Island seeking to enlist Torres Strait Islanders. Racism was rife during his service and Phillip said that both Aboriginal...

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Updated:  16 July 2015/Responsible Officer:  Director, Serving our Country/Page Contact:  CAP Web Team